CATOCTIN MOUNTAINS, Md. – While violent crime has dropped to pre-Covid pandemic levels nationwide, according to the latest crime report from Federal Bureau of Investigation, the changes weren’t the same everywhere. The crime rates remained elevated in dozens of cities around the country, including my home town of Birmingham, Alabama, which topped the list of the 15 most dangerous cities in the United States.
The finance site MoneyGeek used the FBI crime data to compare crime rates in 302 large cities and 1,010 small cities and towns around the country. They looked at both violent crime and property crime, and used research by the University of Miami and the University of Colorado Denver to determine the cost of crime in each area.
After crunching the numbers, the large city with the highest cost of crime was Birmingham, Alabama.
The violent crime rate – which includes instances of murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – in Birmingham was 1,682 per 100,000 residents. The property crime rate – which includes burglary, larceny, and vehicle theft – was 4,173 per 100,000 residents.
Birmingham didn’t have the highest rate of violent crime. Memphis, Tennessee; Detroit, Michigan; and Little Rock, Arkansas all saw more violent crimes per capita.
Memphis, along with Tacoma, Washington, and St. Louis, Missouri, had the highest property crime rates.
The large cities with the highest cost of crime per capita:
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I lived and worked in the second most dangerous city in the U.S., New Orleans, from 2000 to 2004. It has changed since Hurricane Katrina, but is still clearly a violent place to live or visit.
I left more because of the growing heat than the crime, although I did have my pocket picked once, and was slipped a Mickey one night in a bar on St. Charles Avenue at an environmental happy hour. A date rape drug was dropped in my beer when I went to the bathroom. Never leave your drink unattended in a bar is the lesson.
It took me awhile to figure out exactly what happened, because I ended up wrecking my Plymouth Voyager van and had about a six hour blank space in my memory. It was a corporate spy who had been attending the Green Happy Hours who put the drug in my drink. He was the only one left there at 10 p.m. when the party was over, and he hovered over me and tried to lure me into his car.
Of course Milwaukee, Wisconsin was listed as number 9 on the list, where the Republicans are holding their 2024 nominating convention this week.
I’ve also spent time in Atlanta at various times in my life. I can see why it made the list.
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