Is crime that bad? (Seattle, Bellevue: home, prices, safest)

[pwright1]

There are many aspects of crime but even when you look at total homicides this year I think its somewhere around 10. That is truely low for a city of nearly 600,000.

[allforcats]

Yes, as pwright says -- not a lot of crime against persons. I'll take crime against objects, like my car, any day of the week instead!

[MsKitten]

Originally Posted by chris

Violent crime exists mostly in the areas of south of Seattle down through Tacoma. Kent seems to have an inordinate amount of shootings for some reason.

Originally Posted by tada

The only "ghetto" area of Seattle is really the south end of it. Of course it gets worse the farther south you go (especially Tukwila and Tacoma)

My husband and I (both Americans) are relocating to Seattle area from Europe next January. We are looking for a small apartment to get settled in, with the hope of buying a house in the next year or two. My husband will be working in Tukwila and wants to be able to ride his bike to work some days, so would like to live in a 10 mile radius from Tukwila. Kent looks very nice when looking at the city's web page, yet I keep reading things about there being a lot of crime in Kent.

Is it madness to live in or near Tukwila? What neighborhoods/towns are recommended South of Seattle? We want something inexpensive yet safe, if possible.

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by pwright1

There are many aspects of crime but even when you look at total homicides this year I think its somewhere around 10. That is truely low for a city of nearly 600,000.

there was 10 in a month. wtf are you talkin about willis?

[Freebird2007]

I came from Boston where I thought it had a fair amount of crime. But Seattle seems to top them easy. Every day there is a news article with key terms as "murdered" "stabbed" "shooting" "gang related" "raped" or "assaulted"

People here need to get over their denial and accept that Seattle is getting violent and actually do something about it

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

I came from Boston where I thought it had a fair amount of crime. But Seattle seems to top them easy. Every day there is a news article with key terms as "murdered" "stabbed" "shooting" "gang related" "raped" or "assaulted"

People here need to get over their denial and accept that Seattle is getting violent and actually do something about it

Actually Seattle violent crime is lower than Boston's
Seattle property crime is greater than Boston's

Boston Crime Statistics (MA) - CityRating.com

Seattle Crime Statistics (WA) - CityRating.com

Boston:
Violent Crime Is 2.04 times the National Average
Property Crime Is 1.07 times the National Average

Seattle:
Violent Crime Is 1.15 times the National Average
Property Crime Is 1.82 times the National Average

Ken

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

Actually Seattle violent crime is lower than Boston's
Seattle property crime is greater than Boston's

Boston Crime Statistics (MA) - CityRating.com

Seattle Crime Statistics (WA) - CityRating.com

Boston:
Violent Crime Is 2.04 times the National Average
Property Crime Is 1.07 times the National Average

Seattle:
Violent Crime Is 1.15 times the National Average
Property Crime Is 1.82 times the National Average

Ken

thank you for the 2003 data.....I am refering to today




"Data Source:
2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement "

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

thank you for the 2003 data.....I am refering to today




"Data Source:
2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement "

Thanks for catching that. I didn't realize the date range.

Boston has yet to release it's 2007 number (that'll be in October) but for 2006

Violent Crime - 13.39 per 1,000 people
Property Crime - 44.62 per 1,000 people

Seattle 2007 numbers

Violent Crime - 6.3 per 1,000 people
Property Crime - 58 per 1,000 people

Seattle 2006 numbers

Violent Crime - Looks like about 7 per 1,000 people
Property Crime - Looks like about 70 per 1,000 people

Again, Boston higher on violent crime
Seattle higher on property crime

The mistake you are making is in basing your assessment of violent crime in Seattle on the various news reports. This reflects MORE on the SELECTION of news stories to be broadcast than it does on the actual crime rate.

Most Americans seem to think that crime is soaring in the US because of they have a constant exposure to crime stories on the news - when in fact the US crime rates have been consistly falling for the last 30 years and are now at very low levels historically. It's the BROADCASTING of crime news stories that has increased - NOT the volume of crime taking place.

Boston Crime Statistics and Crime Data (Boston, MA)

http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/PDF/200...ut_1-17-08.pdf

Ken

[LordBalfor]

Freebird2007 -

Here's a direct comparison:

Crime Rate Comparison: Boston Vs. Seattle

Boston leads in ALL violent crime categories.
Seattle leads in ALL non-violent crime categories.

Ken

[toughguy]

So you can live in Seattle and lose a few car stereos, or live in Boston and lose a few teeth.