Amherst, N.Y., Gets Top Spot in Safety Survey

Yahoo News ^ | 12-21-01 | Reuters

[Don Myers]

Amherst, N.Y., Gets Top Spot in Safety Survey

LAWRENCE, Kan. (Reuters) - Amherst, N.Y. is America's safest city and Detroit is the most dangerous when it comes to crime, according to the Eighth Annual Safest City Award announced on Friday by Morgan Quitno Press.

The Kansas publisher included 327 municipalities with populations of 75,000 or more in the study, comparing them in six major crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.

Amherst, a small city of 117,000 in western New York State, won top honors for the second consecutive year and the fifth time in the award's eight years. With a population of just under a million, Detroit ranked worst for the third straight year.

``We're overjoyed because we have worked so hard to make this happen. We know public safety is so important when people are choosing a place to live,'' Amherst Supervisor Susan Grelick told Reuters.

Greg Bowens, press secretary to outgoing Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, said violent crime was at its lowest level in 30 years in the city, having dropped more than 22 percent between 1993 and 2000.

``It's clearly disappointing for them to reach this conclusion in the face of these dramatic drops. Detroit is a much safer place than it has been in a generation,'' he said.

Morgan Quitno uses FBI (news - web sites) statistics in working out its safety ratings.

The total number of violent crimes reported decreased in the first half of the year, despite a slight increase in murders and robberies, the FBI said on Monday.

Last year Amherst had no murders and low numbers in the other areas -- four rapes, 26 robberies, 44 aggravated assaults, 131 stolen vehicles and 169 burglaries.

Detroit recorded 396 murders, 811 rapes, 7,868 robberies, 13,037 aggravated assaults, 15,828 burglaries and 25,892 stolen vehicles.

The city's crime rates in all categories exceed national averages, according to Morgan Quitno's analysis.

Following Amherst as America's least crime-ridden cities are Newton, Mass.; Mission Viejo, Calif.; Cary, N.C.; and Brick Township, N.J.

At the most dangerous end after Detroit are Atlanta, Ga.; St. Louis, Miss.; Baltimore, Md.; and Gary, Indiana.

Among major cities, New York -- the largest in the United States -- ranked 195th down the list, with Denver coming in at 200th and San Francisco at 212th.

The awards are the basis for the eighth edition of Morgan Quitno's ``City Crime Rankings.'' Like Money Magazine's annual ''Best Places To Live'' issue, the book is used primarily by people thinking of relocating who want an idea of a city or area's quality of life, said Scott Morgan, Morgan Quitno's president.

[Don Myers]

If we could figure out what makes the difference between Amherst and Detroit, perhaps, we could do something about the crime rate. Perhaps, if we look at the demographics, that might give us a clue?

[Phantom Lord]

``It's clearly disappointing for them to reach this conclusion in the face of these dramatic drops. Detroit is a much safer place than it has been in a generation,'' he said.

And as Mayor Marion Barry said "Washington has a low crime rate if you take out all the murders."

[Nat Turner]

Amherst 120,000 a suburb of Buffalo- Detroit well over 2million people . . nuff said

[NativeNewYorker]

Amherst is home to SUNY Buffalo, I believe.

And my hometown (NYC) is 195th!

[Deckard]

I think Don Myers was alluding to this sort of demographic data:

Diversity in the U.S. The 10 cities of 100,000 or more with the largest percentage of white residents and the 10 with the greatest percentage of blacks, according to new Census Bureau reports. The census allowed people to list themselves as a single race or as a mix of more than one. Thus, two figures are shown, the first for whites or blacks alone or combined with another race, and the second for those listing white or black only. The census listed only the 20 most racially uniform cities.

Whites: Livonia, Mich., 96.5 %, 95.5 % Cape Coral, Fla., 94.4, 93.0 Boise City, Idaho, 94.4, 92.2 Independence, Mo., 94.0, 91.9 Scottsdale, Ariz., 93.6, 92.2 Springfield, Mo., 93.5, 91.7 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 93.5, 91.9 Sioux Falls, S.D., 93.4, 91.9 Warren, Mich., 93.3, 91.3 Manchester, N.H., 93.3, 91.7

Blacks: Gary, Ind., 85.3 %, 84.0 % Detroit, 82.8, 81.6 Birmingham, Ala., 74.0, 73.5 Jackson, Miss., 71.1, 70.6 New Orleans, 67.9, 67.3 Baltimore, 65.2, 64.3 Atlanta, 62.1, 61.4 Memphis, Tenn., 61.9, 61.4 Washington, 61.3, 60.0 Richmond, Va., 58.1, 57.2

Incidentally, according to data from this site (SUNY Buffalo?), Amherst is 89.3% white and 3.9% black.

[T. P. Pole]

Amherst 120,000 a suburb of Buffalo- Detroit well over 2million people . . nuff said

OK, I'll play. Top 10 safest in order with population under 125,000:
Amherst, NY 109,574
Newton, MA 82,400
Mission Viejo, CA 100,198
Cary, NC 95,964
Brick Twnshp, NJ 78,794
Simi Valley, CA 116,751
Colonie, NY 82,253
Clarkstown, NY 84,240
Orem, UT 86,990
Greece, NY 95,772

Now the worst 10 in order under 125,000:
Gary, IN 112,824
Camden, NJ 85,142
West Palm Beach, FL 81,407
Compton, CA 94,900
Youngstown, OH 83,466
Trenton, NJ 87,206
Reading, PA 75,544
Hammond, IN 79,154
Miami Beach, FL 103,496
Canton, OH 79,256

You do have a point, though. The top 10 under 125k only took my to the top 12 overall. The worst 10 under 125k took me 44 down the list. So there is some relationship between population and crime.

A quick look at the cities tells me that Don Myers might have a point also regarding demographics.

[Clemenza]

Miami Beach has a large Gay Population and a declining Jewish population, although the northern portion of the city is a dumping ground for the mentally ill and "Title 8" housing voucher holders.

[T. P. Pole]

West Palm Beach was the one I was wondering about.

[Clemenza]

West Palm Beach has a large (40% I think) black population. There are still nice sections of the city and most of the crime is concentrated in the area around I-95 south and west of downtown. Just to the north of West Palm is the lovely city of Riviera Beach, which has only about 10,000 people but one of the highest crime rates in the state.

[Nat Turner]

Yep Amherst is home to SUNY @ Buffalo... which is my alma mater by the way . . . LOL