| Lawrence, also known as the Immigrant City, is located just 30 miles north of Boston in Massachusetts. Historically, it was a textile center. Today, it’s convenient for commuters to Boston, as it contains a subway station and is on Interstate 495. However, it isn’t the safest place to live. Overall Crime Rate The city has a relatively high overall crime rate, with about 32.16 crimes per 1,000 residents each year. Lawrence is only safer than 17 percent of U.S. cities. There are 348 crimes per square mile each year in the city, compared to a national average of just 32 crimes per square mile. This is a very large difference. The Massachusetts average is just 27 crimes per square mile. Overall, the crime rate in Lawrence is 15 percent higher than the national average, although the amount of crime has been decreasing, with fewer violent crimes and fewer property crimes in 2015 than in 2014. As of November 2016, this trend is continuing, with a decrease of about 11 percent from 2015 totals, including a 3 percent decrease in residential burglaries and a 43 percent decrease in commercial burglaries. Violent Crime Lawrence, MA is rated the 4th most violent city in Massachusetts, with 10.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents in 2014. This included 6 murders, 26 forcible rapes, 499 aggravated assaults and 324 robberies. Chelsea, Fall River and New Bedford are the only cities with higher violent crime rates in the state. Having an alarm system can make it less likely that residents will fall victim to violent crimes in their own homes, at least as long as they remember to actually lock their doors and windows and set the alarm. While most burglaries happen when people aren’t home, those that happen when people are home tend to include some type of violence, so it’s better to be safe than sorry and take steps to protect both your family and your belongings. Property Crime The majority of the crime in the city is property crime, with people living in the area having a 1 in 42 chance of becoming a victim of property crime. The property crime rate is actually slightly lower than the national average, with 23.55 crimes per 1,000 residents, compared to 24.9. Of these crimes, about 4.16 per 1,000 consist of burglaries, compared to a national average of 4.91. Burglaries make up about 14 percent of the crime in Lawrence. This is one area where having some type of security system in a home can really make a big difference. The majority of burglars target the houses that are the easiest to get in and out of quickly without being noticed. An alarm makes this much harder to do, as they’ll either need to take the time to try to disarm it or they’ll have to risk a much higher chance of being noticed when the alarm goes off. A house without an alarm is about three times more likely to be targeted for burglary than a home with an alarm. Most burglaries actually happen during the daytime and, in 30 percent of burglaries, the burglars can walk right in through an unlocked door or window. Safest Areas to Live Within each city, there are some areas that tend to have less crime than others. In Lawrence, these include Mount Vernon Park, Haverhill Street/Reservoir Street and Park Street/Spruce Street. Those who want to live near Lawrence but in a city with a lower crime rate might want to consider Groveland, North Andover or Pelham. Even Lowell, MA has a much lower crime rate than Lawrence. In general, look for a neighborhood where a number of people have security systems, as the higher the overall percentage of alarms in a neighborhood, the lower the likelihood that any home in that neighborhood will be burglarized whether they have a security system or not. However, you don’t want to be the only home in an area without an alarm. Police Presence The police presence in Lawrence is less than the average in MA. As of 2015, there were 133 police employees, including 116 officers. This means there were 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, which is quite a bit lower than the MA average of 2.2 and about half of the national average of 3.3 officers per 1,000 residents. The current mayor has pledged to increase this number to 155 police officers. With fewer police officers available to answer calls, response times can be a lot longer. This is especially true when it comes to responses to security system alarms. Because more than 90 percent of these calls tend to be false alarms and not true burglaries, they tend to be given the lowest priority. Should you wish to get a faster response should your alarm go off, opt for a system that takes and sends a video whenever the alarm goes off. This makes it so there is verification on whether or not there is truly a crime being committed, moving the call for assistance up in priority and making it likely an officer will show up more quickly to deal with the problem. This is important, as most burglars are out of the house within 10 minutes of entering, which is faster than the average police response time in many locations. Things to Look for in an Alarm System It’s better to opt for a monitored alarm system with a company that will make at least three attempts to reach the customer before reporting an alarm. This means that false alarms are less likely to go to the police. In many areas of the country, police charge fines for false alarms after a certain number per year. Having a system that includes motion-activated cameras will make it so you’ll be able to keep track if anyone approaches your home and will have a video of people who come near the house. This could be valuable evidence in the case of a burglary and make it more likely the crime will be solved. |
