Nov 20 2007
The most dangerous city in the US
Some outfit called the CQ Press issued a report calling Detroit the most dangerous city in the U.S. This caused much outrage from Detroit city officials. CQ Press says it publishes these rankings to encourage local conversations, which is nonsense, of course - they do it to sell their publications. Have you ever heard of CQ Press before? (This is CQ’s response to the criticism.)
These one-number rankings generate more heat than light. While the statements by Detroit officials denouncing the study are self-serving, they are also correct in pointing out that the average visitor to the city has nothing to fear if he stays out of areas he has no business being in. I go into Detroit frequently, for Tigers and Red Wings games, concerts, the opera, and, lately, jury duty, and have never had a problem or even felt uncomfortable. There is a lot of new development happening downtown as well - both commercial and residentia.l But it is also true that life is really grim for people who live in the high-crime neighborhoods, and denunciations of the study by the mayor and police chief don’t change that.
(Updated 21 November - fixed some typos)