The St. Louis region has faced significant challenges due to the city of St. Louis’ status as an independent sample embedded within multiple counties. Residents throughout, despite where they live, are considered to live in one of the most dangerous places in the United States. Internally we understand that the perception of crime often focuses on the city due to its historical challenges and ongoing media attention. Externally we face a much larger task when overcoming such a complicated public safety AND public relations issue.
It's a crime issue, period. The constant focus on the crime rate of the city overshadows, perpetuating a narrative of danger for all municipalities and neighborhoods.
A few years back, WalletHub.com announced St. Louis as the Least Safe City in America and ranked us dead last of their list of 182 U.S. cities. The New York Post and other media followed through and reposted it without context. Sadly we have become conditioned to this sort of thing. Despite acknowledging the issues while recognizing St. Louis' vibrant culture, history, and resilient communities, efforts to combat crime have simply fallen short.
Violent crime encompasses offenses where a victim is harmed by or threatened with violence. These crimes involve force or the threat of force. Examples of violent crimes are what one would think: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape and sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault. These crimes obviously have significant societal impact, and efforts to prevent and address them are crucial for public safety, economic development and community well being.
So how do St, Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County compare? St. Louis City, reported as an independent city, commands the lead with the highest rate of violent crime for the region - approximately 88 violent crime incidents per 1,000 residents during a standard year. This is a higher rate of violent crime compared to the national average and consistently ranked as having the highest murder rate among major U.S. cities - Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in America. Sadly, a quick search of Google or Bing produces the same results.
St. Louis County is considerably lower, approximately 5 per 1,000 residents during a standard year, and St. Charles County at roughly 8 per 1000.
The controversial topic of enforcement, programs and initiatives.
In the wake of the Department of Justice recently adding the city of St. Louis to its violent crime initiative, a decision bringing federal dollars to police departments for crime prevention efforts, Progress 64 West Looks forward to hosting our Crime Panel on April 26th at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield. We look forward to seeing you and/or anyone wanting to engage our panel and guests.
Progress 64 West is honored to have St. Charles County Government Prosecuting Attorney, Joe McCulloch, moderate an important panel discussion on regional crime. Panelists include: Dean Plocher, State Representative, Justin Sparks, Former Police and Special Response Unit Sergeant, Jay Schroeder, President of Missouri Fraternal Order of Police and Jane Dueker, Attorney for St. Louis County and City Police Officers Association. RP