For release
Friday December 22, 2000. Contact Scott Morgan, 785-841-3534 or e-mail at info@morganquitno.com For release
Friday December 22, 2000. Contact Scott Morgan, 785-841-3534 or e-mail at info@morganquitno.com
Amherst, New York is America’s Safest City
Detroit, Michigan Comes in Last — Again
Lawrence, KS—Amherst, New York is back in the spotlight as America’s Safest City. Moving up from its #2 ranking in last year’s competition, Amherst has roared back, finding itself solidly in first place once again. The seventh annual Safest Cities Award, which compares crime in 322 cities, was announced today by Morgan Quitno Press, a Lawrence, Kansas-based publishing and research company. At the opposite end of the scale, Detroit, Michigan earns the dubious distinction as the nation’s most dangerous city for the second consecutive year.
“This marks the third time in four years that Amherst has earned the #1 ranking in our annual Safest Cities competition,” said Scott Morgan, President of Morgan Quitno. “With no murders, the fourth lowest rape rate, the tenth lowest robbery rate and the fifth lowest aggravated assault rate, Amherst has one of the lowest violent crime rates of any city.”
The Morgan Quitno Safest City Award is based on a city’s rate for six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. Explanation of methodology and full details at www. morganquitno.com/safecity.htm.) All cities of 75,000+ populations that reported crime data to the FBI for the six crime categories were included in the rankings and each of the six crimes were given equal weight. Final 1999 statistics were used in determining the rankings.
Rounding out the top five behind Amherst are Mission Viejo, California; Brick Township, New Jersey; last year’s winner, Newton, Massachusetts and Simi Valley, California. Joining Detroit at the more dangerous end of the Morgan Quitno crime scale are Atlanta, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Flint, Michigan and Camden, New Jersey.
In addition to ranking the safety of cities, Morgan Quitno also examines the overall safety of metropolitan areas. In those rankings, Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin beat out 251 other metropolitan areas and is the winner of the Safest Metropolitan Area Award. Bringing up the rear of the metropolitan area rankings for the fourth year in a row is Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
The seventh annual Safest City and Metropolitan Area rankings are announced in the 7th edition of City Crime Rankings, a newly published, updated annual reference book from Morgan Quitno Press. The Safest City and Metropolitan Area rankings are one of four Morgan Quitno Awards announced annually by the publishing company. These other annual announcements designate the nation’s Most Livable State; the Healthiest State; and the Safest and Most Dangerous State.
Additional information on these awards, plus rankings for each of the 322 cities and 252 metropolitan areas considered for the Safest City and Metropolitan Area Awards, are available from Morgan Quitno Press via the Internet at www.morganquitno.com or by calling 785-841-3534.
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