How to Find the Crime Rate for your New Neighborhood

There are many websites that are dedicated to helping you find out the crime in an area. With many websites you usually put in your address, and a map will pop up with little balloons on it. You can choose how far back the search goes. You can also see the orientation of the crime by clicking on the balloon to get more information. I highly recommend doing this before you move to a new area. I would even recommend doing this periodically to keep an eye on your surroundings.

My personal experience with websites such as these were shortly after I got robbed while living in a condo outside Charlotte, NC. One of the officers on the scene made the comment that it wasn’t a good area. I decided I would look up my neighborhood and the surrounding areas to see how bad the crime was. As soon as I typed in my address my screen looked like it had chickenpox. I was surprised because it didn’t look or feel like a bad area. I found out the “cameras” in my neighborhood were no more than mere housings. I also didn’t carry renters insurance at the time, so everything that was taken was gone. I highly recommend renter’s insurance, and don’t wait till it’s too late to see what the crime is like in your area.

I will post links to example websites where you can find this information.

CrimeReports

Neighborhood Scout

Spot Crime