Clarksville 2nd 'most dangerous' in Indiana; Indianapolis 3rd

The historic Southern Indiana town of Clarksville is listed as second in the "10 Most Dangerous Places in Indiana," nearly eclipsing the top-ranked Chicago suburb Gary and ranking above Indianapolis, East Chicago and South Bend, according to an analysis by the Movoto Real Estate blog.

It's the second year in a row Clarksville has received a dubious distinction from Movoto, which ranked it America's sixth "most dangerous" suburb among other communities based on crimes per resident from 2012 statistics reported to the FBI.

The latest list released this week looks at 2013 statistics of violent, property and other crimes in relation to population. Seymour ranked eighth while Jeffersonville was listed at 18th and New Albany tied Muncie for 20th in the state.

The blog's analysis states that Clarksville residents were the likeliest in the state to be victims of a property crime and the third likeliest to be murdered in 2013. Overall, residents had a 1-in-13 chance in being a crime victim.

While Indianapolis had many more overall crimes — 10,479 total, including 129 murders — its roughly 850,000 residents are nearly 39 times the 22,000 residents of Clarksville. Movoto's rankings weigh violent crimes, murders and property crimes more heavily than total crimes to arrive at what it calls a "big deal score."

In Southern Indiana, Clarksville and neighboring Jeffersonville both saw a spike in homicides in late 2012 that lasted into 2013. These included the former Louisville Outlaws Motorcycle Club "enforcer" Billy Ray Chambers being gunned down inside his Clarksville home, a crime that like the 2013 murder of insurance salesman Steven Baldwin remains unsolved.

Ronald Shewmaker was sentenced to 65 years in prison for the Clarksville killing of Lisa McQuirt, a single mother he'd dated a couple times after meeting while she danced at a Louisville strip club.

New Albany and Jeffersonville police also have investigated several gruesome killings in recent years, such as three murders committed by William "Clyde" Gibson, who twice received the death penalty and a third sentence ensures he's behind bars for his entire life if he avoids execution. And 2014 included the Jeffersonville cannibalism case of Joseph Oberhansley, who faces the death penalty.

Last year, Clarksville town leaders and Police Chief Mark Palmer questioned Movoto's designation among "America's 10 Most Dangerous Suburbs."

Palmer contended that Movoto isn't using a factual formula because it doesn't account for the fact that Clarksville's population doubles or triples on any given day because of businesses along the Veterans Parkway, Lewis and Clark Parkway and Eastern Boulevard shopping corridors off Interstate 65.

And many of the historic town's crimes involve victims or criminals who don't live there, he added.

Before he retired at the end of last year after 25 years in office, former Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart contended that its crime rate, as well as the resulting case load and often-crowded county jail, are higher due to its proximity to Louisville, similar to other Hoosier suburbs near Chicago and Indianapolis.

Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write.

10 Most Dangerous Places in Indiana

1. Gary

2. Clarksville

3. Indianapolis

4. East Chicago

5. Washington

6. South Bend

7. Hammond

8. Seymour

9. Lafayette

10. Speedway