There are a lot of Americans who are worried about crime, especially in cities where violence is more common. The number of crimes has gone down in some places over the last few decades, but it has gone up in others, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Syracuse, New York, is one of these towns. It has one of the highest rates of serious crime in the country.
How Many Crimes Happen in Syracuse Every Year?
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports say that for every 100,000 people who lived in Syracuse in 2019, there were 793 serious crimes. This put the city at number 44 among the 100 largest in the US. As a comparison, 366.7 serious crimes happen for every 100,000 people in the whole country. Murder, rape, theft, and aggravated violence are all violent crimes.
The number of property crimes in Syracuse was also higher than the national average. These crimes include burglary, theft, and car theft. The city had 2,329.6 property crimes per 100,000 people, while the US as a whole had 2,109.9 per 100,000 people.
The city had 8.6 murders per 100,000 people, which was less than the national average of 10.1 murders per 100,000 people in the US. Still, this was more than the year before, when there were 6.4 murders for every 100,000 people living in Syracuse.
Why Does Crime Happen in Syracuse and What Does It Do?
A lot of things, like poverty, unemployment, racial inequality, drug abuse, gang activity, and a lack of social services, may be to blame for Syracuse’s high crime rate. Some of these problems may have gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people had to deal with hard times financially, being alone, and mental stress.
Crime has a big effect on the city and its people because it lowers the quality of life, threatens public safety, slows down economic growth, and splits up families. Crime can also make people feel bad about the place, which could turn off tourists, businesses, and people who want to live there.
What Are Some Things That Could Be Done to Make Syracuse Safer?
To solve Syracuse’s crime problem, many groups need to work together, including police, neighborhood groups, the city government, schools, companies, and residents. Here are some of the possible solutions:
- Improving neighborhood policing and trust between the police and the people, as well as making the police more visible and responsible.
- Especially for young people and people with low incomes, giving them more resources and chances for schooling, jobs, housing, health care, and fun.
- Putting in place programs to stop and help people who are committing crimes, like those that deal with drug abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, and trauma.
- Increasing diversity, inclusion, dialogue, and cooperation between people and groups to strengthen the city’s social fabric and political involvement.
Final Words
Finally, Syracuse, New York, has a scary crime rate that is much higher than the national average. Problems are made worse by things like poverty, unemployment, and racial inequality. To make things safer, cops, neighborhood groups, and other interested parties need to work together. Key parts of making Syracuse a better and more interesting city are getting to the root causes of problems through education, jobs, and social services, and encouraging people to get involved in their communities.