Is Phoenix Safe or is Phoenix Dangerous?

The Morgan Quitno Safest City Award will not belong to Phoenix this year (or any year in the near future). The study, done every year, analyzes the FBI crime reports for cities based on the rates for six crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. Each of the six crimes was given equal weight. Phoenix was found to be a dangerous city.

In this survey based on 2003 statistics, 354 cities were compared. Mathematical calculations are used to compare the cities' crime rates per 100,000 residents to the national average. Keep in mind that this listing includes the City of Phoenix proper, not any other city or town in the greater Phoenix area.

The 10 Safest Cities

1-San Jose, CA
2-El Paso, TX
3-Honolulu, HI
4-Austin, TX
5-New York, NY
6-Louisville, KY
7-San Diego, CA
8-San Antonio, TX
9-San Francisco, CA
10-Fort Worth, TX

The 10 Most Dangerous Cities

1-Detroit, MI
2-Washington, DC
3-Baltimore, MD
4-Memphis, TN
5-Dallas, TX
6-Philadelphia, PA
7-Columbus, OH
8-Nashville, TN
9-Houston, TX
10-Phoenix, AZ

There were 320 metropolitan areas considered in the study, and the results for the most dangerous follow.

The 25 Most Dangerous Metro Areas

1-Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI
2-Memphis, TN-MS-AR
3-Sumter, SC
4-Fairbanks, AK
5-New Orleans, LA
6-Miami-Dade County, FL
7-Myrtle Beach, SC
8-Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
9-Victoria, TX
10-Florence, SC
11-Stockton, CA
12-Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
13-Pine Bluff, AR
14-Lafayette, LA
15-Jackson, MS
16-Saginaw, MI
17-Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
18-Tucson, AZ
19-Los Angeles County, CA
20-Baltimore-Towson, MD
21-Albuquerque, NM
22-Vineland, NJ
23-Montgomery, AL
24-Little Rock, AR
25-Charleston-North Charleston, SC

The Phoenix area is showing some imrovement on crime rates, but still has a long way to go. I can't help but mention, however, that the Phoenix area is well known for having one of the highest auto theft rates in the country. If auto thefts are given the same weight as murders and other violent crimes, auto thefts must be skewing these numbers to some degree. I wish the group doing this study would separate the violent from the nonviolent crimes, and do two studies!

To see more details about the Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities Report, visit Morgan Quitno Press online.