How to Check the Crime Rate
If you are concerned that your neighborhood or city are becoming unsafe, checking the crime rate can be your first step toward security. It can also be helpful in determining whether or not parts of the neighborhood or city in which you live are still safe for children or if you should move to a certain part of town. Knowing crime statistics can also help you decide if particular parts of the world are safe for travel. Fortunately, there are many resources available online for crime rates and statistics.
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Instructions
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Go to the FBI's website to find the Uniform Crime Report Program, where you can view the Crime in the United States (CIUS) reports. These reports offer the most comprehensive national statistics on crime in the United States. The CIUS reports offer statistics broken down by states and metropolitan areas and even give data about crimes on college and university campuses. The CIUS also offers crime statistics broken down into violent crimes and property crimes, as well as homicide and weapons statistics.
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Go to your local police department and ask for a crime incidence report to gather information about your own town or city's crime statistics. Oftentimes, a city's police department will have crime statistics posted on its website, although this will depend on your local police department's website.
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Find a website that offers a crime map. A crime map will show local crimes with details about what crime took place and where it happened. It can also include relevant information such as registered felons and sex offenders. This can be offered by your local police department online, but there are also many third-party organizations that offer this service, such as SpotCrime.com and felonspy.com.
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Check the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for international crime statistics. The UNODC compiles crime statistics from more than 120 different countries' available police records. These statistics are indexed by assaults, sexual violence and homicide, among others.
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Check the Bureau of Justice Statistics for information regarding various criminal offenses, such as Federal Justice Statistics surveys and Criminal Victimization surveys. This website offers many different types of criminal statistics and resources that can be helpful for those who want more specific criminal information.
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Tips & Warnings
The FBI's website warns of making simplistic comparisons of crime statistics. Due to the unique characteristics that determine crime, using statistics can be a crude way to estimate overall security.
References
Resources
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