Camden NJ is again topping the list.  That in itself is nor surprising, nor is most of the top 10 that made the list.  Sad to say, Richmond, Virginia was among them.  In fact most of the top 10 are not new to the list.  Instead of just tracking murders, however, it also tracks other violent crimes to come up with its rankings.

I was a bit surprised to see New Orleans on the list since according to this story, they only recently suffered their first murder since Katrina: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_ORLEANS_FIRST_KILLING?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

But almost at the bottom of the article, after extolling the virtues of some of the efforts Camden has made to get rid of the notoriety (and with some success according to the article), so we read that the statistics are not for this year, or even part of this year, but for last year (it is based on incidents per 100,000 population).

I am sure that New Orleans will disappear from the list next year, if only because Katrina did kind of cool off the big Easy.  But Richmond also has some reason to hope.  The Old Police Commissioner was less than effective, and after making strides in the past, the city did back slide under that commissioner.  But the new Mayor cleaned house and brought in a new Police Chief that from all reports so far, is having an impact as well.

The final report on the new Commissioner, as well as the reforms going on in Camden, will only be told when th results are in.  While I dont see Camden disappearing from the list in a year, a lower ranking sure would be welcome.  But I do hope to see Richmond and New Orleans disappear.  That may be a pipe dream, but as I have seen, an effective leadership in Richmond does pay off.

As for the Former Mayor of Richmond?  The one immediately preceding Doug Wilder was useless, but that has less to do him personally than the fact that the City Council was a do nothing, but preen for the cameras outfit.  It still is (for those not under arrest at least).  I hope Douglas Wilder cleans it up.  The city desperately needs strong leadership, and for the first time since I moved to the area, they seem to have gotten it.

Look for the new report in one year.