Does Spartanburg have a crime problem?

[Spartan]

The topic title is pretty self explanatory... does Spartanburg have a crime problem?

 

WYFF is reporting that Spartanburg is the 12th most dangerous city in the nation based on crime statistics by NeighborhoodScout.com . A quick look into the data shows that there are clearly some errors in their statistics- notably using the City's population as the metric for a total study area comprising a much larger geography. For example divide 10 crimes by 100 people and you'll get a rate of 1/10. Divide 50 crimes by 100 people and you'll get a rate of 1/2.

 

That being said, even if/when the data is corrected, the issue of crime does come up from time to time. I think that there is a perception by some that Spartanburg is not safe. I personally don't think that is true. Like most cities, there are parts of town you don't go to (eg: Una). But to put Spartanburg in the same category as East St. Louis, Camden, NJ, and Detroit is just ridiculous. Those cities have crime and poverty unlike anything we have here.

[westsider28]

Yeah, that study is pretty worthless when it uses areas well beyond the (small) city limits and then divides by only the (small) city population.

 

I believe that even by more reliable methods, Spartanburg has more crime than the state or national average.  And I think it's something we should continue to work on bringing down.  That said, I don't feel unsafe in Spartanburg either.  And I agree that we are nowhere near as bad as those other places you mentioned.

 

Here's a relevant article: Homicide numbers down in city, up in county

 

Edit: Whoa, actually I just found this, which relates directly to the flawed report you mention:

City plans legal action over 20 most dangerous cities list