Ruins Of Detroit, Michigan, United States

Although crime has declined significantly since the 1970s, the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the USA, while the chances are roughly 1 in 16 to be a victim of a property crime. The city had the sixth highest number of violent crimes among the twenty-five largest US cities in 2007. The rate of violent crime dropped 11 percent in 2008, though Wayne County Prosecutor questions the finding. The decline follows a national trend, while Police Commissioner William Dwyer implicates stepped up police initiatives for the drop. Neighborhoodscout.com reported a crime rate of 62.18 per 1000 residents for property crimes, and 16.73 per 1000 for violent crimes (compared to national figures of 32 per 1000 for property crimes and 5 per 1000 for violent crime in 2008)
The city's downtown is far safer by comparison with a 2006 study showing crime in downtown Detroit to be much lower than national, state and metro averages. According to a 2007 analysis, Detroit officials note that about 65 to 70 percent of homicides in the city were drug related.