FBI Data Ranking Humble, As America’s 12th Most Dangerous City Hardly Seems Fair

HUMBLE, TX — A recent FBI report suggests that the Houston suburban community of Humble, in northeast Harris County is a pretty dangerous place.

In fact, Humble, Texas, which has a population of about 15,665, according to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, is the 12th most dangerous city in the United States, as far as FBI data is concerned, which was compiled by SafeWise.com.

The ranking was based on a combination of violent crime and property crime per capita, according to a Houston Chronicle report. (Want to get daily updates about traffic news and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

That data suggests that there are 9.53 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, and 107.54 in property crimes.

The No. 12 ranking is actually better than last year, when Humble was rated No. 11 by the same site

It all sounds really bad, and it probably is to some degree, but only to the person who may have never set foot in Humble, and never even heard of the community until the report was released, and likely won’t now that this has been released.

That’s the concern among city leaders and Humble Police Chief Delbert Dawes, who according to the Houston Chronicle, believes the data is flawed, and doesn’t take into account the massive population swing that happens almost daily, or the 1,300 businesses in the city limits that Dawes said wasn’t accounted for in the data.

Humble, a town that got its start because of a company called Humble Oil in the early 20th Century, was on the outskirts of the Houston sprawl for decades.

However, in recent decades, things have gotten busy with the growth of Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Kingwood located just north of Humble, the construction of Beltway 8, and the influx of people who want their kids in Humble ISD.

Because of its location, the sleepy town experiences a daily population swing from nearly 16,000 residents to well over 250,000 as people come to town to shop, work, and dine.

But it’s still a small town, run by a city council and mayor that have had ties to the Humble community for decades.

Former Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes, who’d served on the city council 20 years before deciding in 2015 that it was time to hang it up in the age of 79, grew up there and remembers when the massive oak trees that still stand in front of the former Charles Bender High School weren’t quite so massive.

To those people, and the people who live there, the designation hardly seems fair, especially when other cities, such as Emeryville, California; Tukwila, Washington, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the top three cities on the list, seem just as safe to their residents.

Want to know where the 30 most dangerous cities are in the U.S?

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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