Neighborhood Crime Rates: 5 Excellent Tools to Help You Figure out How Safe You Are

Lateet October 7, 2018

If you’re thinking about moving to a new state, you might have some things to consider. Depending on how far you’re moving, a change in weather and job security could be your top concerns. But what about neighborhood crime rates?

Although violent crimes have been declining in the U.S. in recent years, you can never be too sure when it comes to your neighborhood, new or old. Check out these 5 tools to ensure your new neighborhood is safe.

1. NeighborhoodScout

When you’re ready to start researching potential new cities, or if you’re curious about your current city, there are many tools that can help. Remember, it’s important finding a great neighborhood takes some legwork. Read more about what to look for.

NeighborhoodScout has all the information you need from crime rates to real estate trends. You’ll get the inside scoop on any neighborhood you’re researching.

If you’re torn between two cities, you can compare them by the number of property crimes and violent crimes each year. The site even breaks it down by crimes per square mile.

For some of these more in-depth features, you’ll have to subscribe to their website. But, much of the information you may want is free to access. Their blog offers articles with information on the safest cities in America.

2. AreaVibes

When you think about moving, you likely make a checklist of the most important factors you want in your new city. AreaVibes helps you find the best place to live based on these factors.

If you have an area in mind, AreaVibes rates the livability on a score between one and 100. Not only can you see how an area scores, but the site also assigns a letter grade from A+ to F based on seven different livability factors.

You get to see how the area does in relation to crime and how the schools and nearby amenities fare. The best part? AreaVibes is free to use!

3. Family Watchdog

You can never be too careful when it comes to learning about how many sex offenders live in your neighborhood. Family Watchdog is a free website which tells you the address of every registered sex offender in the area.

The website offers conviction information and photos, plus it uses color-coded icons to let you know of other various sex crimes. These crimes include: rape, sexual battery, and crimes against children.

Family Watchdog is free to use and if you sign up for the website notifications, you’ll get notified each time a new sex offender registers in your neighborhood.

4. National Sex Offender Public Website

Once you’ve picked an area, the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) is a great resource to use, especially if you’re a parent. It’s free to use and offers similar information to Family Watchdog.

You can see the registered sex offenders in the area and the website offers information on how to stay protected from potential victimization.

Keep the information handy by downloading the NSOPW mobile app and check back for updates on new areas and more information on child predators.

5. CrimeReports

While it’s great to have an abundance of information at your fingertips, sometimes all you want is information on a crime. CrimeReports is a great tool you can use.

Not only can locals submit crime tips, but local law enforcement agencies update the information weekly, daily, and even hourly. Locals have the option of registering their personal security cameras on the site to help prevent crime in the area.

Get updates and notifications by creating an alert on their website based on an address or area of interest. If you want to be alerted of specific crimes in the area, that option is available as well.

The website breaks down each type of crime based on different icons and easy-to-read graphs. Once you click on an icon you’ll have information about the crime down to the date and time.