No. 5 Detroit
Year-in and year-out, Detroit is always among the top three most crime-ridden cities in the United States. There is little wonder in that - a dilapidated downtown area, blighted neighborhoods, criminal politicians ... not even the recent sports-venue building boom has reversed the city's plight. The dysfunction starts from the top. Kwame Kilpatrick, after a 7-year stint as Detroit mayor that was plagued by all sorts of allegations of impropriety, just served 99 days in prison for obstruction of justice. The current president of the city council, Monica Conyers, is noted for her thuggish behavior and is also currently under FBI investigation for bribery. A separate FBI probe into city hall corruption is also ongoing. Detroit's violent crime rate nearly triples the national average. Property crime rates are also sky-high, most notably for rampant arson and car theft. But in an ironic twist to the city's crime-ridden existence - even its crime lab had to be shut down because its tests were riddled with errors.
