Understanding local crime uncovers a wealth of insights that empower individuals to make informed decisions, foster a sense of community safety, and contribute to collaborative initiatives to improve the livability of neighborhoods. Researching local crime statistics also involves assessing trends on a temporal basis, highlighting how the patterns of criminal activity shift over time.
For New Yorkers, understanding how this data breaks down by neighborhood and precinct reveals the extent to which crime is spatially concentrated. For example, while murder rates have declined since the pandemic, they remain disproportionately high in certain areas of the city, including East New York, Brownsville, Crown Heights, Fordham, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Central Harlem. Shootings are especially pronounced in precincts with low crime clearance rates, which reflect how often a suspect is identified and charged or the case is otherwise closed (e.g., the perpetrator dies or is not available for prosecution).
More Americans say they frequently or occasionally get news and information about local crime than about any other local topic, except the weather. They are particularly interested in news about property crime, drug-related crime and violent crime. However, they are less satisfied with the quality of their local crime news than they are about the quality of news on other topics like the weather, government and politics, arts and culture, or schools. Those who frequently or occasionally get local crime news are most likely to find it from their friends, family and neighbors (71% do so often or sometimes), followed by local media outlets (68%), and locally focused apps like Nextdoor (53%). Interestingly, just 27% of those who rarely or never get local crime news say they rely on their local government or police department for this type of information.
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