15 Checks Before Calling a U.S. City ‘Safe’
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Inside this gallery: 15 historical photographs, each with the year, the place, and the story behind the picture.
- Define the Safety Question First — the past. A family choosing a walking route, an older adult comparing emergency response, and a business planning flood resilience need different evidence.
- Check FBI Participation and Coverage — the past. The FBI Crime Data Explorer shows reported offenses from participating law-enforcement agencies.
- Separate Violent and Property Offenses — the past. A combined crime total can be dominated by high-volume property offenses and obscure rarer violent harms.
- Use Rates and Counts Together — the past. Counts show service burden; rates adjust for population size.
Tap any photo above to jump in, or view the full story below.
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