Enough is enough! How can you compare these cities?
Entry for March 18, 2009
These numbers donot add up all these other cities are larger.
Saskatoon: The world's ninth-most dangerous city?Comparing Saskatoon to cities with ethnic cleansing "sheer lunacy," police chief saysAccording to Maclean's magazine, Saskatoon is the most dangerous city in CanadaPhotograph by: Richard Marjan, The StarPhoenixSASKATOON — Apparently, Saskatoon’s two homicides last year make Saskatoon too scary for one news website.
The website RealClearWorld.com has named Saskatoon the ninth-most dangerous city in the world, according to a feature posted Sunday.
The list is intended to highlight troubled places beyond headline-dominating violent hotspots, such as Baghdad and Kandahar, the editors explain.
Other cities with the dubious distinction include Johannesburg in seventh place, Detroit in fifth place and the Somalian capital Mogadishu at the top of the list.
The website explains Saskatoon earned its place on the list after Maclean’s magazine ranked the bridge city as the most dangerous in Canada. That analysis, based on per-capita crime statistics from 2007, found Saskatoon had the highest rate of aggravated assault and robbery in the country, and was fourth in homicides and sex assaults. Saskatoon’s mayor and police dismissed the report as misleading and out of date.
“The tourism industry of Saskatchewan (if there is such a thing) probably isn’t too pleased with Maclean’s,” RealClearWorld.com writes in its page on Saskatoon. The short blurb is accompanied by a YouTube video of footage from a vehicle driving through downtown Saskatoon, with the 1960s Petula Clark song “Downtown” playing in the background.
Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill says putting Saskatoon on a list with cities that need military intervention to stop ethnic cleansing is “ridiculous.”
“To even remotely compare Saskatoon to that is sheer lunacy,” he said.’
He points out Saskatoon had just two murders in 2008, and that a recent civic survey found only 18 per cent of residents said policing and crime was the most pressing issue.
Even compared to other Canadian cities, Saskatoon fares well, Weighill said. B.C.’s Lower Mainland has seen 15 homicides and 36 shootings in the last 1 1/2 months alone, he said. Calgary and Edmonton, meanwhile, have each asked for more than 200 police officers to help curb gang violence.
RealClearWorld.com describes itself as a “catch-all” source for global news, commentary and more. There is no information posted about where the site is based.
The world’s top ten most dangerous cities list:
10. London, UK
9. Saskatoon
8. Norilsk, Russia (in Siberia)
7. Johannesburg, South Africa
6. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
5. Detroit, USA
4. Caracas, Venezuela
3. Linfen, China
2. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
1. Mogadishu, Somalia
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
No comments:
Post a Comment