Factors in Determining the Safety, or Lack of, in Your City

Violent crime statistics are both useful and unsettling. Here at the Darrow Law Firm, Houston Criminal Lawyer, Paul Darrow believes that knowledge is power. We all want to believe that we are perfectly safe in our own neighborhood but believing alone does not make it true. So, just what does determine if a city is considered safe or dangerous?  Data helps, of course, but many other factors may apply including:

• Community Support (unified efforts of local government, businesses, programs for youth)
• Law Enforcement  Presence/Involvement
• Crime Statistics
• Crime Deterrent Measures (neighborhood watch, gated communities, stiff local punishments)
• Neighborhood Participation

We proposed to report the most recent findings on violent crimes in Texas cities with populations of 100,00 or more.  Below are our findings and be sure to check out our safety tips at the bottom of this post.

What Can You Do to Help Your Neighborhood Be as Safe as Possible?  Six Simple-to-Achieve Steps:

• Bond with and band up with your neighbors! This is easy and has several benefits.  The “I look out for you, you look out for me” concept has never been more important.  Keep your neighbors informed if you are going to be away and give them a number you can be reached at.

• Improve the lighting and have visible security cameras.  Also relatively simple to accomplish. A couple of well placed flood lights deter would-be criminals from using the dark to commit crimes. Security equipment has come down considerably in price and thieves and vandals know that if they are caught on camera, they are as good as CAUGHT.

• Know and invite your local law enforcement into your neighborhood. Set up a neighborhood or community meeting, ask for a representative of the local law enforcement to attend. He or she will be able to help get you organized and offer crime prevention tips and inform you what crimes have been occurring in the area.

• Lock up and keep valuables out of sight. This may seem like a no-brainer, but some people think that crime only happens at night. Keep your home and cars locked at all times, day or night. Draw your curtains and blinds when it gets dark – don’t advertise that big screen tv!

• Be active outside and maintain your area. When a neighborhood has an obviously active, involved and vigilant look to it, that sends a message to potential crime perpetrators. People outside interacting with each other and keeping their yards maintained says, “I care about my property, my neighborhood and my community. You can’t get away with crime here”.

• Always report suspicious behavior. Whether you make a non-emergency report to police of questionable activity, or inform your neighbor about something that seemed strange to you, keeping everyone informed is one of the earmarks of prevention.

Data Sources

Crime data was sourced from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program and reflect data for 2016.

Demographic information was gathered from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Area Vibes.