Norristown Named One Of The 100 Most Dangerous Cities In America

How safe are you?

Norristown has its fair share of crime, and it remains one of the nation’s 100 most dangerous cities, but there are nonetheless signs of significant improvement in the borough, according to data from a recent study.

Using a database comprised of crime data and statistics from the FBI, U.S. Justice Department, and more than 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, an online research service called Neighborhood Scout now allows local residents to see a statistical breakdown of crimes by neighborhood.

Norristown was ranked the nation’s 96th most dangerous city for 2015.

Taking all available data, Neighborhood Scout applies a mathematical algorithm that estimates the total number of crimes and crime rates for each neighborhood, with nearly 90-percent accuracy.

It then produces colored maps, which show the safest to most dangerous places to live.

Overall, the Norristown area scores a 13 out of 100 on the crime index, with 100 being the safest. The 13 signifies that Norristown is safer than 13 percent of cities in the United States.

The data states that there are 324 violent crimes and 1068 property crimes committed annually, and the violent crime crime rate of 9.41 per 1,000 residents is almost triple the statewide average of 3.35.

The likelihood of finding yourself a victim of violent crime in Norristown is 1 in 106, and the average of annual crimes per square-mile in the area is 386, compared to a state average of 58 crimes per square-mile and the national average of 37.9 crimes per square mile.

According to Neighborhood Scout:

The crime rate in Norristown is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 40 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Norristown is 1 in 25. Based on FBI crime data, Norristown is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Pennsylvania, Norristown has a crime rate that is higher than 93% of the state’s cities and towns of all sizes.

Importantly, we found that Norristown has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation according to our analysis of FBI crime data. This is compared to communities of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Norristown is one in 331.

There is good and bad behind all of these numbers.

The bad is obvious: statistically, Norristown appears to be one of the more dangerous areas in Pennsylvania and even the Mid-Atlantic region, trailing only towns like Camden and Paterson in New Jersey and Chester and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

However, Norristown’s violent crime rates are down, across the board, from 2013. While property crime has persisted at a relatively steady rate, crimes like murder, rape, robbery, and assault have decreased.

In the same study in 2013, Norristown was listed as the 68th most dangerous city in America. It was not listed on the top 100 in 2014, but the vagaries of the list are heavily dependent upon criminal activity in other locations.

Drilling down to the neighborhood level provides a glimpse at those neighborhoods with crime rates well above the average:

• Dekalb Street / East Marshall Street
• Ridge Pike / Hamilton Street
• Ridge Pike / Dekalb Street
• West Marshall Street / Markley Street

Moving away from the center of the borough, the crime rates drop a bit as they begin to approach the statewide average. Those neighborhoods include:

• Markley Street / West Freedley Street
• Penn Square / Grand View Heights
• Dekalb Pike / Germantown Pike
• West Marshall Street / Middleton Place

As for the safest places to live in the Norristown area, the neighborhoods with the lower crime rate and crime density include:

• East Norriton
• Betzwood
• West Norriton
• Fairview Village