Is it safe?

Sometimes when I’m working with a client I’m asked ”is this a safe area?” Of course this isn’t a yes or no type of question, so I refer clients to one several tools that can be used to view statistics on crime in the city.

The Austin Police Department maintains an online crime database and viewer called Crime Search which allows you to view crimes located near a specific address. Although relatively easy to use there’s no way to browse the city or see an overview to compare levels of crime by area. Click here to take a look.

Another tool, called Spot Crime, provides better functionality, allowing an overview of the city and the ability to set up an alert based on your address. You can pan and zoom around the city, and the map shows crimes by category using (somewhat goofy) icons that give a feel for density of crime in a particular area.

The newest addition to this category is from Trulia, a well know real estate oriented website. Their tool provides a ‘heat map’ of the city with blocks coded from green to red based on the number of incidents. This is the most direct way to answer the question about the level of crime in a particular area. Click here to take a look.

Of course a higher incidence of crime isn’t the only criteria for buyers. For instance, downtown Austin is coded bright red, the highest number of crimes per block, but also the location of some of the highest priced real estate in the city. But these tools can give you the information you need to factor into your overall decision.