Memphis is #1 in Violent Crime

The Memphis metropolitan area, after coming in second last year, tops this year’s ranking of metro areas by the rate of violent crime.

The Memphis metropolitan area, after coming in second last year, tops this year’s ranking of metro areas by the rate of violent crime. The crimes included in the ranking are homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery.

In 2006, according to crime numbers released by the FBI, the eight-county Memphis metropolitan area recorded 1,262.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the nation.

Last year, the Florence, S.C., metropolitan statistical area had the highest violent crime rate in the country.

The Memphis metro area includes Crittenden County in Arkansas, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate and Tunica counties in Mississippi, and Fayette, Shelby, Tipton counties in Tennessee.

But the people are concentrated in Memphis and Shelby County. And so far in 2007, violent crimes inside the Memphis city limits have dropped by about 7 percent, according to Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin.

Other nearby cities didn’t fare well either on the FBI numbers this year: the Little Rock metro area registered 905.5 violent crimes per 100,000; Nashville-Davidson MSA had 857.7.

Jackson, Miss., was well down the list with 456 violent crimes per 100,000.

See below for some notable cities.

1. Memphis 1,262.7
2. Sumter, S.C. 1,244.0
3. Shreveport, La. 1,187.9
4. Florence, S.C. 1,160.6
5. Saginaw, Mich. 1,089.8
6. Alexandria, La. 1,067.4
7. Gainesville, Fla. 934.1
8. Anchorage, Alaska 932.3
9. Flint, Mich. 929.6
10. Salisbury, Md. 907.6
12. Little Rock 905.5
13. Jackson, Tenn. 879.2
20. Nashville 857.7
59. Chattanooga 599.5
74. Jonesboro, Ark. 561.9
106. Knoxville 513.5
131. Jackson, Miss. 456.1