Youngstown’s crime rating improves in national study

The Youngstown metropolitan area’s was the 160th most dangerous area in the country last year, according to a recent national study.

The Youngstown metro area, which includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania, improved its ranking in the 2009 study by CQ Press, released Sunday. The area was ranked 147th most dangerous in the 2008 study.

The study includes 347 metro areas in the country. The study uses major crime statistics reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI for murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts.

The report also lists the most dangerous cities with a population of at least 75,000.

Youngstown had traditionally been among the study’s most dangerous cities. But it hasn’t been on the list since Youngstown’s population went below 75,000 in 2007.

For the complete story, read Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com