New York Scores Well in Report on Safest Cities
New Yorkers can now rest easy knowing they are just a little bit safer than the residents of Denton, Texas, and Palm Bay, Fla.
On a list of America's safest cities released yesterday, New York City is ranked first among cities with a population of more than 1 million. Of cities with populations of more than 500,000, New York took fourth place, behind El Paso, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; and San Jose, Calif., according to the annual rankings compiled by Morgan Quitno Press. Of all 371 cities, New York ranked no. 145.
Top overall honors went to a town called Brick on the New Jersey shore. Second prize went to Amherst, N.Y., a city of about 111,000 near Buffalo.
The list can also be inverted to surmise the country's most dangerous cities. Days after the Cardinals won their first World Series title in two decades, St. Louis overtook Camden, N.J., as the most menacing in the country. Compton, Calif., was noted for having biggest decline in safety from the previous year.
The list is based on statistics from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. The report, released in September, breaks down statistics into 29 separate offenses to illustrate crime rates in cities throughout the country. To form the list, Morgan Quitno Press plugged the FBI's statistics on murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft in each city into a formula that places equal weight on each type of crime.
The FBI says comprehensive lists, such as the one published by Morgan Quitno, are often misleading because many geographical and demographic differences between cities that influence crime rates aren't included in the calculations. The bureau points to ethnic makeup, transportation systems, and educational levels as key factors.
"This would be somewhat akin to deciding not to compare athletes on their speed in a 100-yard dash because of physical or training differences," an explanation on Morgan Quitno Press's Web site explains in response to the FBI criticism.
New York City, which is much further down the list than other major cities on the East Coast, ranked as the 227th most dangerous city. Some of the more dangerous cities included Baltimore, at 12th, Philadelphia, at 29th, and Boston, at 58th.
