It’s that time of year again, when D.C. residents brace for the annual rankings of the Most Dangerous Cities. But don’t cringe just yet, because amid crime emergencies, ubiquitous shootings and terrifying police impersonators — not to mention Fox News style headlines — we’ve actually continued our slide down this disreputable list.

D.C. now ranks as the nineteenth most dangerous city, sliding six slots from number 13 last year. The rankings are based on 2005 crime statistics released by the cities, which in D.C. includes a murder count of 195, down just a few from 198 in 2004. We’re not a bastion of peace and tranquility just yet, but compared to the murder rates nearly topping 500 in the early ’90s, we can certainly be thankful for the continued decline.

In light of this news, it’s also nice to hear that the surrounding counties are reigning in their crime rates, as well. While Prince George’s County rivaled D.C. last year with 173 murders, the Post reports that putting more patrol officers on the streets has led to a 28% decline in murders so far this year, along with a decrease in other violent crimes.

It may be worth noting that New Orleans didn’t submit crime statistics for last year, so D.C. could have even been only the twentieth most dangerous city, but then one has to note how relative the rankings are. It’s wonderful to hear that our crime stats are falling little by little in absolute numbers, but our decline in the rankings seems to be more about the increasing crime in other cities — not exactly something to cheer about. Violent crime is exploding in St. Louis, MO, which took over as number one.

See a complete list of the rankings here, which begins with the safest city, Brick, NJ. Baltimore also saw a decline from the sixth spot to the twelfth.