| Clark County neighborhood crime statistics |
|
 |
|
Click
here to see numbers for all neighborhoods. The
average rate is 132.7 crimes per 1,000 residents,
using a system that totals all crimes with equal weight,
from shoplifting to murder.
Crime rates using state's eight basic crimes
system (First six months of 2006, crimes per
1,000 residents.) |
| City |
Crimes per
1,000 residents |
| Portland |
30.9 |
| Vancouver |
23.7 |
| Unincorporated Clark County |
12.1 |
| Battle Ground |
17.6 |
| Camas |
16.2 |
| Washougal |
15.7 |
| Ridgefield |
13.8 |
| La Center |
4.3 |
|
|
Crime rates vary by neighborhood
February 25, 2007
By JOHN BRANTON, Columbian staff writer
How does your neighborhood or the town you live in compare with others
in terms of crime?
It's a topic
that interests many. People planning to move to Clark County have called
or e-mailed The Columbian more than once, trying to decide where to buy
a home.
With so many
areas to choose from, why land in a place where a high crime rate may
threaten your safety or enjoyment of your home?
It's easy to
check an area's crime rates:
The Washington
Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs keeps statistics from most law-enforcement
agencies in the state. WASPC tallies eight basic crimes: murder, rape,
robbery, aggravated assault, arson, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle
theft.
Since a similar
agency in Oregon uses the same system, you can compare Vancouver with
Portland, for example.
In Clark County,
crime analyst Brian Salsig uses a different method. He counts all crimes,
from petty theft to murder, in nearly 100 neighborhoods that have active
neighborhood associations.
Neighborhoods
aren't to be confused with subdivisions. To learn which you live in, call
360-696-8051 for the Vancouver city limits, or 360-397-6012, ext. 5, for
the unincorporated county.
For this story,
Salsig's totals for each neighborhood, counting all crimes equally, were
used.
Neighborhood
crime rates, expressed as the number of crimes per 1,000 residents, are
generally reliable. But there are a few exceptions.
In the Esther
Short neighborhood in downtown Vancouver, the crime rate always appears
astronomical. The rate is based on the 1,625 people who live there. But
during the day, untold thousands of folks come there to shop, steal, eat,
work, appear in court, get a police report, go to jail, apply for a permit
or enjoy the park and the neighborhood.
Crimes committed
in the jail and courthouse also pump up totals.
The Van Mall
neighborhood has a skewed crime rate, too, to a lesser degree. Big malls
often rack up large numbers of shoplifts, bad checks and sometimes car
prowls.
The bottom
line: Large numbers of people or businesses can mean more total crimes,
but most aren't violent. So, it's usually safe to take a walk there. |
