DCentric

DCist looked at a map from The District of Columbia Crime Policy Institute and learned some interesting information (I sure didn’t know what a “Census block” was, before their post):

But there are also some surprising spots where high amounts of crime are reported, like a blip on upper Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase.

The figures represent reported Part I crimes (homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and theft from a motor vehicle) and map by Census blocks, not typical city blocks. A Census block is the smallest unit measured by the U.S. Census Bureau — and occasionally they can be rather large, which helps explains why certain areas, like the larger blocks around American University and some of the blocks in the Seventh Police District, are designated as high-crime areas. DCPI researchers also confirmed with us that the presence of college campuses also plays a role in the designation of high-crime areas, like ones located around Georgetown University.

Sometimes, these reports about crime in the city leave me feeling paranoid and worried, but DCist helpfully notes that a majority of all census blocks have experienced only a few crimes per year (and almost a quarter had NO crime in the last ten years!).