Crime Is Down, but Your Business Needs to Keep Its Guard Up
I recently spoke to a church group in Bucks County, Penn. I offered the group of about 40 people an overview of current crime threats.
I took questions after my talk and one person asked if the neighboring city of Philadelphia was a safe place to visit.
As a Philadelphia resident, I told the group that despite the news stories of flash mobs, drug gangs, robberies, and murders, the city is relatively safe.
Philadelphia received 37 million visitors in 2010, and the overwhelming majority of them were not robbed or murdered during their visit. Many of them returned in 2011.
In Center City, the main cultural and shopping district, crime is very low and there is a very strong police presence.
According to the figures released on September 19th by the FBI, crime is down across the country as well.
According to the FBI's annual report Crime in the United States, the 2010 crime statistics show that violent crime declined 6.0 percent and property crimes declined 2.7 percent when compared with the 2009 estimates.
Crime in the United States was complied from data submitted to the FBI from more than 18,000 city, county, university and college, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies.
The total number of crimes reported was 10,329,135, with 1,246,248 violent crimes and 9,082,887 property crimes. The most common violent crime was aggravated assault (62.5 percent of all violent crimes during 2010) and the most common property crime was larceny-theft (68.2 percent of all property crimes during 2010).
The total losses for victims of property crimes, excluding arson, was an estimated $15.7 billion.
According to the report, robbery had the largest decrease at 10.0 percent, followed by forcible rape with a 5.0 percent decline, murder and non-negligent manslaughter with a 4.2 percent decrease, and aggravated assault with a 4.1 percent decline.
Also according to the report, there were an estimated 9,082,887 property crimes across the nation. The largest decline, 7.4 percent, was for motor vehicle thefts. The estimated number of burglaries decreased 2.0 percent, and the estimated number of larceny-thefts declined 2.4 percent.
Crime is down, but of course being the victim of an aberrant crime is of little consolation.
Despite the drop in crime, one should not become complacent. Even with crime stats dropping, there are still crooks out there who want to steal, rob, cheat, assault, and even murder.
I've had more than one cop tell me that they've come upon burglary scenes where the home or business owner had a burglary alarm system but failed to turn it on. This is especially true in places like Bucks County, where the crime rate is very low.
If you have a burglar alarm system, leave it on, and always lock your doors and windows. Always be aware of your surroundings and always be on guard for suspicious persons and suspicious behavior.
Despite the drop in crime, one should remain security-conscious and continue to take basic crime prevention measures to ensure the safety and security of your employees and customers.
