Which Is More Dangerous, Newburgh or Beacon?

  |  November 6, 2013
Beacon-newburgh-crime

Continuing on yesterday’s theme (the Brooklyn-Beacon-Newburgh trajectory): we were curious to see this crime map from Trulia. Is it the most reputable of sources? No, but the New York State Attorney General’s office puts out reports far less frequently, and it seems Trulia gets regular inputs of local crime info. (However, as many have noted, this map could simply be the result of the Newburgh PD not reporting their crimes!)

Still, it’s rather a startling discrepancy between them, don’t you think? Seven calls in Newburgh and, across the river, hundreds? Even if it were true, there’s the issue of quality versus quantity. Newburgh’s seven crimes included two shooting/stabbings; a vehicle pursuit, a perp search/chase, dispute and assault.

And in Beacon, there were almost no violent crimes: noise complaints, criminal mischief, intoxicated subjects, disorderly groups, larceny, harassment, drug activity, burglary, identity theft, fight, forged instrument, dispute, domestic, shots fired, trespass, robbery, missing person, fraud, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, attempted burglary.

We’re not beating up on Beacon — we love it, too. But it’s fascinating to see how Beacon is presented as, well, a beacon, instead of a complicated town still trying to claw its way out of rust belt woes. Is it great marketing, proximity to the MetroNorth, or just that Dia was willing to set up shop there when it was still in serious distress?

Newburgh’s crimes were far, far fewer (and, Newburghers say, targeted against a select few), at least according to this map, but they were much worse crimes — no stabbings or assaults in Beacon, but plenty of everything else. So can we tell from this map which is safer? According to the comments, this map is baloney!

[Addenda, in reaction to many emails and comments, in orange.]

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