The city of Detroit led the nation in 2013 with the most dangerous murder and crime rates among big cities, according to the FBI’s statistics released Monday.
There were 316 murders in Detroit last year, which is a rate of 45 per 100,000 people. Compare that to New Orleans, a city which had 156 murders in 2013 — a rate of 41 per 100,000 people — or Newark, N.J. which had a rate of 40 murders per 100,000 people.
Moreover, 2,072 violent crimes per 100,000 people were reported in Detroit in 2013. That’s also the highest per capita rate in the U.S.
“The work does continue. I mean you look at what’s driving this issue of the most violent city, what’s being put out there, is per capita,” said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. “Yes, we’ve seen a reduction. Is there much more work to do? Of course.”
Detroit’s 316 murders made up about half of Michigan’s overall 631 murders in 2013.
Craig said the numbers don’t tell the entire story. He said crime is down in Detroit year after year and things are headed in the right direction.
“We are absolutely trending in the right direction, and we’re poised this year to have the lowest number of homicides in 4 years. Again, it’s still too many, but we are moving in the right direction. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight,” said Craig.
Source: Click On Detroit