El Paso 2nd safest U.S. city: Ranking a contrast to violence across border - El Paso Times
EL PASO — A new ranking shows El Paso moved up to the second-safest large city in the nation even while a vicious drug cartel war has turned Juárez into one of the deadliest cities in the world.
El Paso trailed only Honolulu for the lowest crime rate for cities with more than 500,000 population in an annual publication released Monday by CQ Press. The ranking is based on crime data for 2008.
Civic leaders lauded the rating, saying it counters a negative perception that El Paso is a violent place because of the killings across the border.
“I don’t think the timing for this announcement could be any better,” said Richard Dayoub, CEO and president of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
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Phil Jordan, a retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official from El Paso, said the safe city label for El Paso is misleading because cartels operate on both sides of the border.
“The narcotraffickers will not kill somebody in El Paso unless they absolutely have to,” Jordan said. “They will kidnap an individual, take them to Mexico, torture and kill them. There won’t be an investigation and the person will simply disappear.”
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