For the second time in three years, St. Louis has been ranked as the most dangerous city in America by CQ Press. These rankings are based upon the metropolitan statistics analysis reports located in the 2009 Uniform Crime Reports compiled by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the FBI, the City of St. Louis reported 7,353 violent crimes in a population of 355,208. This data calculates into a 2,070.1 crime rate per 100,000 people. This is the highest listed crime rate in the United States.
Whether St. Louis city officials would like to own up to it or not, our city has an astronomical crime rate. We know this by watching the news and hearing about the multiple shootings that occur every week. We see it on the crime pages of our newspapers every day, and yet no one wants to publicly admit that St. Louis has a crime problem.
As we look at our statistics, crime is down from its height in 2007. According to Police Chief Daniel Isom, murders are down over 13 percent, sexual assault and robberies are also down more than 20 percent. Nationwide, murders and robberies have decreased by 7.3 percent and 8 percent respectively.
Although St. Louis’ crime rates have diminished by larger amounts, violence is still prevalent in our neighborhoods and communities. Crime is down, but I think that this is hardly the time for city officials to rest on their laurels and declare the city safe.
Instead of our civic leaders getting angry at the record keepers for reporting the stats, they need to take a more proactive stance towards decreasing crime in our communities.
There are many organizations and agencies that are on the ground working to improve safety conditions in the St. Louis area, but without the hands-on support of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, it is work in vain. We need increased patrols of troubled neighborhoods, stronger community partnerships and better support for at-risk youth. St. Louis city law enforcement needs to step up, get involved and stop pretending that there is no crime problem in St. Louis.
Buford is president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
