Poor St. Louis--still hanging on to that bad ranking

News out today:  St. Louis and a couple other midwest cities are ranked on 2010 FBI crime data show them--St. Louis--to be still hanging on to their number 3 spot of "most dangerous":

America's most dangerous cities

3. St. Louis

Population: 355,151
Violent Crime Per 1,000: 17.5
2010 Murders: 144
Median Income: $34,801 (30.7% below national average)
Unemployment Rate: 9.3% (0.3% above national average)

Violent crime in St. Louis fell dramatically between 2009 and 2010, and has decreased since 2007. Despite this, crime rates remain extremely high compared with other cities. In 2010, the city's murder rate and rate of aggravated assault were each the third worst in the country. With regards to both violent and nonviolent crime, St. Louis was rated the most dangerous city based on FBI data released six months ago. As of December 2010, the murder rate in St. Louis was 6.3 times that of the state of Missouri. The city's gunshot murder rate for residents between 10 to 19 years old is also the second highest in the country, behind only New Orleans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you look at specifics of the report as well as generalities, there is some good news in there, thankfully:

"...the FBI trumpeted the news that violent crime dropped 5.5% in 2010 while reported property crimes fell 2.8%..."

and:  Violent crime in St. Louis fell dramatically between 2009 and 2010, and has decreased since 2007.

But did you get this part, from above on St. Louis?:

St. Louis was rated the most dangerous city based on FBI data released six months ago. As of December 2010, the murder rate in St. Louis was 6.3 times that of the state of Missouri. The city's gunshot murder rate for residents between 10 to 19 years old is also the second highest in the country, behind only New Orleans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yikes.  That's some pretty tough statistics.  That won't be good for the Convention and Visitors Bureau over there.

Other news was Memphis, Tennessee coming in at 5 on the list while--this was a big surprise to me--Little Rock, Arkansas came in on the list and at number 7.  I always thought of Little Rock as a sleepy little burg.  So much for that.  They beat out Baltimore (no. 8), Rockford, Illinois (9) and Stockton, California, which came in at number 10, for pity's sake.  That was an eye-opener both on Little Rock being on the list and Stockton very nearly not making it.

So heads up, Kansas City.  We're not on the "10 Most Violent American Cities" this year.  Yeehaw.  

Now, let's see what we can do to get those drive-bys cut in number, eh?