Crime per neighbourhood: what the figures do and don't say

Short answer: the total number of crimes in a neighbourhood says little on its own. A busy city-centre area has more bicycle theft simply because there are more bikes and people. What counts is the type of offence, the number relative to neighbourhood size, and the trend. Police figures are useful — if you read them in context.

Type of offence counts more than the total

For a buyer the difference is big between a neighbourhood with mostly bicycle theft and pickpocketing, and one with relatively much burglary or violence. So always look at the top categories, not just the total.

Put it against neighbourhood size

A hundred crimes in a neighbourhood of 10,000 residents is something different from a hundred in one of 1,000. Figures per 1,000 residents make neighbourhoods truly comparable. A large absolute number in a densely populated neighbourhood is often more normal than it looks.

'No data' is not 'no crime'

Sometimes the source doesn't report a neighbourhood separately — for example because the numbers are small or the boundaries differ. That doesn't mean nothing happens; it means there are no separate figures. An honest report says so in plain words, instead of showing a zero that suggests 'safe'.

Figures are a starting point, not a final verdict

Registered crime is what's reported to the police — not necessarily everything that happens. Combine it with the nuisance/insecurity dimension of the Leefbaarometer and with your own impression on the spot.

CheckBuurt.NL shows per address the number and the types of registered crimes, with the neighbourhood context, and honestly says 'no data' where the source is silent. With source and resolution, translated into one readable verdict.