Forbes' ranking of Tulsa as 'sixth-most-dangerous city' disputed
A magazine has named Tulsa the sixth-most-dangerous U.S. city, but Tulsa police disagree with the assertion.
Forbes magazine looked at FBI statistics on the number of violent crimes and Department of Transportation data on the number of fatal car wrecks per 100,000 residents to determine what it says are the 10 most dangerous cities with populations above 250,000. Oklahoma City came in at ninth.
Topping the list is Memphis, Tenn. Others include Detroit, Mich., and Miami, Fla. The safest city is Plano, Texas, according to the rankings.
However, Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham said the study’s methodology and the fact that major cities such as Chicago and Las Vegas are not on the list lead officials to question the rankings’ validity.
“We don’t feel like this is a fair comparison,” he said.
The rankings rely on FBI data that are self reported by local agencies, according to the Forbes report.
Forbes’ story, published online Tuesday, acknowledges those flaws and says that “determining how safe you’ll really be in a city requires a more nuanced look than any ranking can provide.”
Willingham said putting Tulsa in the same crime category as much larger cities is disingenuous.
“There’s not a lot of random violent crime in the city of Tulsa,” he said. “Most citizens in Tulsa overall feel like it’s a pretty safe community.”
http://www.okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92659
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/...ctid=450&articleid=20101014_11_0_Amagaz406955
A magazine has named Tulsa the sixth-most-dangerous U.S. city, but Tulsa police disagree with the assertion.
Forbes magazine looked at FBI statistics on the number of violent crimes and Department of Transportation data on the number of fatal car wrecks per 100,000 residents to determine what it says are the 10 most dangerous cities with populations above 250,000. Oklahoma City came in at ninth.
Topping the list is Memphis, Tenn. Others include Detroit, Mich., and Miami, Fla. The safest city is Plano, Texas, according to the rankings.
However, Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham said the study’s methodology and the fact that major cities such as Chicago and Las Vegas are not on the list lead officials to question the rankings’ validity.
“We don’t feel like this is a fair comparison,” he said.
The rankings rely on FBI data that are self reported by local agencies, according to the Forbes report.
Forbes’ story, published online Tuesday, acknowledges those flaws and says that “determining how safe you’ll really be in a city requires a more nuanced look than any ranking can provide.”
Willingham said putting Tulsa in the same crime category as much larger cities is disingenuous.
“There’s not a lot of random violent crime in the city of Tulsa,” he said. “Most citizens in Tulsa overall feel like it’s a pretty safe community.”
http://www.okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92659
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/...ctid=450&articleid=20101014_11_0_Amagaz406955
we've got you beat.Wow we've got 2 of the top ten!! 
