Every year, American's debate over which cities have the worse hoods. Is it Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta or Newark? in 2017, it was none of those cities. According to a report by USA Today, Baltimore is the most dangerous city in America.
The report shows that murder rates in America have dropped by about 2% in the nation's 50 largest cities. In 2017, there were 5,738 homicides in America's biggest cities, while in 2016 there were 5,863 homicides. The decrease is mostly attributed to cities like New York, Chicago, and Houston which dropped double-digit percentages, 13.4%, 14.7%, 11%, respectively.
Even though Chicago did have 650 homicides in 2017, and Baltimore had nearly half that number with 343, the murder per capita shows that B-more is a much more dangerous city. Chicago recorded 24 homicides per 100,000 people in 2017, while Baltimore recorded 55.8. Baltimore achieved the highest per capita homicide rate in the city's history. There are several crime experts and law enforcement officials that believe that rising tensions between poverty-stricken communities and police have escalated due to the continuing nationwide turmoil surrounding police shootings. They also believe those tensions may have led to the rise of homicides in Baltimore.
Overall, the homicide rate in the country is still near historic lows.
