(December 22, 2001) -- Applying FBI crime data for the last full year available (2000), a national publisher's eighth annual list of America's Safest Cities shows LB has fallen further toward unsafe, ranking 206 among 327 U.S. cities over 75,000 population.

Last year, the annual report by Morgan Quitno Press (using officially reported crime data and a methodology detailed below) ranked LB 199. This year, the data showed LB at 206, less safe than New York City at 195.

LB's decline coincides with improvements in other cities. Adjoining Lakewood improved its safety rank to 118. Last year, it was 124.

As previously reported by LBReport.com, LBPD crime stats indicate total reported crime has increased in every Council district in the January-June 2001 period (compared to the same period in 2000). That means LB's ranking may be even lower when the 2001 data are reported one year from now.

Morgan Quitno Press, a Kansas-based publishing and research company, used final 2000 FBI statistics (released in Oct. 2001, the last full year available) to determine its most recent city safety rankings.

Morgan Quitno ranked U.S. cities based on each city’s officially reported rate for six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. All cities of 75,000+ populations reporting crime data to the FBI for the six crime categories were included and each of the six crimes were given equal weight.

Amherst, NY was ranked as the nation's safest city; Mission Viejo, CA was third.

Among local area cities ranked safer than LB (206) were Thousand Oaks (13), Irvine (17), Huntington Beach (21), Newport Beach (25), Orange (41), Whittier (47), Burbank (55), Costa Mesa (58), Fullerton (59), Torrance (67), Buena Park (79), Westminster (95), Garden Grove (101), Anaheim (107), Lakewood (118), San Diego (141), Norwalk (141), Santa Monica (147), Santa Ana (148), El Monte (175)

New York City (195) ranked safer than LB.

Cities ranking less safe than LB (206) included San Francisco (212), Southgate (213), Carson (224) and Los Angeles (263).

Morgan-Quitno used city and metro area crime rates per 100,000 population (from the most recent comparable final numbers available, the FBI's 2000 annual statistics released in October 2001) for the six basic crime categories (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft). These were plugged into a formula that measured how a particular city or metro area compared to the national average for a given crime category.

The outcome of this equation was multiplied by a weight assigned to each of the six crime categories with each of the six crimes given equal weight. By weighting each crime equally, cities are compared based purely on their crime rates and how they stack up to the national average for a particular crime category.

These weighted numbers were then added together for a city or metro area’s final score. These scores were then ranked from lowest to highest to determine which cities were safest and most dangerous.