Look What Missouri City is 2nd Worst in the Nation for Property Crime

There's an article out today on MSN ranking the cities with the highest and lowest rates of property crime.

20 Cities With the Highest and Lowest Rates 

of Property Crime

And a Missouri city is in the 2nd to worst spot on it.

And it's not St. Louis.

And it's not Kansas City.

It is, however the "Queen City of the Ozarks."

2. Springfield, Mo.

Population: 168,307
Property crimes per 1,000 people: 74.88

So much for the stereotype of Midwest towns as safe, sleepy places. In Springfield, the property crime rate is more than eight times higher than of the city with the lowest property crime rate.

Springfield, unfortunately, isn’t alone in the neighborhood, if it can make them feel any better. Not that far away Little Rock, Arkansas is 4th worst in the nation.

4. Little Rock, Ark.

Population: 198,800
Property crimes per 1,000 people: 63.23

Most of the cities with high property crime rates aren’t necessarily prone to violent crime. However, Little Rock is the exception. Reviews.org says its analysis found the Arkansas capital would be a contender for a spot on a top-10 list of violent crime as well.

What’s truly odd is the city is in the number one slot.

1. Salt Lake City, Utah

Population: 193,918
Property crimes per 1,000 people: 75.4

Can you believe it? Salt Lake City, capital of Utah and home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka the Mormon Church), has the highest property crime rate in the country according to Reviews.org. There were 75.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents in 2016.

I thought those Mormons were law-abiding and had everything under control out West. Clearly wrong here.

The great news?

Kansas City is nowhere on the list.

Have a great weekend, y'all.

Fascinating, Even Surprising, Fantastic Information From “Most Violent Cities” List

There is an article just out today with fascinating statistics from the FBI on crime in the US, in our cities and which of them have the most violent crime per 100,000 residents.

FBI data reveals some of the most violent cities in nearly every state

There are some surprises on it, at least to me.

Little old Topeka, Kansas is on the list at number 32 with 29.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

Omaha, too, is at number 30 on the list with 31.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

Minneapolis is on the list at number 12 w/ 23.7 violent crimes per 10,000 people.

Tulsa at number 14 with 50.9 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.

Little Rock, Arkansas on the list at a scary, depressing #4 w/ 87.4 violent crimes per 10,000.

Our own St. Louis, however, is on the list and at a depressing #3 w/ 91.5 violent crimes per 10,000.

Memphis hit #2 and poor Baltimore, Maryland is at number 1 with 98.6 violent crimes per 10,000.

But here’s the kicker, Kansas City.


We aren’t on the list.


We aren’t even on the list.


Not Kansas City, Missouri.

Not Kansas City, Kansas.

Neither one.

It gets better, too.

We're not in the top 20 worst.

Not in the top 10.

Not the top 5.

Nothing.

So kudos to you, Kansas City. Great on you, great on us.

Don’t let some blogger in his mother’s basement scare you, folks, with ALL CAPITOL LETTERS and yellow journalism tactics.

We’re not going to Hell in any handbasket.

Horrible List Kansas City Makes

I saw this new list yesterday and yes, unfortunately, Kansas City is on it.

50 Worst American Cities to Live In 

- 24/7 Wall St.

We're 49 out of 50, sure, but still, we're on it.

Dangit.

49. Kansas City

Population: 151,261
Median home value: $87,600
Poverty rate: 22.2%
Pct. with at least a bachelor’s degree: 16.3%

While low property values can help make homeownership a reality for financially insecure individuals, cheap housing is more often indicative of a weak economy and poor living conditions -- and this appears to be the case in Kansas City. The typical home in the city is worth just $87,600, far less than the $194,500 national median home value.

Relative to the size of its population, Kansas City has very few amenities and attractions that might enrich the lives of residents. There are fewer bars, libraries, recreational centers, museums, and hotels per capita in Kansas City than there are in the U.S. as a whole. There are just 120 restaurants per 100,000 Kansas City residents, among the fewest food establishments per capita of any U.S. city.

Ow. Really. That hurts, just being on the list.

But it could be worse. 

We could be Little Rock Arkansas at number 26 or Fort Smith, also Arkansas, at 24.

Missouri wasn’t done there, either, unfortunately. Springfield hit a very high number 12, nearly making the top 10 worst cities to live in.  Wow.

12. Springfield, Missouri

Population: 166,798
Median home value: $113,500
Poverty rate: 24.1%
Pct. with at least a bachelor’s degree: 28.0%

Few cities have a greater crime problem than Springfield, Missouri. The city’s annual violent crime rate of 1,356 incidents per 100,000 residents is more than three times the national violent crime rate of 373 per 100,000. Springfield’s property crime rate, at 7,795 incidents per 100,000 people, is also over three times the national property crime rate and the third highest of the 551 cities reviewed.

High crime in a city often coincides with high poverty in a somewhat circular cause and effect. Springfield’s poverty rate of 24.1% is nearly 10 percentage points greater than the national poverty rate.

Not done there, St. Louis does, in fact, break that top ten, even making the top 5 worst cities.

4. St. Louis

Population: 315,685
Median home value: $130,800
Poverty rate: 24.9%
Pct. with at least a bachelor’s degree: 34.7%

St. Louis is representative of the economic decline that afflicted many large industrial cities over the latter part of the 20th century. Decades of manufacturing decline, white flight, and exclusionary zoning in St. Louis have led to some of the worst urban decay, racial segregation, and income inequality of any major city today. Some 24.9% of St. Louis residents live in poverty, far more than the 14.7% national figure. St. Louis has struggled with a high crime rate since the 1960s and today has the highest violent crime rate of any U.S. city. There were 1,817 violent crimes reported per 100,000 St. Louis residents in 2015, nearly five times the national rate.

Many of the economic problems in St. Louis are tied to the city’s rapid population decline. The city’s population is less than half of what it was during its 1950 peak of 860,000 people, and it continues to decline today. While the U.S. population grew 11.5% over the last 10 years, the number of residents in St. Louis fell 5.4%.

We have to do better, folks.

Missouri Makes a Very Dark List

Wow.

Missouri not only made the top, worst 10 on a new survey of the 50 states in America, it actually made the top, worst 5.

America's 10 worst states to live in 2017 

- CNBC.com

"These are the 10 worst states in the US for quality of life, including crime, health, social tolerance and the environment."

So check out what they say about our own Show Me state:

5. MISSOURI

Show Me how to stay safe in Missouri, where violent crime in all categories has been rising, in some cases by double digits. Missouri also lacks statewide protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, marital status, and gender identity. And the state is near the bottom for public health funding.

2017 Quality of Life score: 99 out of 300 points
Weaknesses: Crime rate, health, inclusiveness
Strength: Attractions
2016 Quality of Life rank: No. 49

Note that last statistic, too.  2016 Quality of Life rank:  49.  Out of 50, of course. Only one state worse than us, whoever that is. 

Even on this list, we're worse than Mississippi, for God's sake. 

WORSE THAN MISSISSIPPI.

Let that sink in.

I know I personally take no comfort whatever in learning that neighbor state to the South, Arkansas, is ranked 4th worst or that, again, neighbor state Oklahoma is ranked number 3.

We should no way be on this list. This is horrible.

We must do better. We have to.

And we start by getting Republicans out of public office.

Let's get started.

Notes on "America's Most Dangerous Cities"

The online blog site, 24/7 came out with their annual list of "America's Most Dangerous Cities" at the end of last month, and it's pretty interesting. Their data is compiled from the FBIs own list. There some interesting points in and on it, worth noting.

Let's start with a bit of their overall data:

24/7 Wall St. reviewed violent crime rates in major U.S. cities from the FBI’s 2015 Uniform Crime Report. Violent crime includes all offenses involving force or threat of force and are broken into four categories: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. For every 100,000 U.S. residents, 372 of these crimes were committed in 2015.
Then, some notes.

First, unfortunately---and no surprise, really---Kansas City is on it. Second thing to note about it, we were in the top ten, too.

10. Kansas City, Missouri
> Violent crimes per 100,000: 1,417.3
> 2015 murders: 109
> Poverty rate: 19.4%
> Unemployment rate: 5.5%

While the nationwide violent crime rate rose by 3.9% in 2015, the increase in Kansas City was far more dramatic. With homicide and aggravated assault rates surging, the city reported a 14.4% spike in violent crime last year. Crime in the city is up even more from five years ago. The city’s violent crime rate increased by 21.2% from 2011 through 2015, even as the nationwide rate declined by 0.7% over that period.

Not good.

In fact, we, Kansas City, were worse on this list than Washington, DC (15), Indianapolis, Indiana (13) and Stockton, California (12).  That hurts.

Next thing to note about the list is that Missouri gets hit pretty hard. We are on the list three different times.

Then on to this note from the list, our own Springfield, Missouri, "Queen City of the Ozarks", followed as close as could be at number 11 on the list.

11. Springfield, Missouri
> Violent crimes per 100,000: 1,355.6
> 2015 murders: 10
> Poverty rate: 26.4%
> Unemployment rate: 4.3%

Crime rates tend to be higher in economically depressed areas where opportunities are scarce. In Springfield, Missouri, more than one-quarter of area residents live in poverty, one of the highest poverty rates in the country. After spiking by 73.2% over the five years through 2015 — the second highest increase of any major U.S. city — Springfield’s violent crime rate is the 11th highest in the country. In 2015, there were 179 rapes for every 100,000 residents, the highest incidence of rape in the country.

In fact, along with Missouri's Springfield, there were two more on the list. Springfields Illinois, at number 23 and Massachussetts at 21. I guess that all comes from it being such a common name in this country, maybe.

Next note, right next door in Arkansas, little old Little Rock comes in at number 9, higher and so, worse than Kansas City. Who'd have guessed?

Which brings us to our last point (points?) and the highest, worst ranking of all the most dangerous cities in America this year, at this time.  It ain't good, Missouri.

1. St. Louis, Missouri
> Violent crimes per 100,000: 1,817.1
> 2015 murders: 188
> Poverty rate: 27.8%
> Unemployment rate: 6.1%

Including 188 homicides, there were 5,762 violent crimes in St. Louis in 2015. Adjusting for population, the city’s murder and violent crime rates, at 59 murders and 1,817 per 100,000 city residents, are each the highest in the country. The number of violent crimes reported in St. Louis increased by 7.7% last year, faster than the national uptick of 3.9%. Over the last five years, however, the incidence of violent crime is down by 3.2%.

Yes sir, good ol' St. Lou.  

Not Detroit. Heck, not even Chicago.  In fact, check out the list, folks. Chicago isn't even on the list (it's too large a city for this study).

It's not looking good for us, danger-wise, Missourians. Heck, remember this study, that came out in 2012?

Missouri: 

Ranked one of the "Most Depressing States"

We have to work on our safety and image, folks. These are some pretty awful lists.

The American Hellhole That Is Donald Trump's America

Bill Maher has it correct.



Have a great weekend, y'all.

You Didn't Make the List, Kansas City!

Congratulations, Kansas City!  You didn't make the list!

America's Most Segregated Cities

I thought sure we'd be on here but we're not, thank goodness. Segregated and separated as we are, and by law, at the time, we aren't one of the worst.

As it turns out, however, St. Louis is, so Missouri didn't get left out. And the statistics are pretty brutal.

6. St. Louis, MO-IL
> Black ppl. in black neighborhoods: 42.2%
> Black population: 18.2%
> Black poverty rate: 29.7%
> White poverty rate: 9.0%

The St. Louis region earned a national spotlight in the summer of 2015 when Michael Brown, a black teenager, was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, sparking protests across the nation. Ferguson is a predominantly black neighborhood — and Brown’s death is inseparable from racial segregation in the area. One of the most damaging effects of residential segregation is funding disparities between neighboring school districts. Because property taxes play such a large role in school funding, well-off communities often
have an interest in keeping poor areas separate.

Instead of one, St. Louis has 24, quite disparate school districts. This August, water fountains in 30 predominantly black St. Louis public schools were shut down due to lead contamination. Some of the area’s wealthiest communities with some of the best-funded schools are less than 20 miles away, and with state-of-art facilities, have reliable clean water.

As is common in large metro areas — not just the most segregated — the poverty rate among black St. Louis residents, at nearly 30%, is approximately three times the poverty rate among the area’s white residents.

The St. Louis region earned a national spotlight in the summer of 2015 when Michael Brown, a black teenager, was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, sparking protests across the nation. Ferguson is a predominantly black neighborhood — and Brown’s death is inseparable from racial segregation in the area. One of the most damaging effects of residential segregation is funding disparities between neighboring school districts. Because property taxes play such a large role in school funding, well-off communities often have an interest in keeping poor areas separate.

Instead of one, St. Louis has 24, quite disparate school districts. This August, water fountains in 30 predominantly black St. Louis public schools were shut down due to lead contamination. Some of the area’s wealthiest communities with some of the best funded schools are less than 20 miles away, and with state-of-art facilities, have reliable clean water.

As is common in large metro areas — not just the most segregated — the poverty rate among black St. Louis residents, at nearly 30%, is approximately three times the poverty rate among the area’s white residents.

So you see, it's not just about people of different colors being separated. It's about opportunities and jobs and education, right on down to wealth, certainly. Segregation becomes about perpetuating both wealth and poverty.

And that's just wrong. 

Links:

How segregation creates chronic unemployment, 

poverty traps, and crime

The Effect of Segregation on Crime Rates

Poverty and Crime: Breaking a Vicious Cycle of Discrimination

Lead In Water: What Are The Health Effects And Dangers?

Why lead is so dangerous for children

The United States of America?

It hurts, of course, that there's any truth to this:

Kansas City, St. Louis and Missouri not on a good list

The FBI's latest murder rate list came out and St. Louis and Kansas City, specifically and so, Missouri, in general, don't come out looking very good. The list?

These Are The Major U.S. Cities With The Highest Murder Rates, According To The FBI

Check out number 10: Kansas City, Missouri
Allan Baxter via Getty Images

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter rate per 100,000 people: 21

Total murders and non-negligent manslaughters: 99

Violent crime rate per 100,000 people: 1,260

Total violent crimes: 5,864

Population: 465,514

All data from FBI's 2013 Uniform Crime Report.

To lick our collective wounds on the West side of the state, here's St. Lou---

No. 4

Byron Jorjorian via Getty Images

And their rather lamentable stats:

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter rate per 100,000 people: 38

Total murders and non-negligent manslaughters: 120

Violent crime rate per 100,000 people: 1,594

Total violent crimes: 5,077

Population: 318,563

All data from FBI's 2013 Uniform Crime Report.

Note, only one other state had two cities on the ignominious list (and that was Louisiana).

Missouri, it's starting to suck to be you, kiddo.

Any ideas, citizens of Missouri? Solutions, anyone?

FBI's "Most Dangerous States": Good news/bad news

An organization, Law Street, analyzed the FBI's data on America's crime and came up with their list of

America's Most Dangerous States

Let's please note, first, that crime is down in the country, before we go any further, just to tamp down the paranoia and emotionalism. That said, the good news is that

MISSOURI IS NOT IN THE TOP 10 WORST STATES!

Yahoo!

I wasn't quite sure if we'd make it or not. Fortunately, it/we came out better, anyway.

The bad news?

We are ranked the unlucky 13th worst. A link to the statistics:

Missouri: #13 Most Dangerous State 2014

Far less populated Kansas?

Kansas: #22 Most Dangerous State 2014

Still fairly high 22 but so it goes.

We's do luvs us sum gunz, we Amerikunz, don' we?

The safest state?

Maine, followed by Vermont and New Hampshire.

The Northeast.  Where they also have higher education rates.

Go figure.

New Facebook page for the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime

Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks posted on his Facebook page today they have a new page there for their  Ad Hoc Group Against Crime.

You can find that here: 

Ad Hoc Group Against Crime

KCMO: Sweet 16 on "25 Most Dangerous Cities"

I've always appreciated the fact that, when a list of the top 10 most dangerous cities was released, Kansas City wasn't on it.

So far, anyway.

But expand that list to 25 and we just can't miss, dangit. It happens to be one of the top stories on Yahoo! News right now.

From the FBI's compilation of crime statistics in the nation:

16. Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City reported 1,200 violent crimes per 100,000.

The city also reported 57.4 forcible rapes per 100,000, more than twice the national average of 26.8 forcible rapes per 100,000 people.

At least we're not St. Louis (number 3) or, heaven forbid, Detroit and its environs (numbers 1 and 2 when you take in top-ranked, nearby Flint, Michigan).

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-25-most-dangerous-cities-in-america.html

Once again, Kansas City, thank our stars we aren't Detroit

From the news online:

Enter At Your Own Risk: Police Union Says ‘War-Like’ Detroit Is Unsafe For Visitors

From the story:

DETROIT (WWJ) – The men and women of the Detroit Police Department believe the city is too dangerous to enter, and they want citizens to know it.

Detroit Police Officer Association (DPOA) Attorney Donato Iorio said officers are holding the “Enter At Your Own Risk” rally at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in front of Comerica Park to remind the public that the officers are overworked, understaffed, and at times, fearful for their lives.

That bad. It's that bad.

Chicago's murder rate is through the roof, St. Louis has far worse crime than us and now this--the Detroit Police Department's Union doesn't recommend you go into the city.

I gotta' say, I'm feeling much better now.

Link: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/06/enter-at-your-own-risk-police-union-says-war-like-detroit-is-unsafe-for-visitors/

Goldman Sachs: Getting away with grand larceny, lies and lying about it all

It's been widely reported now that Goldman Sachs is, indeed and in fact, getting away with theft--large scale theft, at that:

Goldman Sachs Won't Be Prosecuted In Fraud Probe

A Senate panel found last year that Goldman Sachs marketed four sets of complex mortgage securities to banks and other investors, but failed to tell clients the securities were very risky. The Justice Department said the "burden of proof to bring a criminal case" could not be met.

And while this should surprise no one, however much it dissappoints us, the following has to be acknowleded:

First, Goldman Sachs is in the White House and has been for some years. Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, comes from there as former CEO, no less, in one of the worst examples and there are plenty of others.

Second, it's an election year and this president--and all candidates for that office--want and need the big Wall Street firms on their side, if not also putting money in their campaign coffers. It seems clear nothing was going to happen here, no matter what the SEC found.

That said, perhaps the people examining this huge firm should go back and read even just some of writer Matt Taibbi's articles and columns over at Rolling Stone. It seems there's enough evidence in them alone to indict the company in general and specific employees of the firm. (See links below).

Forget that Goldman Sachs paid a $550 million fine (that's a little over one-half billion dollars, folks) to the SEC in 2010 for fraud in the subprime mortgage debacle. Forget that. That doesn't really mean they're guilty, right?

As if this all isn't enough to make you cynical, get this, from the New York Times: "News of the settlement sent Goldman’s shares 5 percent higher in after-hours trading, adding far more to the firm’s market value than the amount it will have to pay in the settlement."

So not only did Goldman steal millions of dollars from people and not only did they then also lie about it but when their fine of $550 million dollars was handed out, since it was such a small share of the $13.35 billion profits they made the previous year, their stock actually went up on that news.

They won.

They won big and they keep winning.

Why wouldn't you keep winning when, after all, you virtually--if not actually--own the government?

We have to also forget that the financial collapse that Goldman Sachs and Countrywide Mortgage and Citibank (or Sh*ttybank, as Bill Maher refers to them, rather appropriately) and others nearly brought the nation--and the world, actually--to very near total financial collapse back in 2008 with their lies and theft. Forget that.

The government says we don't have enough to prosecute.

Right.

Got it.

Links: http://www.npr.org/2012/08/10/158547458/business-news

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Geithner

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-people-vs-goldman-sachs-20110511

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/business/16goldman.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405

Long, hot Summer?

A friend wrote this today on his Facebook page. I had written something similar to it some time back:

"I feel it in my gut it's gonna be a hot summer, with occupy protests , crime, an ugly election cycle, possible world economic turmoil, tears, laughter , presidente, guiness, musica, bad rap blasting, good hip hop, great movies, commercial crap, hot sex, beaches, fun nights...and hot days and hurricanes....prepare for the ride..."

Here's hoping for sanity.

Lots of sanity.

And reason.

The GPS "avoid crime neighborhoods" app

Just as I wrote here a few days ago, this article came out last evening: Microsoft's 'avoid ghetto' app: 'Racist'? A new technology designed to help pedestrians avoid bad neighborhoods has plenty of smartphone users up in arms A new Microsoft technology that may help users avoid "unsafe neighborhoods" is generating controversy and eliciting claims of "racist undertones." Here, a brief guide to what's been dubbed the "avoid ghetto" app..." To the programmers---and white people it might appeal to--I'm sure they'd say no, absolutely not. Link: http://news.yahoo.com/microsofts-avoid-ghetto-app-racist-114300129.html

"Preventive detention"? From a former Constitutional Law Professor?

Are you freaking kidding me? This from a constitutional law professor? No proof of guilt first? No trial by jury?

Want to follow corruption in your state government?

Want the latest on corruption in state government? Follow the Corruption News Blog from the State Integrity Investigation, their collaboration with PRI Public Radio International and Global Integrity. Link: http://www.stateintegrity.org/corruption_news_blog

Another movie that needs to be made: Meyer Lansky

I first heard the name Meyer Lansky when most other Americans probably heard it first, too--in "The Godfather" movie. Having just seen the 3rd and final segment of the "Prohibition" series on PBS, I learned a bit more about him and how he got his start in the early part of the 1900's, bootlegging booze. From there, it was a natural extension, especially once prohibition was repealed--and as the show said, they had learned so much in how to do it--that he and his associates would begin a "National Crime Syndicate" or Mafia, here in the US. As an example, I found that Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano were lifelong friends. Meyer Lansky is either played/represented by someone or mentioned in no less than 7 rather big, American films. (If you go to the Wikipedia link below on Meyer Lansky, you'll likely understand more details from "The Godfather" than you might otherwise. Besides, it's a great read). One movie, "Lansky" came out in 1999 for TV but it fizzled--Richard Dreyfuss, of all people, portrayed him. Finally, he's in or mentioned in at least 5 TV shows and referenced in at least 8 books. A year before he died, "in September 1982, Forbes listed him as one of the 400 wealthiest people in America. His net worth was estimated at $100 million." Think about it. This would have to make for one great story and in the meantime tell a great deal about this country, too. Here's hoping. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_Lansky

Someone make a movie on the Kansas City mob

As I wrote last evening, I just finished the 3rd and final segment of the PBS' "Prohibition" series and found it fascinating. What was additionally interesting was the mention, now and again, of the scene in Kansas City and the "National Crime Syndicate" or "mob" that grew out of prohibition. It seems to me the time has come--and it would be a great, great story--if someone, somewhere would finally make a movie--maybe a series on HBO?--on the Kansas City mob. It's rich as heck. It's not Chicago or New York by a long shot but it's known KC was a "wide open" town and the people that created it also colored it very strongly and vividly. As an example, go to the Wikipedia link, below, click on it and read just a little bit about John Lazio and Charles Binaggio. And those are but two of the people involved. Check out some of the other names of people from this era: William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano, Sr., Anthony "Tiger" Cardarella, Charles V. "Charley The Wop" Carollo, Carl "Cork" Civella, Frank DeMayo, Charles "Mad Dog" Gargotta, Anthony "Tony" Gizzo, Nicolo Impostato, Gaetano Lococo and Peter Simone. And then, how did all this work with Tom Pendergast. (Hopefully they wouldn't put TOO much emphasis on Tom and his brother). Fascinating stuff. This, along with the separate story of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art--another, fascinating story that should be filmed and told--make for fantastic reading, let alone viewing, I think. Any takers? Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Binaggio; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lazia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobsters_by_city: http://www.onewal.com/w-binagg.html