PETERSBURG -- Rickey Etterson lived and worked in Petersburg most of his life, but last year he decided to move.

The reason: "Petersburg has a high crime rate," Etterson, a cab driver, said. "I love Petersburg . . . but I don't feel safe. I would not walk on the street."

Twice in recent years, suspects broke into his Old Towne home. One day he found a man sleeping on his front porch and most recently, a friend was robbed and stabbed as he was walking down the road, Etterson said outside the Unique Cab Co. on Halifax Street.

State police crime statistics for 2007 indicate that Petersburg is central Virginia's most dangerous place to live, based on the number of crimes for its size. The city recorded 93 offenses per 1,000 residents.

Last year the city saw substantial increases in most violent crimes, except homicide and rape, according to the state police data.

Several other drivers gathered in front of their taxis on Halifax Street yesterday shared the same concerns as Etterson. They said the crime statistics remain high because of the city's lack of jobs, few after-school and recreational youth programs, and drug problems.

A few blocks down, at the Qwik Stop Grocery store on East Wythe Street, owner Roston Beard said he has been robbed several times in his 21 years in business there. Twice he has used a weapon to defend himself, he said.

"You can see how the crimes have gone up in the past couple of months. It's not getting any better," Beard, a retired military man, said as he worked the register.

"Yes, it's terrible," said a customer purchasing a box of chips.

Residents say they are optimistic about the housing and economic development taking place in the city, but said city officials should pay more attention to the rundown neighborhoods.

And what about the police?

"They are doing what they can," Beard said. "But they can't be in four or five places at the same time."

Petersburg Police Chief John I. Dixon III said this week that the department of 106 officers is working on several strategies to bring down the crime rate. Dixon's main emphasis since he took over in September has been community policing.

He said he was aware the city had a crime problem when he took the job, but he wasn't familiar with the recent statistics.

"I am not aware of what was being done before," he said, adding that he couldn't comment on the 2007 statistics or recent police data that show a 70 percent increase in robberies so far this year.

"The overall goal is to reduce [the crime rate] as far as possible as you can," Dixon said. The city is actively recruiting and hopes to hire between 20 and 25 new officers.

The department has started several crime-prevention programs, including an anti-gang initiative and a partnership with the public school system to combat truancy. Detectives are studying trends, so officers can be sent to high-crime areas at times when incidents are more likely to occur, he said.

At a Petersburg online forum, some blog participants concerned with the crime numbers said they had confidence in the new chief.

Mayor Annie M. Mickens said the chief's approach, with community policing and with an emphasis on youth crime, is the right direction for the city.

"I definitely believe Chief Dixon is moving into the right direction," she said.

However, Mickens said she found it hard to believe that Petersburg is the least safe place to live in the region.

"I do not feel as if I live in the most dangerous place in central Virginia," she said. "I just find it truly amazing."

Mickens, who has lived in Petersburg since 1967 and has served on the City Council for more than 20 years, said the city has been facing some challenges since the '70s.

"The issue of crime has been an issue for years," she said, "but it has been an issue for everybody, not just Petersburg."