Is NC as crime-ridden as the stats would have us believe?!? (Greensboro: crime rate, safe area)

[Chrabascz]

We have been exploring a relocation opportunity in NC that could send us from here in AZ to Asheville, Winston-Salem or Greensboro (those would be our choices). If the numbers (stats) are to be believed, the crime rates are high and on the rise in all three of these areas. Is this accurate or misleading?

We are a family with young children, ages 3 and 5, and would like to find a SAFE area with good public schools and family activities.

Thank you for your time and attention.

[arbyunc]

What numbers are you using? Do you have a link?

According to this article, N.C. crime rate sees sharpest drop in 25 years :: WRAL.com, NC crime rates actually fell sharply in 2009, and most major cities reported significantly lower rates. The three cities you mentioned had rate drops of 14% over the prior year.

Regardless, I think all three cities are very safe. There is crime, of course, but for the most part it seems confined to the sketchy areas of town. I would say most of the crime I hear about in the Triad is either domestic violence, drug-related, or larceny/break-ins. Fortunately we rarely hear about muggings or random assaults on innocent people, and I always feel quite safe in downtown Winston-Salem, Greensboro, or Asheville.

[WFW&P]

Its just like anywhere else USA, you have good areas in cities & bad areas. The neighborhood I live in we sleep with the windows open during the season & never had an issue. Other neighborhoods I wouldn't dare do that in.