How Dangerous is St. Louis

When the yearly “most dangerous city” rankings are released, St. Louis almost invariably ranks first. It is important to analyze the technique used to compile these rankings. When they compare cities, do they take the full Metropolitan Statistical Area into account or simply the limits of St. Louis?

Our city is separated from St. Louis County, inflating violent crime statistics in comparison to other metro regions, the majority of which do not have the same city-county barrier.

While St. Louis has a higher murder rate than other cities of comparable size, it is not the city with the highest rate of all forms of violent crime. According to the 2017 FBI Crime Report, there were more rapes in Cleveland and Cincinnati, while Cleveland's robbery rate is significantly higher than St. Louis'.

Another reason the city has such a stunning per capita rate is that though the population has decreased significantly, crime inside the city has remained relatively stable.

Additionally, the city's per capita crime rate likely remains high due to individuals who visit the city during the day but do not contribute to the population base. Consider downtown, where the per capita rate seems inflated since a large number of people visit on a daily basis or for nighttime activities, and large crowds often result in increased crime, but those individuals do not reside downtown.

If you're considering a vacation to St. Louis, the first thing you should know is that our city is safe and inviting to everybody. Indeed, St. Louis is as safe as any other large American city. When visiting any urban region, tourists must maintain vigilance and awareness of their surroundings by following basic, straightforward procedures to minimize their chances of being victims of crime.

Is it safe to visit St. Louis?

In general, St. Louis is no more dangerous than any other metropolitan location. Indeed, crime in St. Louis has decreased almost 50% in the last decade (see graph below). It is critical to recognize that the bulk of criminal activity happens within a few block segments, which account for the bulk of violent crime in St. Louis. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department monitors and reacts to these regions on a proactive basis, employing cutting-edge methods, tactics, and technology to ensure the safety of local residents and tourists. While attempting to make the whole city secure for tourists and residents, the police are concentrating their efforts on lowering crime in certain high-risk neighborhoods.

Why is St. Louis often ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States by the media?

Because some media outlets, in the sake of ratings and readership, seek to manipulate the yearly FBI Uniform Crime Reporting in order to compare citations, resulting in skewed, distorted, and meaningless crime rankings. The FBI, the Council of Mayors, and top criminologists all caution against comparing FBI statistics to other sources because of the varied and inconsistent geographic borders of American cities. Due to St. Louis City's limited physical limit in comparison to the much broader metro region, these rankings misinterpret the data and do not accurately portray crime in St. Louis. 

What efforts are being made in St. Louis to combat crime?

The Mayor, Downtown STL, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department have all taken several measures to combat crime in the downtown area. Along with additional patrols, St. Louis authorities are pursuing proactive measures to combat crime, including the following:

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