I’ve seen the crime rates in the St. Louis area. They’re through the roof.
Unfortunately the whole area is going downhill fast. I just looked at the demographics of Hazelwood and was shocked to see it has gone from overwhelmingly white to a barely white minority majority as of the last census. Based on the rate of change, blacks probably outnumber whites there now.
I grew up not far away in the St Ann/Overland area. Last time I was in the old neighborhoods it was depressing. Lots of empty store fronts, used car dealerships and payday lenders outnumbered everything else. It was never a wealthy area but it was a good area when I was a kid. All of St Louis is going the way of Detroit I fear.