DETROIT — Detroit has pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's controversial analysis of annual FBI crime statistics.

Ohio cities figured prominently in the list, with Cleveland ranked 10th most dangerous, Youngstown 15th, Cincinnati 16th and Dayton 19th. Only Parma, at No. 23, ranked among the nation's 25 safest cities.

The study drew harsh criticism even before its release Sunday. The American Society of Criminology on Friday attacked it as "an irresponsible misuse" of crime data.

The 14th annual ranking was published by CQ Press. It is based on the FBI's Sept. 24 crime statistics report.

The report looked at 378 cities with at least 75,000 people based on per-capita rates for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. Each crime category was considered separately and weighted based on its seriousness.

Last year's crime leader, St. Louis, fell to No. 2. Another Michigan city, Flint, ranked third, followed by Oakland Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Richmond, Calif.; and Cleveland.

The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. city, followed by Clarkstown, N.Y.; Brick Township, N.J.; Amherst, N.Y.; and Sugarland, Texas.

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