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BestPlaces.com's list of "America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime" ranks La Crosse 16th among the 117 cities of less than 200,000 people.
La Crosse's crime rate of 2,679 crimes per 100,000 population is well below the national average of 4,118 per 100,000 people, based on the FBI's Indexes of Crime, according to the list.
Wausau, at fifth, was the highest-ranking Wisconsin city on the list.
Regionally, Dubuque, Iowa, was 17th and Rochester, Minn., 18th, just behind La Crosse.
Kenosha, Wis., ranked 21st on the list, with Eau Claire, Wis., and Sheboygan, Wis., also cracking the top 30.
Topping the list nationally was State College, Pa.
La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki said he was pleased but not surprised at La Crosse's ranking.
The numbers are more impressive, he added, because they are based on FBI reports from 2002, which was an active year for La Crosse investigators who were cracking down particularly hard on drug dealing.
"The national trend is that drug activity is moving from larger cities like Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis and moving to communities like La Crosse," Kondracki said. "In 2002 alone, we saw a 178 percent increase in cocaine arrests. That's a result of Project Crackdown, among other things.
"We know that most serious crime is drug related. It's either committed to obtain drugs or committed under the influence of drugs or to protect drugs."
Despite three homicides in 2003, the overall crime rate for La Crosse actually dipped a bit, thanks to increased efforts from the community, Kondracki said.
"One of the biggest factors in La Crosse is community involvement, which we like to think of community policing efforts. But our community is clearly willing to report crime and are very willing to serve as the eyes and ears of the La Crosse Police Department," Kondracki said. "I really believe crime prevention is a community responsibility."
While careful to note that departments often categorize and compile numbers in different ways, making comparisons difficult, Kondracki said it is always good to see how the community stacks up.
He said the department works with other departments in the region to find new ways to help deal with crime trends.
Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
LOW-CRIME CITIES
A ranking of metropolitan areas with populations of 55,000 to 200,000.
1) State College, Pa.
2) Steubenville, Ohio
3) Wheeling, W.V.
4) Pittsfield, Mass.
5) Wausau, Wis.
6) Nashua, N.H.
7) Parkersburg, W.V.-Marietta, Ohio
8) Glens Falls, N.Y.
9) Williamsport, Pa.
10) Jacksonville, N.C.
11) Danville, Va.
12) Jamestown, N.Y.
13) Sharon, Pa.
14) Bismarck, N.D.
15) Hagerstown, Md.
16) La Crosse, Wis.
17) Dubuque, Iowa
18) Rochester, Minn.
19) Barnstable, Mass.
20) Cumberland, Md.
Source: www.bestplaces.net
