Comparing crime rates from year to year and place to place can reveal some interesting patterns. Taking into account errors in reporting and other anomalies, the statistics can provide a glimpse of a community.
The city of Reading shows higher crime rates than much of Pennsylvania and the U.S.
Reading violent crimes
According to information from the Neighborhood Scout website, Reading has a crime index rating of 11, meaning it only ranks safer than 11 percent of other U.S. cities. The data comes from a variety of sources for the 2020 calendar year. During that time, Reading saw 847 violent crimes.
When compared to the national median average of four violent crimes per 1,000 residents, Reading residents experienced 8.91 violent crimes. This rate also exceeds the Pennsylvania average of 3.83 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Looked at from a different angle, Reading residents had a one in 112 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime compared with a chance of one in 261 for all Pennsylvania residents.
Reading property crimes
Regarding property crimes, including burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft, Reading residents also exceeded the national median, with 25.25 property crimes versus 19 for the U.S. The chance of a Reading resident becoming a victim of a property crime came in at 1 in 40 compared with one in 62 for the entire state. Reading saw a total of 2,402 property crimes in 2020. the most recent year of available data at this time.
Of course, statistics only paint a partial picture of a community. However, they can alert the community to important trends that might call for attention from leaders.
