Nope. It is both. From dictionary.com "ton" entry:
"7. Informal a. A large extent, amount, or number. Often used in the plural: has a ton of work; gets tons of fan mail."
Also, please provide a reference.
Since you asked politely, here's one. Manhattan, which I don't consider an "inner city slum" had 88 homicides in 2005, 102 in 2006, 68 in 2007, 62 in 2008, etc.
That's comparable to Ireland, Switcherland, Denmark, Austria, countries of 3 to 6 times the population of Manhattan (1.6), and 3 to 4 times the percentage of murders in Germany (adjusted for the 80 million population).
You just compared full countries to a densely populated city which is surrounded by Burroughs with notorious ghettos (in parts of the Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens and in New Jersey).
Not only that, but Manhattan is the entertainment center for the surrounding Burroughs and cities, where a lot of violence happens.
This is true in Toronto as well, our "club district" has one of the highest murder rates from people visiting who don't live in the club district.
I don't think Manhattan makes a fair comparison and doesn't disprove the OP's comment.
