Off the charts crime for Seattle? Or not? (Kent, Renton: real estate, low crime)

[henry_george39]

Visiting Seattle with my girl-friend. When looking for a hotel I stumbled into several websites that state
Seattle is one of the most crime-ridden, dangerous cities in the America. I'm concerned about going to down-town now or using mass transit. Certainly it seems you don't want to go out at night.

An example:


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Seattle is ranked, 4 on a scale of 0-100!!! Note the best score is 100. Newark, New Jersey is ranked 9.

or look at

crimemaping.com

Given the pricey real estate, I always assumed Seattle was a prosperous city. Or has Jeff Bezoz and
Bill Gates just bought everything up?

Is Seattle a polarized city with the ultra-rich living in towers and all the average folks struggling in poverty below?

[CrazyDonkey]

You need to distinguish between property crime (car prowls, break-ins, etc.) and violent crime (murders, assaults, robberies, etc.). Seattle scores high on the first, low on the second. Other than avoiding a few "hot spot" corners at night (SE corner of 3rd & Pine, for starters), I wouldn't worry about going out at night or riding public transit. Bad things can happen anywhere, of course, so you still need to be street-savvy, such as sticking to well-lit and populated streets.

As to the property crime, higher homeless and addiction rates likely have something to do with that, plus one of the lower police-to-residents ratios in the nation.

[Ira500]

Trust me: Newark, New Jersey is more dangerous than Seattle. Sure, there are less than savory parts within the city of Seattle, but when comparing crime, comparing a large city to the national average isn't an apples to apples comparison. Just that the national average includes completely rural, very low crime places.
A cop acquaintance told me a few years ago that in some places, people are more discouraged to call the cops, or are afraid of the cops, so on paper the crime rate is low. Seattle is a place with a long history of block watches, so people call the cops.
Yes, people do steal cars here, and there are neighborhoods where burglaries occur too frequently. You don't have to live in those neighborhoods. But if you do, living higher up in the building's usually a good idea. Lock doors. Use common sense. Get an alarm system. Most people who live in Seattle feel safe. Most people who live in Newark don't feel safe.

[Boxkicker]

If you pay attention to your surroundings, you will be safe!

Been to many games and events downtown and never had a problem.

[RotseCherut]

Seattle is horribly dangerous.. I'd advise not moving here ... Don't listen to Ira about Newark being more dangerous, look he is a Real Estate agent, he will tell you whatever you want to hear. In fact, all my good buddies with bullet wounds or laying beneath the ground right now can testify that Seattle is no town to mess around. There is a lot more corpses floating in the Puget Sound than there is in Newark Bay.. That is all I got to say.

[homesinseattle]

Most places are pretty okay, after hours it can feel dicey in Pioneer Square, and near the Pike Place Market. It is pretty safe but dangerous in the sense that you can be lured into a false sense of security. My motto is "believe in good but watch your back".

[mrman78]

No way is Seattle one of the most crime-ridden, dangerous cities in America! Crime statistics can be easily manipulated, so always best to really check the source and what they are reporting. Seattle is a relatively safe 'big' city in comparison to many its size and larger. I moved here from Houston and it's no where near as crime-ridden. I have never felt unsafe here. Even the 'bad' areas of town are not equivalent to the bad areas in most major cities. However, as in any city, common sense should always be used.

[thedonwind]

It has a large drug problem and homeless problem. It's very different than violence. Even with the drug problem, it's mostly internal, meaning there is drug issues between gangs. They have nothing to do with anyone else.
The homeless people won't even look at you.

[Ruth4Truth]

Most of Seattle is very placid, OP. Quiet, leafy neighborhoods, decent transit. I relied on transit in Seattle, including at night, and never gave it a second thought, except when attending evening activities in one neighborhood that was known to be a little risky (and which has gentrified since then). I never experienced a problem, though.

Most neighborhoods are family-oriented. No one I know has had a car break-in. I did have a home break-in once, but that was when I was living on the edge of the University District. There are only a few neighborhoods to be avoided when considering where to live. Other than that, Seattle is pretty peaceful, IME and my friends' experience.

[henry_george39]

Thanks for the replies.

North, south, east or west? Assuming you have a car, which are the normal areas?
It seems from crimemapping.com there are many car robberies and car break ins.

Is south of the airport ok? Kent, Federal way or southcenter or even Renton? Plan to take the train down-town.

It does not sound like Seattle uses 'broken-windows' , NY style policing. I would have assumed you have a large police force considering all the revenue from Boeing, MSFT, Amazon, Starbucks. It's very confusing to hear about the crime issues.