Recent acts of violent crime and theft in the area have reignited gun control conversations in particular and crime conversations in general.
While high-profile incidents tend to garner attention, it can be helpful to look at the raw data to better understand actual trends versus fear-based perceptions.
The Brookings Institute recently published an article about the way in which perceptions of crime can lead to adverse outcomes, including workers’ reluctance to return to office and small business owners deciding to move elsewhere.
Sorting through FBI crime statistics can be difficult, though there are tools that can simplify the process. CityRating.com, for example, is a comprehensive resource of cost of living, population statistics, crime statistics, school rankings, and general relocation information about metro areas. It claims to use FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement as its source for criminal data.
This is what they have to say about our area:
Cheltenham Township
A Cheltenham Township Crime Rate Report published by CityRating.com stated that “Cheltenham Township crime statistics report an overall downward trend in crime based on data from 19 years with violent crime decreasing and property crime decreasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Cheltenham Township for 2023 is expected to be lower than in 2018.”
The report continues:
The city violent crime rate for Cheltenham Township in 2018 was lower than the national violent crime rate average by 50.95% and the city property crime rate in Cheltenham Township was higher than the national property crime rate average by 20.63%.
In 2018 the city violent crime rate in Cheltenham Township was lower than the violent crime rate in Pennsylvania by 39% and the city property crime rate in Cheltenham Township was higher than the property crime rate in Pennsylvania by 78.08%.
Abington Township
City Rating’s for Abington Township showed an opposite trend, though 56.15% lower than the national violent crime rate:
Abington Township crime statistics report an overall upward trend in crime based on data from 12 years with violent crime increasing and property crime increasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Abington Township for 2023 is expected to be higher than in 2010.
The city violent crime rate for Abington Township in 2010 was lower than the national violent crime rate average by 56.15% and the city property crime rate in Abington Township was lower than the national property crime rate average by 21.15%.
In 2010 the city violent crime rate in Abington Township was lower than the violent crime rate in Pennsylvania by 51.66% and the city property crime rate in Abington Township was higher than the property crime rate in Pennsylvania by 6.74%.
Jenkintown Borough
Jenkintown showed a similar trend as Abington, though 40.84% lower than the national violent crime rate:
Jenkintown crime statistics report an overall upward trend in crime based on data from 9 years with violent crime increasing and property crime increasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Jenkintown for 2023 is expected to be higher than in 2018.
The city violent crime rate for Jenkintown in 2018 was lower than the national violent crime rate average by 40.84% and the city property crime rate in Jenkintown was lower than the national property crime rate average by 28.35%.
In 2018 the city violent crime rate in Jenkintown was lower than the violent crime rate in Pennsylvania by 26.43% and the city property crime rate in Jenkintown was higher than the property crime rate in Pennsylvania by 5.77%.
Glenside
AreaVibes.com assesses municipalities according to a Livability Score, created using an algorithm that takes into account dozens of characteristics including nearby amenities, cost of living, crime rates, employment, schools, housing and user ratings.
Their Key Findings include:
- Glenside has a Livability Score of 83/100, which is considered exceptional
- Glenside crime rates are 48% lower than the Pennsylvania average
Conclusion
As far as national comparisons of FBI crime statistics are concerned, Glenside, Cheltenham Township, Abington Township, and Jenkintown Borough seem to be safe places to live.
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Graphs courtesy of CityRating.com