DETROIT - In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's controversial analysis, released Sunday, of annual FBI crime statistics. The study drew harsh criticism even before it came out. The American Society of Criminology launched a pre-emptive strike Friday, issuing a statement attacking it as "an irresponsible misuse" of crime data. The 14th annual "City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America" was published by CQ Press, a unit of Congressional Quarterly Inc. It is based on the FBI's Sept. 24 crime statistics report. The report looked at 378 cities with at least 75,000 people based on per-capita rates for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. Each crime category was considered separately and weighted based on its seriousness, CQ Press said. Last year's crime leader, St. Louis, fell to No. 2. Another Michigan city, Flint, ranked third, followed by Oakland Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Richmond, Calif.; and Cleveland. The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. city, followed by Clarkstown, N.Y.; Brick Township, N.J.; Amherst, N.Y.; and Sugar Land, Texas. CQ Press spokesman Ben Krasney said details of the weighting system were proprietary. It was compiled by Kathleen O'Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, whose Morgan Quitno Press published it until its acquisition by CQ Press. The study assigns a crime score to each city, with zero representing the national average. Detroit got a score of 407, while St. Louis followed at 406. The score for Mission Viejo, in affluent Orange County, was minus 82. Detroit was pegged the nation's murder capital in the 1980s and has lost nearly 1 million people since 1950, according to the Census Bureau. Downtown sports stadiums and corporate headquarters — along with the redevelopment of the riverfront of this city of 919,000 — have slowed but not reversed the decline. Officials have said crime reports don't help. Detroit police officials released a statement Sunday night disputing the report, saying it fails to put crime information into proper context. "Every year this organization sends out a press release with big, bold lettering that labels a certain city as Most Dangerous, USA," Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings said in the release. "It really makes you wonder if the organization is truly concerned with evaluating crime or increasing their profit," said Bully-Cummings, who noted the complete report is available only by purchase. "With crime experts across the country routinely denouncing the findings, I believe the answer is clear." The mayor of 30th-ranked Rochester, N.Y. — an ex-police chief himself — said the study's authors should consider the harm that the report causes. "What I take exception to is the use of these statistics and the damage they inflict on a number of these cities," said Mayor Robert Duffy, chairman of the Criminal and Social Justice Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The rankings "do groundless harm to many communities," said Michael Tonry, president of the American Society of Criminology. "They also work against a key goal of our society, which is a better understanding of crime-related issues by both scientists and the public," Tonry said. Critics also complain that numbers don't tell the whole story because of differences among cities. "You're not comparing apples and oranges; you're comparing watermelons and grapes," said Rob Casey, who heads the FBI section that puts out the Uniform Crime Report that provides the data for the Quitno report. The FBI posted a statement on its Web site criticizing such use of its statistics. "These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region," the FBI said. "Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents." Doug Goldenberg-Hart, acquisitions editor at CQ Press, said that the rankings are imperfect, but that the numbers are straightforward. Cities at the top of the list would not be there unless they ranked poorly in all six crime categories, he said. "The idea that people oppose it, it's kind of blaming the messenger," Goldenberg-Hart said. "It's not coming to terms with the idea that crime is a persistent problem in our society." The report "helps concerned Americans learn how their communities fare in the fight against crime," CQ Press said in a statement. "The first step in making our cities and states safer is to understand the true magnitude of their crime problems. This will only be achieved through straightforward data that all of us can use and understand." The study excluded Chicago, Minneapolis, and other Illinois and Minnesota cities because of incomplete data.

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Where my designer B*tches at?

MAGNETS....COWS....HERD....it all makes sense now?

There's nothing worse than driving in a snowstorm with a GPS that's on the rag

Do you take PAYPAL?

Jack will bring his THWACK stick to beat off all the criminals laying in wait to pounce on unsuspecting, naive New Yorkers at the airport.

In fact, I'll have him test it out when he goes to Detroit for a hockey game this Wednesday.

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I talk to you, you talk to me
And in my heart I've been set free ~ Shannon Lyon

...then curl up by the fire and sleep for awhile,
it's the grooviest thing, it's the perfect dream ~ The Cure

Keep it simple

Sammie:

Jack will bring his THWACK stick to beat off all the criminals laying in wait to pounce on unsuspecting, naive New Yorkers at the airport.

In fact, I'll have him test it out when he goes to Detroit for a hockey game this Wednesday.

Thwack sticks and hockey are redundant.................didntcha know, eh?

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Where my designer B*tches at?

MAGNETS....COWS....HERD....it all makes sense now?

There's nothing worse than driving in a snowstorm with a GPS that's on the rag

Do you take PAYPAL?

NYCBRFAN:

Sammie:

Jack will bring his THWACK stick to beat off all the criminals laying in wait to pounce on unsuspecting, naive New Yorkers at the airport.

In fact, I'll have him test it out when he goes to Detroit for a hockey game this Wednesday.

Thwack sticks and hockey are redundant.................didntcha know, eh?

Yes, I know...precisely why I refuse to watch the 'sport'.

---

I talk to you, you talk to me
And in my heart I've been set free ~ Shannon Lyon

...then curl up by the fire and sleep for awhile,
it's the grooviest thing, it's the perfect dream ~ The Cure

Keep it simple

Sammie:

NYCBRFAN:

Sammie:

Jack will bring his THWACK stick to beat off all the criminals laying in wait to pounce on unsuspecting, naive New Yorkers at the airport.

In fact, I'll have him test it out when he goes to Detroit for a hockey game this Wednesday.

Thwack sticks and hockey are redundant.................didntcha know, eh?

Yes, I know...precisely why I refuse to watch the 'sport'.

Oh Ray! Don't be such a hoser, eh !! Just pull your toque down and your hockey jersey up, eh! No one will suspect that you are not a native of the great white north! So, take off, eh! Hope that Jack has the backbacon on the bbq, eh? Just remember to keep your stick on the ice!

Carrington:

Sammie:

NYCBRFAN:

Sammie:

Jack will bring his THWACK stick to beat off all the criminals laying in wait to pounce on unsuspecting, naive New Yorkers at the airport.

In fact, I'll have him test it out when he goes to Detroit for a hockey game this Wednesday.

Thwack sticks and hockey are redundant.................didntcha know, eh?

Yes, I know...precisely why I refuse to watch the 'sport'.

Oh Ray! Don't be such a hoser, eh !! Just pull your toque down and your hockey jersey up, eh! No one will suspect that you are not a native of the great white north! So, take off, eh! Hope that Jack has the backbacon on the bbq, eh? Just remember to keep your stick on the ice!

All dacent shinny players know to keep their stick on the ice.......

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Where my designer B*tches at?

MAGNETS....COWS....HERD....it all makes sense now?

There's nothing worse than driving in a snowstorm with a GPS that's on the rag

Do you take PAYPAL?

DETROIT -- The Wayne County Police Department is investigating the discovery of a decapitated man’s body inside a manhole on Monday morning. The Wayne County Water Department told Local 4 they found the headless body in a manhole in an alley near Kercheval and Montclair streets on Detroit’s eastside. The water department said it was called to the area to investigate reports of backed up sewage. Police said the body has been taken to the Wayne County Medical examiner’s office. However, police said it will be difficult to ID the body because the head, hands and feet have been cut off. Police said they were able to determine it was a white man, who was wearing only underwear. A full-scale investigation has been launched. Police have not released any other details at this time. Stay with Local 4 News and ClickOnDetroit.com for further updates on this developing story.

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Where my designer B*tches at?

MAGNETS....COWS....HERD....it all makes sense now?

There's nothing worse than driving in a snowstorm with a GPS that's on the rag

Do you take PAYPAL?

Gee, I bet this sort of thing would never happen in a quaint little small town like New York City!

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I talk to you, you talk to me
And in my heart I've been set free ~ Shannon Lyon

...then curl up by the fire and sleep for awhile,
it's the grooviest thing, it's the perfect dream ~ The Cure

Keep it simple

Sammie:

Gee, I bet this sort of thing would never happen in a quaint little small town like New York City!

The New York Post once ran a headline about a body like that found in a strip joint. It read: "Headless Body Found in Topless Bar"

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Where my designer B*tches at?

MAGNETS....COWS....HERD....it all makes sense now?

There's nothing worse than driving in a snowstorm with a GPS that's on the rag

Do you take PAYPAL?

NYCBRFAN:

Sammie:

Gee, I bet this sort of thing would never happen in a quaint little small town like New York City!

The New York Post once ran a headline about a body like that found in a strip joint. It read: "Headless Body Found in Topless Bar"

Oooooh! That is so wrong. I remember in journalism class getting in trouble for making quirky headlines for serious stories.

I'll never forget on the front page of the Niagara Review...a picture of a jet skiier who thought he'd go over the falls with a parachute...well it didn't open and they had a picture in full colour of this guy plummeting to his death...I thought that was just horrible. Granted the guy was an idiot, he'd been told that a parachute would never open properly because of the massive air thrusts off the falls themselves...but he didnt' listen, but a little tact...oh that's another subject.

Considering where I live and the places I've gone....South St,. Pete, Ybor City...Nebraska Ave....ick...I'm not worried about Detroit. Just stay in the airport...it'll be fine. Just yesterday my daughter yelled....look Santa...there rolled on a little scooter thingy,  a drunk guy with a Santa hat....I GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE.

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"There's one in every crowd, for crying out loud,
why was it always turning out be me"

Elvis was not only the King, but a really awesome person as well!