From CNN: A controversial ranking of U.S. cities’ crime rates indicates New Orleans, Louisiana, has the worst crime rate, while a New York exurb has the lowest. A New Orleans resident talks to police after returning home to find his house had been looted in September. A New Orleans resident talks to police after returning home to find his house had been looted in September. The CQ Press "City Crime Rankings" list named New Orleans its most crime-ridden city based on a reported 19,000-plus incidences of six major crimes — including 209 murder cases — in 2007. The Gulf Coast city of about 250,000, still grappling with the aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, was followed in the rankings by Camden, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; and Oakland, California. The lowest crime rate was reported in Ramapo, New York, about 40 miles northwest of New York City, with only 688 total crimes and no reported killings in a city of about 113,000. It was followed by Mission Viejo, California, south of Los Angeles; O’Fallon, Missouri, outside St. Louis; Newton, Massachusetts, west of Boston; and Brick Township, on the New Jersey coast.