We're number two!

Baltimore has been ranked the second most dangerous city over 500,000 and the sixth most dangerous overall. The Baltimore-Towson metro area is the twentieth most dangerous metro area overall.

These stats are from Morgan Quinto, which publishes an annual dangerous city survey based on crime stats.

According to WJZ, Baltimore has yet to comment on this achievement. Camden, NJ - the most dangerous city in America - has it's officials complaining, though, saying it's "unfair" and that people are "bad-mouthing" Camden. Never mind that the rankings are based on hard data.

But the best quote of the WJZ article is this quote:

Some residents say their neighborhoods feel a bit safer.

"I haven't heard that many gunshots," said Gracy Muniz, 22, a mother of three who lives in North Camden.

Hmm, 22 and 3 kids? Guess Camden also ranks #1 in least birth control. But "not that many gunshots" is not a ringing endorsement. I know few people in my parent's suburban NJ neighborhood would be thrilled if gunshots only rang out occasionally.

While I do think Camden's reaction is kind of funny, I don't think being a dangerous city is a huge deal for a city like Baltimore. Baltimore is very dangerous, especially in certain neighborhoods. However, there are also a lot of very safe neighborhoods. Also, many of the murders and violence that are so pervasive in Baltimore are related to it's drug trade. If you don't sell or consume drugs in Baltimore, you sharply reduce your chances of getting shot up. That's not to say that you are not at a slightly greater risk of getting robbed or accidently shot by a stray bullet, but it's not like you can't walk down any steet in B-more without encountering a hail of bullets.