This NJ town made the top 10 most dangerous small towns in U.S.

New Jersey is made up of mostly small towns. We actually have more municipalities than the huge state of California.

We have 564 municipalities, and the much larger state of California has 483. With that fact in mind, even our largest cities of Newark, Jersey City, or Paterson are nowhere near the population size of many other cities.

Most of our towns are decent, safe small towns, with, of course, some problems. However, one stands out as one of the most dangerous towns in America.

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That dubious distinction goes to Salem, New Jersey, according to the site The World According to Briggs.

It ranks fifthh overall for dangerous towns under a population of 15,000 residents, with the latest population figures at 5,297.

Salem's violent crime rate is 24.4 for every 1,000 residents. That's kind of scary when you think about it.

Many of us live in towns with a far greater population and far less crime. Salem is the county seat of Salem County. Most of the county is rural and you wouldn't think that there's much going on there to worry about.

But with limited police resources and a struggling economy, bad things can happen. Last year, Salem was named the poorest town in the state.

Poverty shouldn't necessarily lead to crime, especially violent crime, but for whatever other reasons, in Salem, it does. The irony of all ironies is that Salem was founded by John Fenwick in the 1600s. Fenwick was a Quaker and as we know, Quakers are pacifists. Go figure.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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