ST. LOUIS - Less than 15 months after being named the nation's most dangerous city, St. Louis city officials say overall crime dropped by 16 percent in 2007. Dramatic drops in rape and car theft led the trend.
Rape was down by 24 percent and car theft dropped 27 percent.
All four categories against property were down and crimes against persons were down in every category except murder, which rose by 9 to 138.
Police Chief Joseph Mokwa credited anti-crime programs begun in 2007 and the work of his officers. One of those programs is a 50-member Crime Suppression Unit that identifies crime hot spots and pursues chronic criminals.
Morgan Quitno, of Lawrence, Kan., named St. Louis the nation's most dangerous city in its annual report in November 2006, just ahead of Detroit.
The report drew criticism from St. Louis officials because of its timing - released just days after the Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series - and the report's scope, which officials said did not accurately represent the entire St. Louis metropolitan area.
In its latest report, released in November 2007, Morgan Quitno ranked Detroit as the nation's most dangerous city - just ahead of St. Louis.
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