As Realtors, it seems like we almost always have an answer for yourquestion, or at least know where to find it. The one question that wecan't answer is the one we get all the time, is this neighborhoodsafe? Constrained by fair housing laws, we aren't allowed to declareneighborhoods safe or bad mouth them either. All we are allowed todo is suggest that you check out any area you are considering buying.
So the next question we obviously get is, where do Ifind out thesafety of a neighborhood? To get cold hard facts, you can always goonline to get the latest crime statistics and reports. These will giveyou a sense of crime rates, but if you aren't familiar with the graphsand plots and what the numbers really mean, it can be quite confusing.Luckily, I ran across this article on msn.com about what to look for ina safe neighborhood and found many of the points valuable. There is nodefinitive way to know absolutely that a neighborhood is safe butthese steps can certainly help give you a much better idea of what aneighborhood has to offer.
Trust your Gut
It's what police have long said, for many situations: pay attentionand trust your gut. Homebuyers certainly rely on it, often by taking adrive. Even safety officials reiterate the concept.
I always feel like if your gut says there's something wrong,there's something wrong, says Robbi Woodson, manager of the NationalSheriffs' Association Neighborhood Watch program, at USAonWatch. If things don't look right, then most likely they're not right.
But the gut is driven by real information, even when people aren'taware of it. And some of that information may, in fact, be off, coloredby preconceived notions of what a safe area is supposed to look like.
To be certain, experts say, prospective buyers need to know what to consider and apply the same methodical inventory they use to evaluate the home. Check off the boxes.
A lot of people spend so much time looking at the physicalconfiguration of the house, but they forget that they don't just livein the house, they live in the neighborhood, Saville says. Their lifeis affected by the neighbors.
A neighbor who cares
If you've been paying any attention to the news since the 1990s, whencommunity policing came into vogue, then you're familiar with thebroken-windows theory.
Broken windows, nearly all criminologists agree, along withdilapidated buildings, abandoned lots, missing street lights, rampantgraffiti, unkempt yards basically any signs of neglect attractcrime. The reasons are both practical dark, lonely spots sit out ofview and psychological would-be vandals are, ironically, less aptto mess with nice stuff.
As a prospective resident, though, you have to consider anunderlying question, too. Will people who let their lots fall intodisrepair treat you badly as well? After all, it's the neighbors, notthe police, who will serve as the first and best line of defense.
Areas designed with safety in mind
Now, do you see people? Are they out and about? Can you clearly see thechildren playing in the park and the man walking to the store?
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design,a program that brings safety considerations to the drawing board, asksthese questions, and the solutions usually align with the adageThere's safety in numbers. Safe neighborhoods are those in whichpeople are physically able to see each other. It means they needdesirable places to go, and places that are visible from sidewalks andwindows.
If you're walking the neighborhood, here's what to look for:
- Multiple-use areas: A park is used and watched when it's near a coffee shop or post office. Think about it: Would yourather send your kids to a playground bounded only by tall shrubs andthe backs of a few homes?
- Recreational areas with clear entries and exits:This is a form of marking territory. Places that have marked, visibleentrances give users a sense of ownership and are less likely to behijacked for criminal use. It need not be a tall fence, just a clearboundary.
- Land and buildings that are well-maintained: Ahomeowner, or homeowners association, that takes the trouble tomaintain areas will be heavily invested in protecting those areas fromcrime.
- Unobstructed lines of sight:Shrubs and fences thatborder walkways should not be taller than 3 feet. Places where peoplewalk and play should be visible from house windows. You want eyes onthe street, Saville says.
- Real house fronts:Wait, don't all houses havefronts? No, some have driveways and giant doors that are always shut.If I drive down the front of a residential street and all I see isgarages, that tells me the life of the house is in the backyard, saysSaville, who also blogs on safe neighborhoods. What it does is it abandons the life of the street to the cars.
- A neighborhood nightlight: Do people keep theirporch lights on? They don't have to be high, bright lights that suckthe energy out of the grid, Saville says, just enough to seeapproaching figures, as if under a full moon.
- People out walking:The more walkable a street is,the more likely it is that people are outside to watch you and protectyou, Saville says. An active street life is one of the best defensesagainst street crime.
As a hefty bonus, all of the above also help create a sense ofcommunity. This improves the quality of life and bumps up home values.
Crime data on the Web
Now back to the crime data online. A growing number of sites areincorporating crime statistics into informative dare we say, at timesvisually stunning maps that can be searched by neighborhood, date andtype of crime.
We've noted a few. Just keep in mind, says Saville, the former cop,that these don't tell the whole story. Incidents are logged only when aperson has reported a crime, police have responded and an officer hasfiled a report. This can skew the results.
The best bet, real-estate agents say: talk to your prospectiveneighbors. Or, rather, let them talk. Chat with a few and a decentpicture of neighborhood concerns will become clear.
Still, the sites do offer useful comparisons. Many area policedepartments have their own, so check there. Here, too, are a few more:
- EveryBlock.com:Owned by MSNBC, the site compiles news and data for neighborhoods in 15cities and includes a section for crime. Users can specify an area (upto an eight-block radius) and search by date and types of crime. Thecrime reports also appear in list form.
- CrimeReports.com:A national site that's expanded to include information from 600law-enforcement agencies in North America. Offers free searches.
- NeighborhoodScout.com:A multipurpose site that compares your neighborhood criminal stats withthose of the city, state and the nation. It relies on statisticalmodeling to do so, but claims 87% effectiveness.
- Oakland Crimespotting:An easy-to-view, integrative map that shifts before your eyes. Thedeveloper appears to only have a map for Oakland, Calif., but the modelcould be adopted by other cities.
- National Sex Offender Public Web Site: A U.S. Department of Justice site that links to the public registries for all 50 states, the territories and the tribes.
- Family Watchdog:Anational site, searchable by neighborhood, that shows where offenderslive and work, and provides e-mail updates. Points out that nine out of10 sexual assaults against children are committed by a person the childknew.
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