How Safe Is My Neighborhood? Tips And Tools For Checking Neighborhood Safety

You’ve finally found your dream home, but how safe is the neighborhood? When buying a home, you must research the new neighborhood to make sure you’ll feel safe and secure. It’s a natural desire to avoid as many dangers and threats as possible, especially if you have a family or plan on having one in the future. But you can only tell so much about a neighborhood at face value. To learn more, you can ask around or use any of the online tools at your disposal.

We’ll explore the tools and strategies you can use to figure out how safe your prospective neighborhood is.

Is Your Neighborhood Safe? How To Check Neighborhood Safety

As a homeowner or prospective home buyer, you ought to know what’s happening where you live or where you plan to move. Staying informed on a neighborhood’s crime rate makes all the difference in feeling secure.

Before you purchase your dream home, help ensure that the neighborhood is safe using these four tips and critical tools:

1. Use A Crime Mapping Service

Several crime mapping sites allow you to view crime statistics in a neighborhood at the touch of a few buttons, including:

• CityProtect
• SpotCrime
• NeighborhoodScout
• AreaVibes

Sites like CityProtect (formerly CrimeReports) and SpotCrime collect police and crime report information. Type in your address (or potential address or ZIP code) and review the crimes committed in the area. The sites break down crimes by date and type of crime, such as violent crime, property crime or organized crime.

You can also compare a neighborhood’s crime profile with other neighborhoods in the surrounding area to get a better sense of your new neighborhood’s safety.

Other sites, like NeighborhoodScout and AreaVibes, provide data about neighborhood crime rates, as well as public school rankings and other livability factors.

It’s important to remember that crime data doesn’t paint the entire picture. While any type of crime may raise concerns for you and your family, you may want to do a little more digging before making an assumption about the neighborhood based solely on its local crime rate.

2. Review The National Sex Offender Public Website

The U.S. Department of Justice has a valuable tool to help you find registered sex offenders in your area. Visit the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) to determine whether any sex offenders live close to the new home. Like many crime websites, you can enter an address and see all the sex offenders in an area.

Another site you can visit to locate convicted sex offenders in your area is Family Watchdog. The site provides similar information and a map of offenders. It also notifies you and your family of possible threats in the new neighborhood. Family Watchdog also sends a notification if an offender moves in or out of an area.

3. Connect With People Who Currently Live In The Area

One of the best ways to research a new neighborhood is to connect with people in the area. Neighbors should have the best insight into what goes on and what you can expect. Talking to people in the neighborhood can help you determine the safety of the area, if the community fits your lifestyle and whether you and your family will be able to adapt.

Knocking on your new neighbor’s door can be very beneficial. You want to get a feel for the people who live in the neighborhood and allow them to feel comfortable communicating with you. They may share a lot of valuable information and offer on-the-ground insight into the neighborhood’s safety.

You may also want to consider joining your neighborhood’s Nextdoor page. Neighbors can post and comment about local events, lost pets or local area crimes on the social media app.

4. Take A Walk Or Drive Around The Neighborhood

Walking or driving around a neighborhood can give you a good sense of the environment a community provides. Some signs that may point to a neighborhood’s safety and security are:

• Local community events: Whether your community hosts block parties or farmers markets, community events are a great way to bring families together. The more engaged your community is, the safer you may feel.
• Children playing outside: If parents are okay with letting their children play outside, this may be a good sign that you’re in a safe neighborhood. When looking around the neighborhood, take note of any children riding their bikes or running from house to house.
• Booming local businesses: Does your neighborhood have family-owned restaurants, bookstores and ice cream shops? Spending money in the community is a strong sign of prosperity. Successful local businesses may be more likely to help a community grow and flourish.

Tips To Feel Safer In Your Neighborhood

Even if your new neighborhood is statistically safe, you can take extra measures to create more peace of mind. Secure your home and your loved ones by:

• Purchasing a home security system: You can install home security systems like ADT yourself or professionally and get 24-hour monitoring from one or more security cameras. Some systems also include fire and flood monitoring.
• Installing smart technology: Smart home devices, such as locks, doorbells and lighting, can help monitor your home even when you aren’t around. The Neighbors app by Ring can also report suspicious activity or crimes.
• Maintaining relationships with your neighbors: Getting to know your neighbors can go a long way toward feeling safe in your neighborhood. Your neighbors may keep an eye on your home while you’re away and contact you or law enforcement if they see any suspicious activity.

What Is The Safest State To Live In?

While you can take different measures and use different tools to help determine the safety of your neighborhood, another way to help ensure you’re moving to a safe neighborhood is by researching which states are statistically safer to live in.

World Population Review used a study based on five categories – personal and residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety and emergency preparedness – to list the top 10 safest states in America:

• Vermont
• Maine
• New Hampshire
• Utah
• Hawaii
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Minnesota
• Washington
• Rhode Island

The Bottom Line

Neighborhood safety is of utmost importance when choosing a place to live. To get a sense of the safety of your new home and determine whether the community is the right fit for you and your family, do some research and spend some time in the neighborhood before moving ahead with your purchase. While researching stats is important, it’s also important to talk to your neighbors or attend a community event.

Have you decided on your new neighborhood? Connect with an agent today to jump-start the home buying process.