St. Louis has overtaken Camden, N.J., as the nation's most crime-ridden city, according to a national survey.

CQ Press released its list of the 25 highest-crime cities, which uses FBI statistics to calculate crime rates on a per-capita basis, reports the Associated Press.

The survey found that St. Louis had 2,070.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, compared with a national average of 429.4. The remaining five on the list included Detroit, Flint, Mich., and Oakland, Calif.

St. Louis police spokeswoman Erica Van Ross denounced the report in a statement published by the Riverfront Times, which publishes a blog (The Big Bloody) chronicling each homicide in the city.

Van Ross said the rankings "are not at all about providing useful information to the public," rather they are geared toward book sales. Here's an excerpt of her statement:

While St. Louis, like many urban cities, has its challenges, crime has decreased in this city every year since 2007. So far in 2010, violent crime is down 17% this year as compared to last year and overall crime is down nearly 9%. We are a city whose population is growing. That is something that certainly would not be happening unless people felt safe here.

Read the full AP report.