Monday, April 1, 2013

The Most Dangerous Cities in the Western Hemisphere

MARCH 8, 2012 PHOTO

A police officer inspects tattoos on a Mara Salvatrucha gang member after his arrest in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. A wave of violence has made Honduras among the most dangerous places on Earth. 

The Daily News

San Pedro Sula might be the most dangerous place on earth.

Around three people are intentionally murdered every day in the northwest Honduran city--that’s around 169 homicides per 100,000 residents. These grim statistics place it at the very top of a list of the 50 most violent cities, making San Pedro Sula the alleged murder capital of the world two years in a row.
 
The first American city on the list is New Orleans, which comes in at number 17 with 56 murders for every 100,000 people. Also on the list are Detroit, Mich. (21), St. Louis, M.O. (40), Baltimore, Md. (41), and Oakland, Calif. (43).

The data was compiled by the Citizen Council for Public Security, Justice, and Peace, a Mexican think tank. The organization used intentional homicide statistics from 2012 to draw comparisons, focusing on cities in North, Central, and South America. Middle Eastern cities were not included.

It seems like this is a list of North and South American cities, so the claim of being the most dangerous places in the world may or may not stand. Nevertheless, thanks to the lax gun laws in the US, we can be proud of our representation on this dubious list.

What fo you think?  Please leave a comment.

1 comment:

  1. Honduras licenses legal gun owners and registers legal firearms. Many "assault weapons" are banned. And yet, we see that gun control doesn't work.

    Notice also that the numbers from the Honduran city are three times the worst city in the U.S. Could it be that better gun laws lead to fewer murders?

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