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CAMDEN, N.J.  —  A national study ranks the New Jersey city of Camden as the nation's most dangerous city in 2008.

The annual rankings from CQ Press are based on FBI-compiled crime data and population figures. Some criminologists say the methodology is unfair.

Camden is no stranger to the top of the list. It was the most dangerous city for 2003 and 2004 and is consistently in the top 10. The bad ranking comes during a year when the number of murders has dropped amid major changes to the police department.

The study found Camden had more than 2,300 violent crimes for every 10,000 residents last year.

St. Louis, Oakland, Calif., Detroit and Flint, Mich., round out the top five.

The safest city with more than 75,000 residents was Colonie, N.Y.