Camden again ranks worst on crime list

Camden, a mainstay on the Top 10 list of most-dangerous cities in America for a decade, finished 393rd this morning.

Unfortunately, 393rd was no miracle for the troubled city: It means that the city ranked last place on the slightly altered 2008 city-crime rankings released today by a Washington, D.C.-based publishing firm.

For the first time, CQ Press decided not use the words "safest" or "dangerous" in its report or to rank the cities under those terms.

"These terms are no longer used because perceptions of safety and danger are just that - perceptions," the new report says.

Instead, the company compiled a score by comparing each city's 2008 crime rate to the national average and ranked them from lowest (safe) to highest (dangerous). Camden, which finished first in the most-dangerous rankings in 2004 and 2005 and second last year, finished last under the new format, just behind St. Louis.

CQ Press did rank the cities for major crimes, and Camden was first in the most ominous category - murder rate. According to CQ, Camden's murder rate is 70.9 per 100,000 residents, more than 13 times the national average. New Orleans was second in the murder category, while Trenton finished 21st and Philadelphia finished 22nd.

Camden was also tops in the nation in robberies and in the Top 10 for rape, aggravated assault and motor-vehicle theft.

Camden's chances of improving its ranking dwindled during the first month of 2008, when 11 homicides were reported in the city. By year's end, the city had been the scene of a near-record 55 homicides.

"This is not happy news, but it's also not unexpected," said Jason Laughlin, a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Camden Police Inspector Mike Lynch said that the city has experienced a 14 percent crime reduction in 2009 under Chief Scott Thomson. The city has had 31 homicides this year.

"There's been significant progress over the year," Lynch said. "While there is much work to be done, the reality is that Camden is a much safer city statistically and through the eyes of the residents."

City Council President Angel Fuentes noted that the city has received crime-fighting support from the Attorney General's Office and also is set to receive 25 new squad cars and 75 more officers in the coming year.

"It seems like we're always in the top five, no matter how they do it," said Fuentes, who won the 5th District Assembly race this month. "In 2009, we're going to do better."