By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
ST. LOUIS – City officials are again decrying an annual report that consistently ranks the city of St. Louis as one of the most dangerous in the country.
St. Louis again led CQ Press's crime rankings, beating out Camden, N.J., which led the list last year. CQ Press found St. Louis had more than 2,000 crimes per 100,000 residents, well above the national average of about 430 violent crimes for 100,000 residents.
The FBI has in the past said its crime numbers should not be used the way CQ Press does to develop the rankings. The U.S Conference of Mayors has also rejected the study's methodology.
Kara Bowlin, a spokeswoman for Mayor Francis Slay said crime has gone down in the city each year since 2007. And a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department called the rankings irresponsible.