Camden (a.k.a, the most violent city in
America) is a city in Camden County,
New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
Although once a thriving center for manufacturing and industry, Camden is perhaps best known for its struggles with urban decay and political corruption. Camden had the highest crime rate in the United States in
2012, with 2,566 violent crimes for every 100,000
people, which is 560% higher than the national average of 387 violent crimes per 100K citizens.
Morgan Quitno has ranked Camden in the top ten most dangerous cities in the U.S. since 1998, when they first included cities with populations below 100,000. Camden was ranked the third-most dangerous U.S. city in 2002. Camden was ranked the most dangerous overall in 2004 and 2005. It dropped down to the fifth spot for the 2006 and 2007 rankings but rose to number two in 2008 and to the top spot in 2009. The most common crimes in Camden are: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft.
The city is afflicted by homelessness, drug trafficking, prostitution, robbery, looting, constant violence, and an overwhelmed police force (which lost half its officers to budget-cuts). In,
2012, the FBI announced Camden was ranked first in violent crime per capita of cities with over
50,000 residents, surpassing Flint, Michigan.
Camden is also home to Campbell's Soup Company and the Battleship
New Jersey. The Camden campus of Rutgers
college is located in the city.
