| 美國犯罪率最高的十大都市 最近和國內的朋友聊天，發現了一個有趣的事實：做父母親的，很多都想自己的孩子能夠有機會到美國來學習，甚至是生活，而年歲比較小的孩子，卻以美國的犯罪率太高為理由，來警告自己的父母親，美國是個很不安全的國家。 也是的，最近在電視裡，我也經常看到犯罪的新聞，和我們記憶中的在國內的情形相比，似乎也是太高了一點。同時，看來，國內政府和新聞媒體對美國陰暗面的強調，還真的是起了作用，雖然這種忽悠性質的作用之後短期的麻痹比較年幼的孩子。雖然這些孩子長大之後，很多人也會後悔，自己當初怎麼會那麼的幼稚和容易被人欺騙。 今天看到下面的這則文章，給了我一個數字化的比較結果：美國犯罪率到底嚴重到什麼程度。什麼地方最嚴重，為什麼？ 密西根州似乎是一如既往，依然是占據着老大和老二的前二把交椅，當仁不讓。這種局面估計很難在可以預見的未來有所改善。我初步查了一下這個位列第一的Flint城市的數據和歷史，一個在地圖上看前不着村後不着店的城市，在幾十年的時間內，人口規模已經下降了幾乎一半。留下來的，估計是那些沒有能力離開的人群。 當年，很多非洲裔美國人，為了逃離南方的種族歧視，來到經濟蒸蒸日上的密西根，在隨後，又為了平等的就業權利，還一再的做政治上的抗爭。隨着時間的流逝，非洲裔如願以償的獲得了自己的政治權利，可是，卻沒有能力，最終給自己的後人留下什麼有價值的“遺產”。這到底是誰的不幸呢？真的是，像奧巴馬這樣的政治家所說的，從奴隸開始的命運，就永遠也無法靠自己的雙手來改變嗎？ 如果真的是這樣的話，那麼，百年之後，整個美國，會不會成為今天的底特律呢？ 非洲裔的大量進入，在汽車業蒸蒸日上的時候，為該地帶來了大量的勞力補充。對於一個氣候條件不怎麼好的地方來說，應該也是難得的事情。不幸的是，這些後來者，最終卻將早期在這裡謀生的大量白人給“驅逐”走了。現在的該市，已經多數是非洲裔居民了。長期的高犯罪率，已經讓這座曾經生機勃勃的城市，慢慢的變成了一座死城。新的投資者不敢注入資金，只是敢說話（唱高調）的當地“投資者”，又個個口袋空空。有點門路的，都想辦法溜之大吉，來個此地不留爺，自有留爺處。 底特律也面臨類似的結局。 讓人有點吃驚的是，很多加州的城市名列其中。離大名鼎鼎的加州柏克萊分校所在地不遠的奧克蘭，也一直名列其中。不過，一位在那附近最出租房投資的朋友告知說，離校區比較近的地方的投資的環境還不錯。可能是因為租金的吸引力，保住了比較高的地產價，讓治安環境得以保留在比較安全的水準上。 在奧克蘭，亞裔和西班牙裔，也在犯罪率方面做出了不小的“貢獻”。白人占據25.9%， 黑人占有27.3%在比例上是第一大族裔， 而亞裔人口也高達17%。所以說，美國的犯罪率高，看來，還不僅僅只是一個種族差異的問題，而是經濟差異產生的。 按照貝克的犯罪經濟學理論，人們犯罪，並不是因為人格壞，而是理性選擇的結果。這句話也在一個角度意味着：窮人就是“命賤”，為為了很多在富人看來很不值得的事情，而冒犯法律，違規違法。 確實是：我自己也曾經聽到過這樣的故事，有人因為毒癮上來，而可以為了區區100美元而殺人！並且是當着年幼孩子的面，槍殺孩子的母親！ 犯罪率高的地區，都有共同的特點：就業不佳，平均收入不高，文化水準不怎麼地，···。一句話，都是些不怎麼得意和得志的人在那裡過日子。我不是很能理解：為什麼他們就不能學學中國偷渡客的那種改變自己命運的精神，好好的博弈一回？！ 
連接： 鳳姐的“洗腳妹”畫面玷污了美國的美容業形象（附圖） The Most Dangerous Cities in America June 11, 2012 by 247wallst Today, the FBI announced that violent crime dropped 4% in 2011, compared to a 5.5% drop in 2010. Nationally, the murder rate fell 1.9% from 2010, and robbery, forcible rape and assault fell 4% each. However, among the cities with the highest violent crimes rates, the trend is not entirely positive. A 24/7 Wall St. review of 2011 FBI crime data shows that violent crime rose in more than half of the cities that have among the highest rates in the country. In seven of the 10 cities, murder rates increased. In eight of the 10, burglary went up. Strained budgets are forcing police layoffs that many cities cannot afford to make. More than half of local police departments that responded to a national survey reported cuts in the 2011 fiscal year, according to the Police Executive Research Forum, an organization of police executives from across the country. Many are cutting police forces through planned layoffs and attrition. More than half of the cities with the highest violent crime rates are cutting law enforcement budgets and police forces as well. However, unlike the national picture, the situation is worse for these cities, which depend on tax bases that are shrinking faster than most. The cities with the highest crime rates tend to have particularly high poverty rates, high unemployment and low median income. Two of the worst-off cities, Flint and Detroit, Mich., both have had well-publicized budget woes. Flint was taken over by an emergency city manager after failing to pay its bills in 2011. Detroit is facing similar budget problems and recently came to a temporary oversight agreement with the state. While PERF notes that budget cuts appear to be slowing in police departments in the United States, most departments are still cutting. According to the group’s April report on local police budgets, this includes many of the cities on this list. Oakland, Calif., cut its budget by 7% in the current fiscal year, with an additional 5% cut on the way, according to PERF. In the past two years, the city lost 80 police officers to layoffs and another 108 to attrition. This occurred despite increases in both violent and property crime in 2011. Similarly, while the Detroit Police Department reported no cuts for fiscal year 2012, the city is planning a 15% cut next year. Detroit also has one of the highest crime rates in the country. On its website, the FBI cautions against using crime data to compare city violence because rankings tend to be simplistic and ignore factors that influence crime, as well as the different ways crimes are measured and reported. “Data users should not rank locales because there are many factors that cause the nature and type of crime to vary from place to place,” the FBI warns. Congressional Quarterly, which publishes and analyzes FBI crime statistics each year, referred to crime rate in terms of the “safest” and “most dangerous” cities. However, the publication recently dropped the terms “safe” and “dangerous” due to the concerns of criminologists, Dr. Rachel Boba Santos told 24/7 Wall St. Despite these objections, Dr. Boba Santos said the data is useful to get a feel for the needs of a particular community and to look at a specific city’s trends on a year-over-year basis. She said the data also is used at the federal level to determine funding resources for different communities, comparing crime rates. Based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more with the highest rates of violent crime per 1,000 residents. Using the estimated populations and crime incidents from UCR, which measures incidents of eight types of violent and nonviolent crime for 2011, 24/7 Wall St. calculated the incidence of the four types of violent crime per 1,000 persons for that year: murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In addition to crime data, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed median income and poverty rates for these cities from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2010, the most recent available year. We also included average 2011 unemployment rates for these cities, provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are the 10 cities with the highest rates of violent crime. 10. Stockton, Calif.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 14.1
> Population: 295,136
> 2011 murders: 58
> Median income: $45,606
> Unemployment rate: 20.2% In 2010, Stockton had an unemployment rate of 18.4%, among the worst in the nation for large cities. In 2011, the labor market worsened and unemployment rose to 20.2%, well more than double the national average of 8.9% and the highest of any of the cities on this list. Violent crime rates also have worsened, increasing from 13.8 crimes per 1,000 people in 2010. Though Stockton has long had high crime rates, the 58 murders recorded in Stockton last year were an all-time record for the city. This month, to curb the increasing crime rates in the city, police decided to prioritize violent crime and to no longer respond to property crimes in the city unless certain criminal conditions were met. 9. Baltimore, Md.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 14.2
> Population: 626,848
> 2011 murders: 196
> Median income: $38,346
> Unemployment rate: 10.5% Baltimore managed to decrease its violent crime rate slightly from 14.6 per 1,000 in 2010 to 14.2 last year. This coincides with a 12% decrease in murders. However, Baltimore still has the sixth-highest homicide rate of any U.S. city with a population above 100,000. Baltimore’s murder rate has been dropping steadily, but with 341 forcible rape cases in 2011 and the 11th-highest aggravated assault rate in the country, many residents are victims. In 2010, Baltimore made plans to layoff 193 police due to budget cuts. 8. Atlanta, Ga.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 14.3
> Population: 425,533
> 2011 murders: 88
> Median income: $41,631
> Unemployment rate:12.1% Compared to most American cities, Atlanta has extremely high incidences of both violent and property crimes. The city’s 8.27 aggravated assaults per 1,000 people is one of the 10 highest rates among the country’s largest cities, as is the city’s 70.84 property crimes per 1,000 people. Atlanta also has one of the nation’s highest rates of motor vehicle theft, with a total of 5,371 incidents in the city last year. Vehicle theft likely will remain an issue throughout 2012 as well; in March almost 100 individuals were arrested as part of a single auto theft operation. 7. Birmingham, Ala.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 14.8
> Population: 213,258
> 2011 murders: 54
> Median income: $30,212
> Unemployment rate: 10.9% New on the list this year is Birmingham, which ranks among the top five cities in the U.S. for forcible rape and property crime rates. The city also has among the highest rates of burglary and larceny-theft. Like many other high crime cities, Birmingham has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, at 25.1%. Despite the rampant crime, officials announced last year that they planned to lay off 148 employees of the sheriff’s department in an effort to reduce the budget by $12.3 million. 6. Little Rock, Ark.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 14.9
> Population: 194,988
> 2011 murders: 37
> Median income: $44,415
> Unemployment rate: 7.2% Though Little Rock’s 2011 violent crime rate is down from 2010, when there were 15.2 violent crimes for every 1,000 people, in many ways the city’s crime rate has not truly improved. Although in 2010 there were only 25 murders in the city, in 2011 there were 37. Additionally, incidents of forcible rape increased from 149 to 161, while the number of property crime incidents increased by 708, or almost 5%. According to the Little Rock Police Department’s COMPSTAT reports, the total number of violent, property and arson crimes has experienced a net increase since 2001, although with slight declines in more recent years. 5. Memphis, Tenn.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 15.8
> Population: 652,725
> 2011 murders: 117
> Median income: $37,045
> Unemployment rate: 11.1% In 2011, Memphis defied the national trend of declining crime rates in major U.S. cities. The rate of violent crimes per 1,000 people increased, from 15.4 to 15.8. This was the product of increases in murders, which rose from 89 to 117 cases, and aggravated assault incidents, which rose by 100 cases. A rising unemployment rate, which grew 1.2% to 11.1% in 2011, likely has not helped to reduce criminal behavior. With a current budget deficit of $45 million, Mayor Wharton says he may need to consider “taking boots off the street,” by laying off members of the police force in the near future. 4. Oakland, Calif.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 16.8
> Population: 395,317
> 2011 murders: 104
> Median income: $49,190
> Unemployment rate: 15.6% Oakland historically has been among the most crime-ridden cities in California, with a violent crime rate this year of 16.8 per 1,000 people. There were 14 more murders in 2011 than in 2010, causing Oakland to maintain the ninth-highest murder rate in the country two years in a row. Oakland is the number one city for both robbery and motor vehicle theft rates in the country. Oakland city councilmember Desley Brooks, who wants to allocate $11 million in revenue to the police force, acknowledges the increased violent crime, saying, “we cannot ignore that we have had an increase in violent crime, and so we cannot continue to do the same thing the same way and expect that it’s going to be a different result.” 3. St. Louis, Mo.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 18.6
> Population: 320,454
> 2011 murders: 113
> Median income: $32,688
> Unemployment rate: 11.7% Although the total number of murders in the city has decreased by 31 since 2010, crime in St. Louis did not improve overall last year. Violent crime rates in St. Louis have risen dramatically, from 17.5 to 18.6 cases per 1,000 people. And the city’s murder rate is still the fourth highest in the nation, its robbery rate is the fifth highest in the nation and its aggravated assault rate is third highest in the nation. Despite these troubling facts, the St. Louis Police Department recently faced potentially drastic budget cuts, that may require the elimination of 100 street-patrolling officer positions through attrition. 2. Detroit, Mich.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 21.4
> Population: 713,239
> 2011 murders: 344
> Median income: $25,787
> Unemployment rate: 19.9% Long regarded as one of the poorest cities in the U.S., with a 32.3% poverty rate and nearly 20% unemployment in 2010, Detroit has the second-highest violent crime rate in the country. Homicide increased by 11% in 2011, while robbery and aggravated assault are fourth and second highest in the country, respectively. Nonviolent crime is also an issue, with burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson rates in the top 10 rankings in the country. Due to an 18% decrease in the budget, Detroit has begun taking steps to decrease police funding by introducing “Virtual Precincts.” The plan requires citizens to report crime to a call center because there are no police patrols between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. 1. Flint, Mich.
> Violent crimes per 1,000: 23.4
> Population: 102,357
> 2011 murders: 52
> Median income: $22,672
> Unemployment rate: 18.9% According to the FBI examined, no city with more than 100,000 residents had a higher violent crime rate than Flint. In 2011, there were 2,392 incidents of violent crime in Flint, which has a population just above 100,000. That same year, there were just 1,246 violent crimes in all 10 of the safest cities in America — which have 13 times as many residents as Flint among them. Flint has the second-highest murder rate and the highest rates of aggravated assault, burglary and arson in the nation. According to Flint Mayor Dayne Walling: “there are too many guns on the street and it’s easy for individuals with evil motives to take another human being’s life.” Though the violent crime has long been a problem in Flint, in 2010 the city laid off 20 of its 140 police officers, a decision that diminished both the police’s street presence and response times to crime. Michael B. Sauter, Douglas A. McIntyre, Ashley C. Allen, Alexander E. M. Hess, Lisa Nelson and Samuel Weigley 連接： 鳳姐的“洗腳妹”畫面玷污了美國的美容業形象（附圖） |
