Most dangerous cities

Crime index*: 287.9
Population: 277,727

Newark endured a spike in violence last year that sent its tally of murders to 111, the most since 1990. Cutbacks in job training, affordable housing and education programs have hurt the local economy and left many jobless -- only adding to the problems.

State Senator Ronald Rice, a Newark resident since 1955, is leading an effort to try to turn things around. One big issue is police manpower. He said that because of budget issues, staffing levels are 700 to 900 below where they should be.

"The department is reactive rather than proactive," he said. "They're overworked and afraid to make a decision."

Better intelligence at the street level is needed to prevent crimes before they happen, he said.

First published February 3, 2014: 6:24 PM ET

Source: Source: CQ Press compiled this index using data reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Crime in the United States 2012." CQ Press notes that the FBI no longer ranks cities based on their crime statistics because each city reports crimes differently and some crimes go unreported, causing the index to be an unreliable indicator of crime. There are many factors that cause the nature and type of crime to vary from place to place.
*The crime index is a formula that takes into account the weighted average of six crime categories murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and property crimes of burglary and motor vehicle theft, as well as the population of the city. The national rate is 1 and any number higher than that indicates a higher than average incidence of crime. To read CQ Press' methodology, click here.
**List includes cities with populations of 75,000 or more.

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