Crime: Houston vs NYC (Howe: low crime, neighborhoods, living in)

[FDO]

Does anyone knows what is the comparison between Houston and NYC in terms of crime? Which is safer, NYC or Houston?

[saku39]

I don't know. But keep in mind if you're looking for statistics, all cities that keep stats keep them and tabulate them differently. So, there will be a variance in the numbers reported. City A might report an attempted car theft, but in City B that same crime goes down as an act of vandalism. In addition, all cities are different in their geography, economy, and population. For example, if City C has a large geography, bad economy, and lots of poor people, crime will be higher.

There's also a political component. In larger cities, police chiefs and mayors (like everyone) desire have low crime rates. But that's not always possible. There's only so much crime that can be tackled, there's only so much money and so many people you can put on the ground. And even if you had an army, you risk irritating the city populous by turning your city into a figurative police-state and there will always be criminals no matter what you do. So what happens is what I described in the above paragraph, and suddenly the stats look better. Depending on the city, certain crimes might not even be reported at all. And sometimes it's not like some of the police or administration are being devious, there is just literally a difference in the way things are handled.

Bottom line is, no matter what the level of crime is in Houston or NYC, each has good spots and bad spots. Maybe someone has some stats, but stats can be problematic as I've explained, and stats are not the ground. If you really want a good understanding of a place, go to the place in question and see for yourself.

[FDO]

Thanks for the lengthy reply..

[Randy2931]

You really need to look at crime in the specific area you will be working/living in. I'm sure someone will chime in with a resource with various crimes by area.

[theSUBlime]

Well, looking only at crime statistics, NYC is safer than Houston; However, what saku said is true, different cities report statistics differently. I'm pretty sure, given the density though, South Bronx and East New York might make Third Ward and Gulfton look like a cakewalk.

It also stands that one of Houston's most prevalant crimes is auto/auto property theft, in which it only makes sense that NYC's is lower, because less people have cars. So you have to look at what's important to you in any case, because there is crime everywhere. While I would rather not live in an area with high crime, in general, I'd take property crime over violent crime any day. That said, HPD is pretty darn awful, and that's why many nice neighborhoods in Houston have rent-a-cops.

[NYrangers]

No wounder the HPD is so darn awful, cause all the hard working cops were bashed by media and politics, the left overs are so cowered who worries about lawsuits and not doing what they supposed to do.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by NYrangers

No wounder the HPD is so darn awful, cause all the hard working cops were bashed by media and politics, the left overs are so cowered who worries about lawsuits and not doing what they supposed to do.

Well they are too busy harassing citizens and beating unarmed people. Either way; we're screwed.

[NYer75]

New York is safer than Houston. Actually, NYC is one of the safest in the nation. You are way more likely to be a victim of crime here than in NYC. After 9/11, NYC law enforcement works on hyper alert. The NYC of today is very different of the NYC back in the 70s-90s.

[TheEconomist]

I would say Houston is safer but generally because there are less people spread out over more space, nothing to do with the people of either city.

[FDO]

Based on the statistic, NYC I think is safer but I am not sure how accurate the statistic are. Even though NYC is considered one of the safest big city, you still hear crime everyday.