DETROIT – The city of Detroit led the nation in 2013 with the most dangerous murder and crime rates among big cities, according to the FBI's statistics released Monday.
There were 316 murders in Detroit last year, which is a rate of 45 per 100,000 people. Compare that to New Orleans, a city which had 156 murders in 2013 -- a rate of 41 per 100,000 people -- or Newark, N.J. which had a rate of 40 murders per 100,000 people.
Moreover, 2,072 violent crimes per 100,000 people were reported in Detroit in 2013. That's also the highest per capita rate in the U.S.
"The work does continue. I mean you look at what's driving this issue of the most violent city, what's being put out there, is per capita," said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. "Yes, we've seen a reduction. Is there much more work to do? Of course."
Detroit's 316 murders made up about half of Michigan's overall 631 murders in 2013.
Craig said the numbers don't tell the entire story. He said crime is down in Detroit year after year and things are headed in the right direction.
"We are absolutely trending in the right direction, and we're poised this year to have the lowest number of homicides in 4 years. Again, it's still too many, but we are moving in the right direction. It certainly doesn't happen overnight," said Craig.
Craig said violent crimes against children have to stop.
"What we're looking at is issues of abuse, neglect and absence of parental responsibility. There should be no occasion where a child or another unauthorized person gains access to a weapon," he said.
FBI crime stats in other Michigan cities:
Cities such as Flint and Saginaw remain among the most dangerous for their population size.
Flint's population has fallen below 100,000, but it's murder rate in 2013 -- 48 per 100,000 people -- remained higher than Detroit's.
Saginaw, which had a population of 50,580 in 2013, reported 29 murders. That's a rate of 57 murders per 100,000 people. Overall, 985 violent crimes were reported in Saginaw in 2013.
View all FBI crime statistics for Michigan cities in 2013 right here.
In Grand Rapids -- Michigan's 2nd-largest city with a population of 191,213 last year -- 17 murders and 1,326 violent crimes were reported in 2013.
Lansing, a city with 113,907 people, reported 8 murders and 1,204 violent crimes last year. Ann Arbor -- population of 116,799 -- reported 3 murders and 247 violent crimes.