Des Moines was a relatively safe place when I lived there.
Des Moines' "gang problem" was apparent as long ago as when Russ Van Dyke was still anchoring at 6:00. At the time, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the political aspects of life in Iowa, but looking back it was a pretty good indicator of how screwed up things were going to be from then on. As long as the troubles were kept within the tribes, it was no big deal to the rest of the state until someone wandered too far from Vets when attending HS basketball or wrestling tournaments, or got a jolt seeing downtown for the first time in a while.
The first inkling I ever had that the city manager form of local government was a crock was back when the police chief - I believe it was Maus at the time - seemed oddly mealy-mouthed about the fact that murders in Des Moines were becoming common enough to become standard reporting on the local 6:00 news. Only after seeing a bit more of life did I finally figure out what the score likely was.
(I'm living it now in a different part of the carcass.)
Mr. niteowl77