Is Your Neighborhood Safe? 7 Tools to Help You Find Out

Safety is subjective. What you consider a "safe" neighborhood, someone else may not. We chose a range of tools to include the different dimensions of neighborhood safety. From crime reports to school ratings, safety is a complicated, multi-layered concept. 

While reading this article, consider how you use neighborhood safety tools. Are you using them to build or divide your community? When you find problems, look for solutions. Remember that community safety comes from putting in work. 

Biases against race, sex, and class aren't always easy to spot, especially in ourselves. So it's important not to make assumptions about those you don't recognize in your neighborhood. 

Crime is just one piece of the puzzle that makes a neighborhood safe. And many statistics are subject to what police and law enforcement report to federal institutions like the FBI and Bureau of Justice. Crime statistics like these also rely on citizens reporting crimes, and not all crimes or scary incidents are reported and tracked.

The elements listed below can make a neighborhood safer, but aren't usually included in municipal reports. 

• Ample street lighting 
• Safe sidewalks and bike lanes
• Accessible emergency and fire services
• Fire hydrants that are close to homes
• Active, well-funded schools
• Access to medical care
• Clean parks

And there are plenty of ways to make a neighborhood safer. Here are some neighborhood safety tips.

Along with these safety resources, apps like NextDoor and Ring's Neighbors app serve as local noticeboards for lost and found items, community questions, and even classified listings. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer compiles crime reports from all over the country. While the tool doesn’t portray crime mapping by address, you can find crime data for your state, your city, or a location you might want to move to in the future. The data is divided by crime type, including violent crime, hate crime, property crime, and arrests.

If you love data and charts, this is an easy website to get lost in. The FBI provides methodologies for its reporting and includes stats on anything from hate crimes to property damage. 

The Ozzi app was developed after the 2015 Paris attacks and has since become a global neighborhood watch. It includes safety alerts, area ratings, and even global safety heatmaps to show areas with higher rates of crime, violence, and natural disaster risk. 

I used Ozzi on two trips abroad — one to London and the other to multiple cities in Spain. I was impressed with the accuracy of updates, the variety of safety information shared (I even got traffic issues and train delays), and the immediacy of the warnings. I still get alerts about things happening at home (and where I previously traveled), and I remain impressed.

But like Life360, Ozzi is a paid app. Thankfully, it costs much less, even for world travelers. At its most expensive, it's only $10/month and includes access to data in other countries. Otherwise, your dataset is narrowed by state ($4/mo.) and national borders ($6/mo.). 

Along with app services, Ozzi also offers travel insurance and trip protection for your visits abroad.

AreaVibes provides crime maps and details about property crime and violent crime, but it also scores communities on other factors such as cost of living, education, health, housing, and amenities. Based on the statistics in that area, towns are given an F to A+ score. 

We love this tool because it takes a more zoomed-out approach to "neighborhood safety." If you're focused on crime, you can check out a breakdown that includes the numbers of violent and property crimes reported, along with a heatmap of areas where incidents were reported. 

If you're interested in seeing how your neighborhood ranks on other factors, you can dive into similar statistics for livability.

Family Watchdog maps the addresses of registered sex offenders in your neighborhood or near your child’s school. Just type a location or address into the website’s search box, and Family Watchdog generates a map pinpointing the address of nearby registered sex offenders. If you’re looking for a specific individual, you can search for them by name.

Color-coded icons correspond to various sex crimes, including crimes against children, sexual battery, and rape. Click the icon, and you’ll see a picture of the offender, learn their aliases, and find out what sex crime they’ve been convicted of.

You can sign up for alerts whenever a registered sex offender moves in or out of your neighborhood through the website. In addition to detailed information about offenders, this online tool offers personal safety tips, facts about sexual abuse, and a comprehensive blog and newsletter.

Family Watchdog is a free service, but you’ll be sent off-site to a subscription service if you want detailed background reports about any offenders.

SpotCrime maps crimes on-site and delivers crime alerts to your email. It gathers data from more than just law enforcement agencies. It also collects information from news reports and user tips. You can even see a list of missing persons, crime stats, and cold cases in your area. 

One of SpotCrime's best features is how user-friendly and highly visual it is, giving you a quick look at crime information in your neighborhood. Crimes are represented by icons that make it easy to see what activity takes place in your neighborhood.

When you click on an icon, you get the crime title, when and where it took place, and a link that directs you to the source where the data came from.

Life360 is a phone app with heaps of safety features for your entire family. From location services and check-in features for the kids to digital safety features that cover ID theft, data breaches, and credit monitoring, it does a great job of rolling multiple services into one giant app. 

While a free plan is available, you'll need a subscription to get the most out of it. The free plan includes crash detection and an SOS button for anyone in your circle. But the good stuff starts at around $7.99/month.

Life360's Gold and Platinum plans include features like driver safety reports, towing services, and localized crime reports.

Wherever you live, feeling safe in your home can bring greater peace of mind and happiness. Check out our home security checklist to make sure your home is as protected as possible.

You may also want to consider a monitored home security system or security cameras to help protect your loved ones and valuables. Just seeing a security camera or home security sign or sticker can deter a would-be intruder. And monitored systems can call for law enforcement if a break-in does occur.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and learn how to protect your home, loved ones, and belongings.

• 7 Simple Ways to Make Your Neighborhood Safer
• Staying Safe in Your Neighborhood
• Steps to Starting a Neighborhood Watch
• 10 Factors to Consider When Determining the Safety of Your Neighborhood
• Best Video Doorbell Cameras