Crime reports and statistics are important to Dallas home buyers searching for new homes. While Realtors can provide a wealth of information about schools, recreational facilities and home price trends in neighborhoods, we cannot refer to an area as "safe" or "low crime" because of liability issues and the subjective nature of such labels. Referring to an area as "safe" or "low crime" could be considered steering and/or redlining, which is a practice that is forbidden by Federal law and can result in serious consequences.
However, we can provide information about where to obtain reliable data related to crime statistics.
Dallas home buyers curious about crime statistics have many options available online that provide helpful information about incidents of crime that have occured in various cities and neighborhoods.
The methodology for how law enforcement agencies compile and report crime statistics is managed by the FBI via their Uniform Crime Reporting program. This program dictates how crime data are compiled and reported by law enforcement agencies across the country.
LINKS TO AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR SITES WITH INFO ABOUT CRIME STATISTICS AND SEXUAL OFFENDERS:
* www.crimereports.com - Information from over 700 law enforcement agencies and sexual offender data for all 50 states.
- Type in the property address on the home page to see results.
- Results page allows sorting by crime, date or distance.
- Selectable time period of three, seven, 14 or 30 days.
- Results shown on a Google map with detailed information provided to the left of the map.
* www.localcrimenews.com - Updated crime news and arrest records for local cities, including crime graphs, newsletters, RSS feeds for city crime news and many charts and graphs showing crime statistics for cities all over the United States.
- Click letters A-Z to show statistics by city.
- Smaller cities may not be covered by this site. Works best for larger metro areas and suburbs.
- Links to crime maps, RSS feeds, graphs and statistics are located on city pages.
* http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm - Information about the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics and Crime Data Reporting Methodology. The FBI created the Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 1930 as a means of collecting and reporting crime statistics in a uniform manner throughout the United States. A good site to read if you're curious about regional, state and federal crime data, as well as how the data are compiled.
Home buyers should consider researching crime statistics in their current neighborhood so they can compare them to neighborhoods they are interested in viewing. Virtually all neighborhoods in the United States have some level of crime. Often times, buyers may be surprised to see that their own neighborhood has a higher level of crime than they might have expected, despite the fact that they may have considered it a "safe neighborhood". This helps to put things in perspective when comparing neighborhoods.
Home buyers concerned about the safety of a particular neighborhood should also consider speaking with neighbors, neighborhood associations, the police department, as well as other law enforcement agencies. Driving a neighborhood at night is also sometimes a good idea.
John Jones, Realtor(R)
JR Premier Properties
18170 Dallas Parkway, Suite 303
Dallas, TX 75287
Dallas, TX Real Estate and surrounding areas of Richardson, Plano, Addison, Frisco, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Garland, Allen and Irving.
Dallas, TX neighborhoods and subdivisions of Lake Highlands, White Rock Lake, Lochwood, Eastwood, L Streets, M Streets, Hollywood Heights, Lakewood, Coronado and Gastonwood, Forest Hills, Preston Hollow.
Copyright 2008,2009, 2010 and 2011 by John Jones, All Rights Reserved. You may reblog or republish with links back to this post.
* THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT http://www.dfwrealestatenews.com *
Hmmm, I wonder if you are skirting on the edge here. By law as agents there is some information we can reveal and some we can't. I don't think you are in jeapordy by sharing links with your clients, but I am not a lawyer. This is just close enough to the edge that I would be careful in this litigeous age we live in. You certainly don't want to loose you license for doing a good deed that is outside our ability to speak about.
Thanks for the comment, Larry. In this instance, I don't believe I'm crossing the line because i'm not, in any way, steering or attempting to red-line a community, but simply providing links to crime statistics so buyers can have access to the information they may want. I consulted with several people before publishing this article, including an attorney, and believe i'm doing things in a manner that's both within the bounds of the law and ethical as well.