7 Most Lawless Places in the US

Today we will tell you about the most lawless places in the US, which is really disappointing considering how developed of a country the United States is.

The object of the law is to maintain peace and guarantee the safety of innocent citizens, while also ensuring justice. The places we are going to talk about are not literally without law since there are Police precincts and law enforcement agencies operating in these places, but rather their high rate of violent crimes and general lack of fear of the law in the perpetrators makes these places seem lawless at times. However, if you were to look up the most lawless places in the world, you would definitely find much worse places like Venezuela for example. Venezuelan lawlessness is well known around the world. Check out The 10 Most Lawless Places in the World to learn about some more countries.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are the most lawful countries in the world, and if we were to make a list of those countries, it would be filled with mostly European countries like Iceland, Denmark, and Austria. While we are on the subject, let’s talk about Antarctica since a very common question that is asked about Antarctica is, “is Antarctica lawless?” Since Antarctica is not owned by any particular country, the question is valid, but thankfully there is no such place on Earth which is by definition lawless or a country with no law, there might be lack of the rule of law, but there are no such countries nonetheless. In the case of Antarctica, the Antarctic Treaty is the law there, which is a unique agreement between nations.

If you want to learn about the most dangerous places in America, we highly recommend that you take a look at the 35 Worst, Most Dangerous, Ghettoest Cities In America in 2017 Ranked By FBI, which is definitely not something you could be proud of but, it is better to be safe than sorry. Moving on now, for our purpose of finding out the most lawless cities in the U.S., we sought help from the FBI, MSN and US News. We also put Google’s search engine through its paces for additional information; then we based our research on the reported rate of violent crimes in those cities.

The data we had available was from 2016, and it highlighted the rate of violent crimes reported to city authorities per 100,000 people. Going by this parameter, we managed to first find the most lawless places in the US, then ranked them accordingly. Basically, the higher the violent crime rate per 100,000 people, the higher we have placed the city on the list. As mentioned before, these cities are far from being entirely lawless, but in a first world country, this is the closest a city can get to being lawless, to say the least.

If you are ready, start going through the list of the most lawless places in the US.

7. Cleveland, Ohio

Violent crime rate: 1,631 per 100,000 residents

There is a very high correlation between poverty and crime. It has been observed in almost every place in the world, that when poverty takes hold, morality gives way. Cleveland is one of the most poverty-stricken cities in Ohio. An estimated 36.2% Cleveland residents live in poverty, and another estimate suggests that less than around 20% of Cleveland households have an earning of less than $10,000 a year, which is very alarming. And as you can see, the crime rate in Cleveland is quite high. This is the first entry in our list, and unfortunately, things will only get worse from here.

6. Kansas City, Missouri

Violent crime rate: 1,655 per 100,000 residents

At number 6, we have Kansas City, which is an otherwise beautiful city full of life and pleasantry. However, this huge metro area has a dark side to it. Kansas City is responsible for driving the national crime rate higher. The reported violent crimes which are about 1,655 per 100,000 is four times higher than the national average, and we are hardly beginning our list. Although the rate of poverty is definitely not the reason behind such high violent crime rates in Kansas City, it is definitely a major contributor. In Kansas City, the Poverty rate is around 19%, and the unemployment rate is 4.9%.

5. Rockford, Illinois

Violent crime rate: 1,659 per 100,000 residents

If you are surprised to see Rockford in the list of most lawless places in the US, then it is only natural. After all, Rockford may be the third largest city in the state of Illinois, but the population of Rockford is hardly over 150,000. Even in a city with such a small population, the rate of crime is staggering. It is the most crime-prone city in all of the United States, where the population is between 100,000 and 200,000. Thankfully, the law enforcement agencies are employing new operatives and new technologies to subdue the alarming crime rate in the city, and hopefully, when we get data for 2017, things will look much better for Rockford.

4. Baltimore, Maryland

Violent crime rate: 1,780 per 100,000 residents

Did you know that the rate of crime rose about 4.1% nationwide from 2015 to 2016? The alarming thing about Baltimore is that the increase in the crime rate for Baltimore was about 15.4% which is almost the highest compared to other U.S. cities. There were about 1,780 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents in Baltimore, where the national average for 2016 for the U.S. was a mere 386. As expected, most of the crimes committed in Baltimore last year were in the poverty-stricken areas of the city.

3. Memphis, Tennessee

Violent crime rate: 1,820 per 100,000 residents

Next on our list of most lawless places in the US, is Memphis. Like Cleveland and many other major U.S. cities, Memphis has a pretty large poor population. An estimate puts the poverty rate in Memphis about 27.6% and an unemployment rate at 6%. From what we have learned going through these statistics, Memphis has all the elements of being a crime-prone city which it is today. The police depart in Memphis is optimistic that with a larger police force, it will be able to control the soaring crime rate in the city.

2. St. Louis, Missouri

Violent crime rate: 1,913 per 100,000 residents

The most striking factor about St. Louis that ranks 2nd in our list of most lawless places in the US is that it has the highest murder rate nationwide. Although it has been placed second for having a marginally less violent crime rate, if this list was about murder rates in America, St. Louis would have easily topped it. Gun-related violence in St. Louis is also very high in comparison. If you are wondering, the murder rate of St. Louis is about 60 per 100,000 residents, which is at least ten times more than the national average. If things do not change there, the situation will only get worse.

1. Detroit, Michigan

Violent crime rate: 2,047 per 100,000 residents 

In our research we found Detroit to be the most crime-prone city right now in the United States. Well, to be honest, Detroit has been this way for a very long time. If you were to look up such lists from years back, you would still see pretty much these cities mentioned there as well, only in a slightly different order. When you take a look at statistics like the rate of poverty and unemployment, you can easily see why this city is struggling so much. Over 40% of Detroit residents live in poverty, and the rate of unemployment in the city is over 10%. Considering these things, no wonder Detroit topped our list.

This wraps it up for our list of 7 most lawless places in the US.