America's top 5 deadliest cities

[Amp]

Wow, Louisiana had two:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/deadliest-u-s-cities

[RevolverRob]

Murder Rate - While a useful statistic, doesn't really encapsulate murder/homicide probability. The rate is just homicides-per-100,000 residents. This can artificially inflate the rates for smaller cities and artificially deflate the rates for larger ones.

That's the reason why Chicago, which had 516 homicides in 2019, didn't make the list, but Baton Rouge with 87 homicides did.

I'll also note that the article conflates murder with homicide. They are distinct, all murders are homicides, but not all homicides are murders.

If you correct for the distribution of homicides, which is not random, by adjusting the rate to reflect the populations of given neighborhoods/regions - you will discover that homicide rates are extremely high in certain areas, but very low in others. For instance, in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, there were 54 homicides in 2019, the population of that neighborhood is ~97.5k people. If we just use the standard per 100,000 people, the single neighborhood of Austin has a homicide rate higher than that of the city of Baltimore. The neighborhood of Austin is 7.16 square miles, the city of Baltimore is 92.5 square miles...That is an area that is about 1/12th the size of a city with a comparable murder rate...

By comparison the homicide rate in my neighborhood, which is also in Chicago, in 2019 that rate was 0 in 25,000....

[Rex G]

Obviously, it is the Mississippi River we should blame. Three of the top five cities are by the Mississippi River.

Actually, I am not joking. My wife just said that the presence of a deep, dark river is actually a known factor in homicidal behavior. She told me that an instructor taught this, in a class she attended. (My wife worked 21 years as a death scene investigator for the Harris County, Texas M.E.)

[blues]

We need some mood music to go with all this blood...

[OlongJohnson]

My wife just said that the presence of a deep, dark river is actually a known factor in homicidal behavior. She told me that an instructor taught this, in a class she attended. (My wife worked 21 years as a death scene investigator for the Harris County, Texas M.E.)

It's the mosquitoes, no doubt. They make every minute outdoors suck for people who attract them.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

Obviously, it is the Mississippi River we should blame. Three of the top five cities are by the Mississippi River.

Actually, I am not joking. My wife just said that the presence of a deep, dark river is actually a known factor in homicidal behavior. She told me that an instructor taught this, in a class she attended. (My wife worked 21 years as a death scene investigator for the Harris County, Texas M.E.)

That's really interesting. I wonder whether that's opportunistic - I can get rid of the body - or an actual psychological driver that draws the mind to dark places.

I would guess opportunistic but as a writer with a particular interest in exploring murderous urges, I prefer the latter.

[blues]

[Rex G]

That's really interesting. I wonder whether that's opportunistic - I can get rid of the body - or an actual psychological driver that draws the mind to dark places.

I would guess opportunistic but as a writer with a particular interest in exploring murderous urges, I prefer the latter.

I asked my wife if she remembered the instructor’s name, or the source material. She does not remember. It was some time in the Nineties, and the statement was was a conversational remark made during a lunch break, not actually part of the curriculum. The remark was about dreary, dirty areas near deep, dark rivers, and was actually spoken in St Louis.

Here, in the Houston, Texas area, there is no one large river, but plenty of bodies do end up in the numerous bayous. Buffalo Bayou was dredged, to be made large and deep enough for shipping, only as far the the Port Of Houston, so not nearly into the inner-city. The “ship channel area” was quite dangerous, in the Seventies/Eighties, but the greater Houston area has several really dangerous areas, which shift, over time.

[Dan_S]

That's really interesting. I wonder whether that's opportunistic - I can get rid of the body - or an actual psychological driver that draws the mind to dark places.

I would guess opportunistic but as a writer with a particular interest in exploring murderous urges, I prefer the latter.

Suicide rates tend to be higher in places with a lot of wind.

I think there’s something more than ‘opportunity’ in the mix there.

[mtnbkr]

Surprised Richmond wasn't on that list after last Monday's excitement.

Chris