The CQ Press released their annual list of the country’s most dangerous cities and the news its not good.\
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Birmingham is No. 8 on the list, behind periennial crime bergs like Flint, Mich., Gary, Ind., St Louis and Detroit. The only glimmer of good news is that the Magic City placed sixth in 2007, so at least we are moving in the right direction. But moving from sixth to eighth in this list is, as Alice Kramden used to say, like Bayonne losing a mosquito. \

So in the spirit of these new rankings, Birmingham Weekly is proud to present…CITIES SAFER THAN BIRMINGHAM!

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So let’s begin with the Top 10:\

1. New Orleans

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2. Camden, N.J.

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3. Detroit

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4. St. Louis

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5. Oakland, Calif.

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6. Flint, Mich\

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7. Gary, Ind.

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8. BIRMINGHAM

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9. Richmond, Calif.

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10. North Charleston, S.C.

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That leaves hundreds of cities with the designation of “safer than Birmingham.” Here’s a few notable examples:

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#12 – Baltimore – The place where they filmed and based The f***ing Wire!

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#16 – Atlanta - Where people are building SWAT robots to combat the homeless problem.

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#17 – Compton – Yep, Compton is now safer than Birmingham.

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#21 – D.C. – Where even your average crackhead can grow up and become mayor.

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#22 – Philadelphia – Where five cops have already been killed in the line of duty in the last 13 months.

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#24 – Newark, N.J. – Harper’s Magazine once said of Newark, it “stands without serious challenge as the worst city of all.”

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#30 – Trenton, N.J. – If there had been a second worst city in America, odds are Trenton would have nabbed it. But how bad would it have looked for New Jersey to house the two worst cities in the country?

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#35 – Miami – If the two TV shows that set the pop culture conventional wisdom of your town are Miami Vice and CSI: Miami, then you’ve got yourself a crime problem.

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