American City and County

Amherst, N.Y., tops list of safe cities

In the Safe City sweepstakes, repeats are the order of the day. That is good news for Amherst, N.Y., which, for the second year in a row, has been named America's safest city. It is bad news for Detroit, which heads the Most Dangerous City list for the third consecutive year. The list, put together by Lawrence, Kan.-based Morgan Quitno Press, an independent private research and publishing company,

In the Safe City sweepstakes, repeats are the order of the day. That is good news for Amherst, N.Y., which, for the second year in a row, has been named America's safest city. It is bad news for Detroit, which heads the Most Dangerous City list for the third consecutive year.

The list, put together by Lawrence, Kan.-based Morgan Quitno Press, an independent private research and publishing company, takes into account six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. All cities with populations greater than 75,000 that report crime data for those categories to the FBI are included in the rankings. Amherst had no murders, the lowest burglary rate and the fifth lowest rape and aggravated assault rates of the 327 cities ranked.

The company also examined the overall safety of 254 metropolitan areas. The Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah (Wis.) metro area topped the list of safe metropolitan areas, while the Pine Bluff, Ark., metro area was branded the most dangerous.

For more information on the methodology employed in the rankings and for details on the lists, contact the company at P.O. Box 1656, Lawrence KS 66044; telephone (800) 457-0742; or visit www.morganquitno.com.

Safest Cities

1. Amherst, N.Y
2. Newton, Mass.
3. Mission Viejo, Calif.
4. Cary, N.C.
5. Brick Township, N.J.
6. Simi Valley, Calif.
7. Sunnyvale, Calif.
8. Colonie, N.Y.
9. Sterling Heights, Mich.
10. Clarkstown, N.Y
11. Orem, Utah
12. Greece, N.Y.
13. Thousand Oaks, Calif.
14. Canton Township, Mich.
15. Livermore, Calif.
16. Troy, Mich.
17. Irvine, Calif.
18. Dover Township, N.J.
19. Arvada, Colo.
20. Warwick, R.I.
21. Huntington Beach, Calif.
22. Santa Clara, Calif.
23. Santa Clarita, Calif.
24. Fremont, Calif.
25. Newport Beach, Calif.

Safest Metro Areas

1. Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah (Wis.)
2. Wausau, Wis.
3. Bismarck, N.D.
4. Danbury, Conn.
5. LaCrosse, Wis.-Minn.
6. Sheboygan, Wis.
7. Binghamton, N.Y
8. State College, Pa.
9. Johnstown, Pa.
10. Monmouth-Ocean, N.J.
11. Pittsfield, Mass.
12. Glens Falls, N.Y.
13. Eau Claire, Wis.
14. Provo-Orem, Utah
15. Bangor, Maine
16. Florence, Ala.
17. York, Pa.
18. Dutchess County, N.Y.
19. Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, N.J.
20. St. Cloud, Minn.
21. Green Bay, Wis.
22. Punta Gorda, Fla.
23. Pocatello, Idaho
24. Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn.
25. Lafayette, Ind.

Most Dangerous Cities

1. Detroit
2. Atlanta
3. St. Louis
4. Baltimore
5. Gary, Ind.
6. Camden, N.J.
7. Tampa
8. West Palm Beach, Fla.
9. Compton, Calif.
10. Memphis, Tenn.
11. New Orleans
12. Washington, D.C.
13. Kansas City, Mo.
14. Richmond, Va.
15. Dayton, Ohio
16. Flint, Mich.
17. Miami
18. Youngstown, Ohio
19. Dallas
20. Newark, N.J.
21. Trenton, N.J.
22. Chattanooga, Tenn.
23. Orlando, Fla.
24. Philadelphia
25. Reading, Pa.

Most Dangerous Metro Areas

1. Pine Bluff, Ark.
2. Memphis, Tenn.
3. Miami
4. New Orleans
5. Baltimore
6. Albuquerque, N.M.
7. Savannah, Ga.
8. Tallahassee, Fla.
9. Tucson, Ariz.
10. Flint, Mich.
11. Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
12. Detroit
13. Gainesville, Fla.
14. Montgomery, Ala.
15. Jacksonville, Fla.
16. Nashville, Tenn.
17. Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.
18. Jackson, Tenn.
19. Lubbock, Texas
20. Monroe, La.
21. Alexandria, La.
22. Tuscaloosa, Ala.
23. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
24. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
25. Dallas

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on Apr. 27, 2012
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