Pustic,
Unfortunately, the city where I live, used to make the list for the most violent cities in the U.S. More times than I can remember, we topped the list for the state. There used to be a running joke about winning the perpetual trophy for the number of homicides (per capita) in our area.
The city has had several nick names over the years, like Bagdad by the Bay, or Beirut by the Bay. Dodge City was the original and nick name and has outlasted the others. "Dodge" has that western flavor, being on the west coast. Thankfully, it sems to be changing for the better now.
