Richmond drops in crime ranking

RICHMOND - Richmond has dropped even further in the list of the nation's most dangerous cities.

The Congressional Quarterly Press now ranks Richmond 49th, down from 29th in 2006 and 15th in 2005. The latest rankings are based on 2007 crime figures.

The city was among the top 10 in 2003 and 2004.

The listings include 385 cities with populations of 75,000 or more and is based on reported crime rates per 100,000 in six crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.

Richmond Police officials say the improvement is the result of community and professional partnerships.

They say Richmond continues to decrease in each of the categories in 2008, including a 33 percent reduction in murder and 11 percent in rape.