Comments (12) | Add a comment
Area's danger rating raises eyebrows
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
This is supposed to be the fourth-most dangerous neighborhood in the United States.
Sure, many of the homes have bars on the windows, and the neighborhood watch sign has been tagged with graffiti. But the children playing outside Maria Betancourt's house, just east of downtown Las Vegas, don't seem to notice.
Betancourt, a mother of four who has lived in the same house on Cedar Avenue for nine years, chuckled at the dubious designation.
"It's not like, 'Oh my god, it's a great neighborhood,' but it's not really bad," she said.
Her neighborhood, wedged between Eastern Avenue, Bonanza Road, Mojave Road and Charleston Boulevard, was ranked the fourth-most dangerous place in the nation in a new study by NeighborhoodScout.com, which hawks detailed neighborhood studies for a $29.99 monthly subscription.
Two other Las Vegas neighborhoods, primarily in West Las Vegas near downtown, cracked the top 10, which included neighborhoods from Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas criminal justice professor William Sousa questioned the study's results, saying it's nearly impossible to compare national crime figures with any meaning because every location has its own demographics, police force and other factors that influence crime.
But even on an unscientific level, the study's results don't add up, he said.
"To say the top 25 most dangerous places in American (include) three in Las Vegas doesn't even make intuitive sense," Sousa said.
The study grabbed headlines last week across the nation on news and radio shows and several websites, including Time and CNN.
Andrew Schiller, from the Rhode Island-based company that conducted the study, said it was based on 2008 FBI crime data and U.S. Census tract neighborhood data. The figures were run through 18 computer models to predict how crime in each city would be distributed among its neighborhoods, which were ranked by per-capita violent crime rates.
But the study appeared to include a common error when it comes to studies of Las Vegas crime numbers.
The detailed neighborhood reports cite crime numbers from the Metropolitan Police Department, whose jurisdiction includes about 1.3 million residents in both the city of Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County. Yet the study lists a population of 393,130 for Las Vegas, less than a third of the agency's jurisdiction.
Using the smaller population figure would triple the per-capita crime rates for each neighborhood and skyrocket them up the rankings.
Schiller did not return phone messages seeking clarification on which population figures were used in his study.
Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell called the study "voodoo science" and pointed to department statistics over the past three years that show violent crime has plummeted 27 percent and property crime has fallen 38 percent within the department's jurisdiction.
"He's basically using flawed data as the basis for a hypothetical analysis," Cassell said.
On Cedar Avenue, Betancourt doesn't worry as her two youngest children run up and down the quiet street with a half-dozen other neighborhood children.
She did say she would like to move someday, but not because she fears for her safety. She would like to have a better house. Until then, she will raise her family in the same house in the same neighborhood she has been for nearly a decade, unconcerned about its newly minted status as the fourth-most dangerous neighborhood in America.
"It's just a normal place," she said, "like everywhere else.
Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Cynthia.Wentaway wrote on October 12, 2010 06:22 AM:
"Angle will wave a Bible at the criminals. That will save us."
Cynthia.Goaway
Si Se Puede!!!
Send the trash back to LA and we'd be alot safer.
The safe places are the gated communities that metro chooses to protect.
Shocker.
hey u dont have to b a weatherman to know which way the winds blowing.its pretty obvious the good neighboorhoods from the bad here and most other places i'd presume
Instead of doing something about the problem, once again, Las Vegas whines about being tagged with the 'loser' label. It all starts at the top with Mayor McMartini. You can cheerlead only so often before the ugliness of this town stands out.
Used to be a great neighborhood...now it is just a hood....
I feel safer in Mexico than I do on some streets in Reno...
I will say though, that when I bought my house here, I referred to NeighborhoodScout's figures to see which neighborhoods were the safest. Safety was my number one priority, and their site was extremely helpful.
Angle will wave a Bible at the criminals. That will save us.