Decline of Violent Crime/Homicides Continued in 2014
 |
Metropolitan Police Dept. of the District of Columbia (MPD) Patrol Car, Washington D.C.
Photo Credit: Joe Flood via Flickr |
While the Mid-Atlantic is widely known as home to some of the most dangerous cities in the nation, overall the vast majority of the region's cities are relatively safe. Moreover, the overall violent crime rate, as well as the homicide rate specifically, have been in decline in most of the region's big cities recently, mirroring national trends. Most notable is New York City, NY, which had an amazingly low 328 homicides in 2014 (3.9 per 100,000 residents)-- an improvement over the already impressive 335 total homicides in 2013 (4.0/100,000) and a rate unheard of for a large, densely populated city in the U.S. The city with the next lowest murder rate was Jersey city with 23 total murders (9.0/100,000)--over the double the rate of New York.
 |
New York Police Dept. (NYPD) Officer and Patrol Car, New York City
Photo Credit: Jay Miller via Flickr |
Topping the list of large cities in the Mid-Atlantic, in terms of homicide rates for 2014, was Baltimore, MD with 211 murders total (33.9/100,000) barely edging out Newark, NJ which had 93 total murders (33.4/100,000). The good news is that, as in New York City, the number of homicides for 2014 in both Baltimore and Newark decreased from their 2013 totals. Murder rates in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia for 2014 were pretty much unchanged compared to the previous year (105 total,16.2/100,000 and 248 total,16.0/100,000 respectively). Unfortunately, homicide rates in the Rust Belt cities of Pittsburgh and Buffalo increased significantly. Even more troubling is the rate of violent crime and homicide in some of the small cities of the Mid-Atlantic.
 |
NYPD Precinct Times Square, New York City
Photo Credit: Tony Fischer via Flickr |
Generally speaking, small cities tend to have significantly lower crime rates than their larger peers, but three of the region's smaller cities buck this trend in a major way. Camden, NJ; Trenton, NJ; and Wilmington, DE all had murder rates significantly higher than any of the largest cities in the region. Camden, NJ, often labeled as the "most dangerous city in America", actually saw a whopping 42.1% reduction in total homicides for 2014 compared to 2013 (33 in 2014 compared to 57 in 2013), but still had the highest murder rate (42.7/100,000) of any Mid-Atlantic city large or small in 2014. Trenton (41.5/100,000) and Wilmington (39.2/100,000) weren't far behind though.
Below is a table listing the frequencies and rates of violent crime and homicide in the Mid-Atlantic's largest cities in 2013 and 2014:
| City |
Population |
Violent
crime |
Rate /100,000 |
Murders 2013 |
Rate /100,000 |
Murders 2014 |
Rate /100,000 |
| Baltimore, MD |
622,671 |
8,725 |
1,401.2 |
233 |
37.4 |
211 |
33.9 |
| Newark, NJ |
278,246 |
3,516 |
1,263.6 |
112 |
40.3 |
93 |
33.4 |
| Buffalo, NY |
258,789 |
3,249 |
1,255.5 |
47 |
18.2 |
62 |
24.0 |
| Pittsburgh, PA |
307,632 |
2,259 |
734.3 |
45 |
14.6 |
71 |
23.1 |
| Washington, D.C. |
646,449 |
7,880 |
1,219.0 |
103 |
15.9 |
105 |
16.2 |
| Philadelphia, PA |
1,553,153 |
17,074 |
1,099.3 |
247 |
15.9 |
248 |
16.0 |
| Jersey City, NJ |
256,886 |
1,655 |
644.3 |
20 |
7.8 |
23 |
9.0 |
| New York, NY |
8,396,126 |
52,384 |
623.9 |
335 |
4.0 |
328 |
3.9 |
*The 2013 numbers are from 2013 edition of the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report published last fall. Homicide totals for 2014 are from local media reports and the rates are based on 2013 population numbers
