In many cities, crime statistics are broken down by neighborhood or block groups. Depending on the police agency, these may be referred to as zones, sectors, districts, precincts or beats. Police departments generally produce periodic reports detailing crimes by each of these areas, often comparing them year-over-year. Some agencies also provide real-time crime maps online.
Americans who get local crime news regularly say they are satisfied with most of the sources they use. Virtually identical shares of Republicans and Democrats, including independents who lean toward either party, report being extremely or very satisfied with information they receive from local law enforcement (79%) and friends and family (77%). However, those who consume crime news from social media and search engines are more likely than those who consume this information from other sources to believe that the information exaggerates how much crime is happening in their community.
Those who consume the most local crime news are also the most concerned about how this crime affects their own sense of safety and security. Three-quarters of those who frequently or always consume this news say they are extremely or very worried about this impact. However, a smaller share of those who rarely or never consume this information feel this way.
When assessing the security risks of your facilities, crime data is an important piece of the puzzle. Whether used to inform facility-specific risk assessments or to drive business decisions, these metrics can help you mitigate security risks and reduce costs by helping you better understand and predict criminal activity.
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