Crime & Safety
Crime in Peabody According to the FBI
Statistically speaking, while some areas of crime may be up or down in Peabody year-over-year, the Tanner City generally has either the same or significantly less violent crime (proportionately) than many other cities and larger towns in the Boston area
The shooting at a Washington Street apartment Thursday night, just over a year after a double homicide over on Aborn Street -- a gunman also riddled a Lowell Street home with bullets in February 2011 -- has many readers talking about what they perceive is an escalated level of crime and violence in Peabody in more recent years.
On one hand, people say crime is everywhere now and out of control, while on the other hand, people say Peabody is no different than any other city of its size in the United States, and in fact, may statistically even have less crime.
So who's right?
Find out what's happening in Peabodywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation sheds some light on the matter with its annual Crime in the United States report.
The FBI compiles crime data for cities and towns throughout the country, state-by-state, for the report, which includes data from departments that use national Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program guidelines for reporting criminal offenses.
Find out what's happening in Peabodywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The latest report available contains 2011 data, which shows that per 1,000 residents Peabody's violent crime rate is either closely comparable to its North Shore neighbors or significantly lower than some cities and larger towns.
The following chart includes Peabody and its neighboring cities and larger towns, along with a few other cities north of Boston (Chelsea is on the list because it is often brought up as a comparison to Peabody):
City
Pop Viol Cri Mrdr Rape Robry Agrv Asslt Prop Cri Burg Theft MV Thft Arsn Peabody 51,563 124 2 9 13 100 1,282 212 996 74 2 Salem 41,592 119 0 15 22 82 986 173 744 69 No data Lynn 90,880 804 3 29 181 591 2,620 718 1,559 343 7 Chelsea 35,391 617 2 33 228 354 1,353 394 770 189 4 Beverly 39,743 92 1 2 9 80 743 130 584 29 2 Gloucester 28,964 22 0 6 1 15 553 82 466 5 0 Danvers 26,654 60 1 1 10 48 852 88 739 25 3 Saugus 26,790 84 0 5 23 56 908 174 666 68 4 Haverhill 61,250 362 0 18 55 289 1,461 462 853 146 14And for further comparison, here's the 2010 figures for Peabody:
Peabody
51,517 111 0 15 15 81 1,216 136 1,025 55 1Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
