Dayton ranked top 5 deadliest city in US: report (Cleveland, Cincinnati: violent crime, house)

[mike1003]

https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news...-in-us-report/

5. Dayton
4. Detroit
3. Birmingham
2. Baltimore
1. St. Louis
In addition to Dayton, Ohio had 4 other cities show up on the list, including:
10. Cleveland
19. Cincinnati
49. Akron
57. Toledo

This surprised me. Higher than Cincinnati?

[ohio_peasant]

It surprised me as well.

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of Dayton, or an advocate for its welfare. But even for me, the placement of the city so prominently on such a list of ignominy, feels unfair. It feels like a vindictive and gratuitous condemnation of a city that is already in a weak and vulnerable position.

[SlideRules99]

FYI, if you read the source study, they used FBI crime data from 2019. That data set seems like ancient news, given all that’s transpired nationally since then (pandemics, police defunding, etc…), with the associated crime surges in various parts of the country.

I haven’t seen up-to-date crime stats, but evidently Dayton’s homicide rate plunged by 38% from 2020 to 2021.

<<There were 30 murders or nonnegligent manslaughters recorded in the city in 2021, a 38% decrease from the previous year, according to Dayton Police statistics. Other violent crimes such as robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults are also down.

“We still have a long way to go but I was pleased to see that reduction in our numbers,” Dayton Police Major Brian Johns said.>>

https://www.daytondailynews.com/crim...OOEP4I2WMDRYA/

Also, keep in mind Dayton’s population is much smaller than most cities on that list. Even small swings in the raw number of murders amplify the murder RATE (per capita) statistics (for better and for worse), more so than big cities with larger baseline denominators.

These news articles are fine, but reading the fine print of the source study is important, IMO.

Up-to-date, localized crime stats are a much better barometer of safety.

[woxyroxme]

I take that with a grain of salt, Cincinnati has double the population but triple the homicides if you follow the 2022 City and Metro Homicides thread in the city vs. city subforum on this site.

[Srszee]

And let's take a look at those crimes--drug deals gone bad, gang on gang violence, drug overdoses, etc. The same with any city, really. Just "living," like being in your home, going to the store, enjoying entertainment--you're just as safe as anywhere else.

[joe from dayton]

As noted above, you really need to look deeper than just raw numbers. That doesn't mean that the crimes aren't happening, but it helps put them in context. Random people aren't being gunned down at 3rd and Main just because it is Dayton.

[TomJones123]

Man. I used to live in Dayton, on the border of Twin Towers and Linden Heights, with my home being on the Twin Towers side. Inner city Dayton does have the crime they are talking about. It's not fantasy.

1 - My barber, who also lived in east Dayton, had his grill stolen while he was cooking steaks on it in broad daylight on a saturday afternoon.

2, I caught a guy burglarizing my neighbors home broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon. My home had a shed roof over the back deck and I was waterproofing it where it meets the house. Looked over at my neighbors house to see a tatted up dude coming out the backdoor that didnt live there...He had Amber's TV in his arms and dropped in her trash can and threw a few more handfulls of stuff in there and took the trash can and rolled it down the alley past my house. I told him I had his descriptiton and was reporting it to the police and of course he cursed me out. Well, the cops caught him and I wound up testifying against him at his preliminary hearing. Turns out he was part of a burglary ring that operated out of Green County. He rolled on his buddies and got 4 years in prison, while his friends got 10, 20 year sentences.

3, Ive lived in NYC and LA...way larger way more crime. Closest I ever came to being robbed was in Dayton. I was working off North Main off Fairview Ave. After I left work I was trying to cut over to Salem Ave and tried to cut across Victor Ave to do it...Victor was barricaded off with those concrete barriers the city put in place to stop crime. Well, I turned around to leave and had two cars try and curb me. That's where one car gets right on your bumper and the other tries to come around beside you and pull in front forcing you into the curb...well I could see what they were trying to do and I stopped on the gas and out ran them...had to run stop signs and traffic lights but I got away.

Dayton proper is a rough city. It has a high murder rate per capita and in Dayton proper there are very little employment opportunities. The city itself us held up by the Dayton Metro which is relatively strong. There are PLENTY of areas around Dayton that are pleasant, safe, family oriented, vibrant, and desireable to live. So Im not bashing Dayton. I know the city like the back of my hand. Love St Annes Hill, Huffman Historic District, Linden Heights, South Park, Oregon District, McPherson Town, Five Oaks, Grandview....etc. Theres a lot of really cool stuff tucked away in Dayton and I do love the city and still go there from time to time. Moved to Cincinnati in 2011, where I live now.

Is Cincinnati more dangerous? I would say there are areas that are just as bad as Daytons crappy areas, Santa Clara and North Main being at the top of the list for Dayton crappy areas. Cincinnati is larger and has more crime most definately but the stats get lost in a larger population. To be fair, Lower Price Hill, East Price Hill, East Westwood, section of Avondale, etc are just as busted and crime ridden. I think the biggest difference between Cincy and Dayton lies in opportunity. Cincy has a lot of job opportunities of someone wants to get out the street life and work. There's also a lot of help in place for the homeless downtown, OTR, etc.

But at the same time, Dayton has it's crime issues, they are very real. Heck I remember when Kroger closed their store out on Gettysburg because of the crime. Does that mean the entire metro is busted? Nah....it's a really cool metro.

[notnamed]

As someone who lived in Dayton for over a decade I'm surprised anyone that lives there would be surprised by this.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by notnamed

As someone who lived in Dayton for over a decade I'm surprised anyone that lives there would be surprised by this.

Really good point...Dayton crime is no mystery to residents.

[Natural510]

To me, “deadliest” would include not only crime, but life expectancy due to drug & alcohol abuse, poor nutrition & healthcare access/competence, as well as violence. And the Dayton area certainly would rank highly in all those factors.