I think a lot of the discussion about violent crimes in St Louis (or Chicago for that matter) is a bit disingenuous.

The fact is the murder and other violent crime rates are extremely high in our cities. Chicago has a murder rate of 15.3 per 100,000 in population. If Chicago were a sovereign nation, it would be considered about the 30th most dangerous place in the world (based on murder rate).

St Louis on the other hand is much, much higher. According to the press reports I can find, there have been over 150 murders so far this year and the effective murder rate is 51.4 per 100,000 in population. That would make St Louis the 3rd most dangerous country in the world (just behind Venezuela at 53.6 per 100,000 and way behind Honduras at 90.4 per 100,000). The increase in st Louis murders represents a doubling of the murder rate in just a couple of years.

I am not trying to run down St Louis (or Chicago). I live in the Chicago metro area and my son lives in the St Louis metro area. I enjoy visiting St Louis and would consider moving there when I retire (assuming my son stays in St Louis). But the murder and violent crime rates are very real.

Personally I take exception to statements that seem to indicate that people who get caught up as the victim of a violent crime and not being aware enough and that all you have to do is have your "big city smarts" at full power.

This is implicitly victim blaming.

If you like living in a certain area and have made accommodations for the safety or security issues that come with that area, I am happy for you. But most of our urban areas are dangerous places. And St Louis in particular is one of the most violent.