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GREENSBORO - We're number one.

Unfortunately, Greensboro tops the state in crime, according to the most recent volume of Congressional Quarterly Press's annual City Crime Rankings.

The publisher ranks cities and metropolitan statistical areas with more than 75,000 in population that report data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the bureau's Uniform Crime Reporting program. The seven North Carolina cities included in the ranking all have less crime than Greensboro, according to the report.

Durham and Winston-Salem were not included in the CQ analysis.

"We have seen surges in violent crime, particularly robberies, this year," said Assistant Chief Gary Hastings , acting police chief on Tuesday . "There has been a tremendous number of robberies of businesses and individuals."

The CQ ranking calculates its own composite crime number. The CQ ranking weighs murder, rape, robbery aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft . CQ press excludes theft and larceny from its ranking, a crime that accounted for 58 percent of crime nationwide in 2007 , according to CQ.

At number 57 on the national list, Greensboro is the highest-ranked city in the state, followed by Charlotte at 62 .

"We're right around Charlotte," Hastings said. "Sometimes they're ahead, sometimes we're ahead."

Cary is the lowest-ranked city.

Hastings said police share the burden of reducing crime with city residents and the court system.

"When all that works together and we arrest people, we really can have an impact," Hastings said.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com