Bing: Bloomberg's Murder Rate Remarks 'Sad And Inappropriate'
DETROIT (WWJ) - The mayors of New York and Detroit are squaring off on who has the worst crime.
It all started when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent out a tweet boasting about the city's record low murder rate. Last year we had a record-low 419 murder, adding that if it had been Detroit 4,500-plus New Yorkers would have been killed.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing fired back, releasing the following statement:
"I think it is sad and inappropriate for anyone, especially public officials, to tout their crime fighting efforts by highlighting other cities' murder rates. There are dramatic differences between New York and Detroit.
First, the city of New York has nearly 40,000 law enforcement officers, compared to less than 3,000 here in the city of Detroit.
Secondly, New York has crime fighting techniques and resources such as 'stop and frisk at will' and a sophisticated surveillance system that we do not currently have in our crime fighting arsenal, in part due to the fact we are under a federal consent decree.
We are all engaged in reducing violent crimes and we need to fight this battle together. Therefore, I support Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to get Congress to toughen gun laws so that gun violence is reduced in Detroit, New York, and across this country."
The discourse comes as Detroit has taken the top three spots on a list of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America.
The study by NeighborhoodScout.com analyzed FBI statistics from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies to pinpoint neighborhoods across the country with the highest predicted rates of violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Researchers drilled down deep into cities and towns to find specific census tract areas that had the highest rates of homicide, rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault.
According to the study, the area east of the Barton-McFarland community in zip code 48204 is the most dangerous neighborhood in America. The study said the chances of becoming a victim of violent crime in this west side community over the course of a year are one in seven. (More here).
- Complete list of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America -
