Violent crimes occur when a perpetrator uses harmful force upon a victim, and includes things like murder, battery, assault, kidnapping, rape and manslaughter. These crimes not only include those where the violent act itself is the offender's objective, but also violent acts that happen in the commission of another act; like during a robbery. It's difficult to compare violent crime rates around the globe, as many countries have different standards for what constitutes a violent crime as well as different methods of reporting. However, when looking at similar western countries, the United States has a relatively very high violent crime rate. In 2018, for example, United Nations data showed that the homicide rate in the U.S. was 4.96 per 100,000 people, compared to Spain, which had a rate of .62, France with a rate of 1.2, Germany with a rate of .95, Canada with a rate of 1.76 and Australia with a homicide rate of .89. The overall violent crime rate in the U.S. has dropped over the last decade, but that is not true for every area of the country. Many of the most "dangerous" places are battling overwhelming poverty, as well as the compounding physical, psychological and financial effects of living in an area that experiences higher rates of crime. In the slideshow above, we'll look at the ten U.S. cities with the highest rates of violent crime according to the latest FBI data. It is important to note that statistics collected by the FBI are self-reported by local police stations, so data may not have been objectively interpreted – and some cities do not report their crime data to the FBI at all.

Related:

• The 10 safest cities in the U.S.
• Most dangerous cities for house crimes