Thursday, August 13, 2015

Message received as a comment from NeighborhoodScout Customer Service Manager

[See below for more questions this response from NeighborhoodScout creates.]

Hello,

I work at NeighborhoodScout and wanted to point out that your assumption that our crime analytics includes a broader geographic unit than the City of Lake Worth is incorrect. If you had read our Crime FAQs, you would have read this specific FAQ that corrects your misrepresentation of our data: 
“Q. The map on the city page looks like it covers a broader area than the city. Does this mean the crimes used for this report come from a broader area than the city limits?
A. Our map may show census tracts (neighborhoods) assigned to a city for visual purposes, based on a spatial overlay of census tracts to municipal boundaries. Rest assured the data used for the development of these reports are the crimes that occurred within the city limits, along with the population of the city.”
So to clarify, although the map shows surrounding unincorporated areas, only the crime incidents and population of Lake Worth are included in our crime risk analysis.

NeighborhoodScout does not state there is a one in 14 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime or property crime in Lake Worth. We also do not report this as a combined statistic. Considering ONLY the crimes and the population living in Lake Worth, (and not the unincorporated areas you mentioned) there is a one in 78 chance of being a victim of violent crime, and a one in 17 chance of being a victim of property crime.

If you are ever curious about our crime risk assessments, our customer service representatives are very knowledgeable and trained to answer any questions you may have. We wish you would have reached out to us first. 

-Desiree C.
NeighborhoodScout Customer Service Manager 

[I've sent a message to NeighborhoodScout requesting more information. Would very much like to know where they got their information from (Palm Beach County Sheriff? FDLE?) vis-à-vis crime stats and crime locations, specifically zip code 33461. When I get that information will post that here.

This is a question, for example, an area that is outside the City of Lake Worth: