These 2 WNY Cities Are Considered Most Dangerous In NY

While I love living in New York, there are some dangerous and violent areas across the state. Even worse, two cities in Western New York were named among the most dangerous in the state. They actually topped the list, taking the number one and number two spots. Only In Your State took a look at statistics provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to create the list. According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services,

New York State and the FBI use seven Index crime categories as indicators of overall crime trends: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, which are classified as violent crimes; and the property crimes of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. The FBI created these categories to allow for uniform crime reporting across all 50 states.

Before we get to the two WNY cities that landed at number one and number two most dangerous in New York for 2022, let's take a look at the other cities in the top 10.

10. Syracuse

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9. Utica

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8. Johnson City

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7. Albany

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6. Watertown

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5. Rochester

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4. Schenectady

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3. Binghamton

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The Most Dangerous Cities In New York For 2022 Are...

2. Niagara Falls

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Home of the Niagara Falls, the city has a population of 48,360. It is a national tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the United States and the world.

1. Buffalo

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Home of the Bills NFL team, Buffalo is located in Erie County. The Buffalo area has a population of just under 1 million - 940,988. Outside of the Bills, Buffalo is known for snow and its food. There are some major colleges in Buffalo, including the University at Buffalo, Buffalo State College, and Erie Community College.

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These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior. According to the state,

"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."

In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.