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You’ll want to eliminate any dangers before you commit to a lease or buying a home. Keep reading to learn how to research the crime stats in your prospective neighborhood and determine the safety of your current one.

SAFETY CONCERNS IN THE U.S.

The FBI releases a report every year called the Uniform Crime Report. It’s compiled by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Its main purpose is to generate reliable information to communities, students, and legal teams. According to the FBI 2018 report, there were:

1.2 million violent crimes in the U.S.
Among the various types of violent crimes reported in the country, aggravated assault is the most common.
7.2 million property crime offenses were reported including burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle theft.
Collectively, property crime victims lost a total of $16.4 billion.
In 2018, the Northeast reported the highest rate in closed cases for violent and property crime.

It’s important to note that these statistics vary every year and that crime overall has decreased. Reports show that violent crime has fallen 51% between 1993 and 2018. But statistics also show that there have been increases in certain crimes. For example, the rate of reported rapes has increased more than 2.6% year over year, to more than 120,000 cases in 2018.