Progress in Camden

    There’s a new number one in urban danger: St. Louis overtook Camden as the nation’s most dangerous city in 2009.

    The study released Sunday by CQ Press found St. Louis had 2,070.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, compared with a national average of 429.4. That helped St. Louis beat out Camden, which topped last year’s list and was the most dangerous city for 2003 and 2004.

    Rounding out the top five: Detroit and Flint in Michigan and Oakland in California.

    These annual rankings are based on population figures and crime data compiled by the FBI – some criminologists question the findings, though, saying the methodology is unfair.

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