As some U.S. cities saw their crime rates decline year over year, others saw them spike enough to land them on Law Street's list of most dangerous cities for the first time
Cities like Richmond, California, saw significant crime declines compared to a similar ranking released earlier this year. Others, like Lansing, Michigan, saw a surge in violent crime numbers that led to its first-ever appearance on the list.
Law Street looked at newly released numbers from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report for 2013. The site compiled numbers for four violent crimes including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
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The only cities considered were ones with populations between 100,000 and 200,000.
See if your town made the list below.
10. Richmond, California
Richmond's violent crime rate declined by 5 percent between 2012 and 2013 to 1,036 crimes per 100,000 people. The city was number 7 on last year's list.
9. Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont saw its murder rate climb from 10 per 100,000 people to 14 per 100,000 people between 2012 and 2013. Its violent crime rate overall stayed about the same at 1,037 crimes per 100,000 people. Photo credit: Wikimedia: R. Rothenberger
8. Lansing, Michigan
Lansing's violent crime rate jumped by 12 percent between 2012 and 2013 to 1,057 crimes per 100,000 people.Photo credit: Flickr: Michigan Municipal League
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7. Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson makes its first appearance on the list, coming in at number 7. Its violent crime rate ticked up by 2 percent to 1,072 crimes per 100,000 people. That's a small increase, but, as Law Street notes, many cities from last year's list saw their crime decline and that pushed Paterson into this year's edition.Photo credit: Wikimedia: Jared Kofsky/Placenj.com
6. Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts' murder rate doubled between 2012 and 2013 from about seven murders per 100,000 people to 14 per 100,000. The city's violent crime rate also went up by 5 percent to 1,089 crimes per 100,000 people.Photo credit: Flickr: JeromeG111
5. Springfield, Missouri
Springfield saw a big jump in violent crime between 2012 and 2013. The city's violent crime rate of 1,162 crimes per 100,000 people represents a 17 percent increase year over year. Law Street drills down into the numbers a bit more and discovers that much of the increase is due to a surge in the number of rapes, from 141 in 2012 to 281 in 2013. This is likely due to a broader definition of rape employed by the FBI in recent years.Photo credit: Wikimedia: Joelfun via Wikipedia
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4. Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is number four on the most violent small cities list and one of two cities in Connecticut to make the list. The city's violent crime ticked down by 11 percent to 1,179 crimes per 100,000 people in 2013.Photo credit: Flickr: Henk Sijgers
3. New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is still one of the most violent small cities in the country, but its violent crime rate of 1,254 crimes per 100,000 people is down 13 percent from 2012, according to Law Street.Photo credit: Wikipedia: Sage Ross
2. Rockford, Illinois
Rockford saw its murder rate go from 9 in 2012 to 19 in 2013 which helped make its violent crime rate one of the highest in the nation at 1,375 crimes per 100,000 people.Photo credit: Flickr: KicoX1
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1. Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock tops this year's list of the most dangerous small cities. With its violent crime rate ticking up 7 percent from 2012 to 1,315 crimes per 100,000 people, Little Rock shot up from number 5 on last year's list to number 1. One other key factor helped push Little Rock to the top -- Flint, Michigan would have remained number 1, but its population is 59 people shy of 100,000, Chelsey Goff of Law Street told The Huffington Post. Because of that, it couldn't be included on the list of cities with 100,000 to 200,000 people.Credit: Flickr: Nicolas Henderson
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