The 2010 "Congressional Quarterly Press" list of America's 400 most dangerous cities placed North Charleston at No. 63, a significant drop from the previous year. The homicide rate alone decreased by 61%, and the lower crime rate removed North Charleston from the company of such cities as Detroit and St. Louis, placing it more in line with average, medium-sized Southern cities like Columbia and Chattanooga. City officials attributed the drop to the hard work of the North Charleston Police Department and the cooperation of city residents through "community policing" programs. U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Bill Nettles made community policing one of his statewide initiatives, starting the program in North Charleston in 2011.