Most Dangerous City Rankings

Updated January 05, 2010

In the 2009 Most Dangerous City rankings, issued by CQ Press, Camden was ranked as the Most Dangerous City with a population over 75,000.  The official policy of the American Society of Criminologists is in opposition to the use of these rankings.  The 2009 rankings are based on 2008 crime data.

Read the December 30th Courier Post article detailing the decline in Homicides in Camden.

Camden Most Dangerous City Rankings*

* Note that each year's ranking is based on the previous year's crime data.  So, for instance, the ranking for 2005 was based on 2004 data.

The FBI cautions against ranking cities based solely on the UCR data for several reasons, namely that rankings don't consider any contextual factors in particular areas that may lead to a higher rate of certain crimes.

These rankings are based on the Federal Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data reported by local police departments to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Morgan-Quitno developed its own formula to compare cities using these rankings, which appears to have been continued by CQ Press. The 2008-2009 CQ Press ranking methodology can be found here.

Previous Analysis Prepared by CAMConnect

Click here to download CAMConnect's analysis of 2004 and 2005 crime data and additional information from the Camden County Prosecutor.

This analysis by CAMConnect described why Camden ranked atop the “Most Dangerous” list for the second consecutive year.  It also includes data illustrating the decline in crime reported in Camden during 2005 and discussion about the city’s potential rank for 2006, assuming Morgan-Quitno's methodology remained the same.

There are several important points to remember about the rankings:

• The rankings are calculated with an adjustment for population so that the crime rate in Camden (population 80,000) can be compared to the crime rate in Detroit (population 915,000) and other cities.  So, if Camden is named “more dangerous” than Philadelphia, that does not mean that Camden has a higher number of crimes than Philadelphia.  Instead, it means that Camden has a higher rate of crime when a population adjustment is calculated.
• The rankings are based on 2004 UCR data, and do not consider any changes to crime rates occurring in 2005. 
• UCR data relies on cities to report their crimes accurately.  There are standards for how different crimes are to be classified, but in the past, several cities including Philadelphia and St. Louis have had issues with how crime is reported and classified.

As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, CAMConnect takes no position on the merits of the Morgan-Quitno rankings, and this document should not be construed as an endorsement of any position related to the methodology of the rankings. However, given the media attention that the rankings generate, CAMConnect believes it is important to provide some additional context about how the rankings are developed.

Click here to download CAMConnect's discussion of the "Most Dangerous City" Ranking released in November 2004 and based on 2003 UCR data ,which includes demographic comparisons between Camden and other cities on the list