| People may choose to live in Jonesboro because of the low unemployment rate, low cost of living and low average commute time. However, it may be best to get some type of alarm system to help limit the risk of being a victim of crime in the city. Total Crime Jonesboro is safer than approximately 16 percent of the cities in the U.S., with residents having a 1 in 23 chance of becoming the victim of some type of crime in any given year. It has a crime rate that is 59 percent higher than average for the country, although the number of crimes committed per year has decreased by 7 percent in the last year. There are still about 46.32 crimes per 1,000 residents each year. In other terms, there are 43 crimes per square mile each year, which is much higher than the national average of 32 crimes per square mile. Violent Crime The violent crime rate in the city is 5.45 per 1,000 residents, which is quite a bit higher than the national average of 3.8. The chances of a Jonesboro resident becoming the victim of some type of violent crime during any given year is 1 in 183. The robbery rate is lower than the national average, the murder rate is about the same and the assault and rape rates are higher than the national average. Violent crimes, such as assault and rape, occur during about 7 percent of burglaries if someone happens to be home at the time of the burglary, so installing some type of security system may be helpful to limit this risk, especially for women and children living alone since they have a higher risk of being a victim of this type of crime. Property Crime As with many somewhat large cities, the property crime rate in Jonesboro is above the national average at 40.86 crimes per 1,000 residents compared to 24.9 per 1,000 residents. This makes it so a resident has a 1 in 24 chance of being the victim of some type of property crime in any given year. Burglaries make up the second largest percentage of crime in Jonesboro after thefts, with 19 percent of all crimes consisting of burglaries. There are 9.19 burglaries per 1,000 residents each year, which is a lot higher than the national average of 4.91 burglaries per 1,000 residents each year. Because the burglary risk is so high, it’s particularly likely that a security system of some type will be beneficial. Homes without any type of alarm are three times more likely to be robbed. Burglars like to target the houses that are easiest to enter quickly and leave without being noticed, such as those that have unlocked doors or windows and those that aren’t very visible from neighboring properties. The majority of burglars will avoid homes posted with signs stating they are protected by an alarm company, so opt for a monitored alarm system. Homes are more likely to be robbed during daytime hours, but violence is more likely to occur during burglaries that happen during the night when people are more likely to be at home. The most popular way for burglars to break into a home is to damage or remove the door, so adding a deep-set deadbolt lock can make this harder to do and help deter burglars. Police Response There are about 160 law enforcement professionals in Jonesboro for a rate of 2.3 officers for every 1,000 residents. This is lower than the national average of 3.3 officers per 1,000 residents. Having fewer police officers could mean that the department will have longer police response times to emergency calls and that they will have a harder time solving the crimes committed in the city. The clearance rate for crimes in Jonesboro is 20 percent, which is lower than the average in the U.S. of 28 percent. The burglary clearance rate is even worse at just 6 percent compared to a national average of 12 percent. One way to increase the chances of getting potential burglars caught is to install an alarm system that has cameras that are motion activated and that record a clip whenever the alarm goes off. This way there will be some potential evidence of who was near the home and the alarm company will be able to verify that there’s a burglary in progress and it isn’t a false alarm, making the police more likely to give the call a higher priority and respond more quickly. They might even make it in time to catch the perpetrators, although most burglars try to get out of the home in no more than 10 minutes and the average national police response time is slightly longer than this at 11 minutes. Only 13.6 percent of burglary calls are responded to by police within five minutes. According to the Code of Ordinances, anyone who installs an alarm system must first speak to the police department or fire department to have the proper procedures explained and be notified about potential fees for false alarms or misuse of the system. Safest Areas to Live In Take care when choosing where to live in Jonesboro. Some neighborhoods are safer than others. Among the more popular areas, the neighborhoods of Valley View/Gilkerson, Pleasant Grove, Ridge/Apt, Philadelphia and Nettleton are the safest. Those who would like to live near Jonesboro but in a smaller city that has a lower crime rate might want to consider Lake City, Bay, Weiner or Brookland. Avoid Trumann, Cash and Paragould, which actually have higher crime rates than Jonesboro. |
