family of 8 relocating to NID; questions on community and crime (Sandpoint: 2015, crime rate)

[akfamily]

We are looking at a relocation later this year from Alaska and are drawn to the Sandpoint area. When we visited last summer, we loved how walking-friendly and clean the city was. But we do have a few questions before further considering a move:

We are wondering how welcoming the community is to newcomers. I know some small towns are extremely welcoming to new people while others can keep "outsiders" at a distance.

Also, will our large family stick out or is it not uncommon to see families with 4 or more children?

Finally, the crime index for Sandpoint greatly surprised me, and I was really shocked to learn that Ponderay has the highest crime rate in ID! How accurate of a picture is this for the area? We felt quite safe when we visited, but did we completely miss something? A safe community to live in and bring up our 6 kids is obviously highly important to us. Any insight is greatly appreciated!
TIA!

[Teufelshund20]

Ponderay, ID Crime and Crime Rate - USA.comâ„¢


Looks like it's theft mostly.

[akfamily]

Thanks. It's good to see there's not much in the way of violent crimes, but what's with the high burglary rate?

[Teufelshund20]

Originally Posted by akfamily

Thanks. It's good to see there's not much in the way of violent crimes, but what's with the high burglary rate?

You also need to remember they don't have much of a population. I think it's less than 1300 people. It could be unemployment issues or a drug problem , who knows. You can contact the the local police or sheriff and ask them about the area, specifically crime.

[f5fstop]

Can't say for sure, especially since I don't live there. But isn't Sandpoint area a large tourist area? If so, tourist areas usually have higher theft crime rates.

I lived in Moab that had high theft rates during the tourist season, but during the off-times it was low. A lot of the crime was vehicle break ins in parking lots or in trail areas where people parked their vehicle and hiked.

[Cnynrat]

I think those crime stats have been discussed here before. Recognize that Ponderay is in many ways the commercial/business center for the Sandpoint area. Yes, there are businesses and stores in downtown Sandpoint itself, but Bonner Mall is in Ponderay. I think there was a belief that a lot of the theft in Ponderay were things like shoplifting, but I don't recall if there were any data to support that belief.

From the data linked above it sure looks like the burglary stats for 2014 were an anomaly since prior years were no where near that high. It would be interesting to see if that trend continued in 2015.

Also, there are a large number of tourists in the area, but few residents, so when looking at statistics in per capita terms that use the number of residents as a base it tends to exaggerate the data. When you look at property crime rates for Bonner County overall they fall right at about the average for the U.S. overall. While that looks better than just Ponderay, it's still probably higher than one might think. Some of the property crime rates may be driven by the relatively high number of seasonally occupied residences in the county, and I think even at the county level there is the issue of a relatively large number of tourists and a smaller full time population.

Violent crime rates for the county overall are below the U.S. average, and I can tell you that we feel like it's a safe area overall.

Dave

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Off the top of my head, I seem to remember it also having to do with diligent reporting. Some areas read as if the crime numbers are low, because certain property crimes (like bicycle thefts) aren't even reported.

[LionFamily]

I agree with Dave; I think the crime rate in Ponderay has to do with the high percentage of businesses relative to the population.

As for your family size, I wouldn't worry about it. I know lots of large families through church connections; it's not at all unusual.

[LionFamily]

Forgot something! I believe a pastor at one of the churches in Clark Fork relocated from Alaska. You could probably do a little searching around and ask them about the comparison. I don't know them particularly well, but the wife is very friendly and kind.