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supercrooky t1_j256zrj wrote

Reply to comment by Technical_Hair_4383 in Violent Crime Rates of Massachusetts Municipalities (2020) (OC) (re-upload based on constructive criticism) by potkea

Crime rates don't work right on the Vineyard, or to lesser extent the Cape.

The problem is these figures always use the number of residents as the divisor, not the number of people present, while the crime totals are all committed by all people present, not just residents. This is a good enough approximation most places, but in the case of MV the residents figure is around 1/10th the peak summertime population. So, you get the violent crimes committed by tourists and seasonal residents all added up and attributed to the year round population, inflating the figure.

You see this to some extent or another anywhere lots of people visit and fewer people live - tourist destinations, downtown business districts, shopping centers, etc.

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Tizzy8 t1_j25icur wrote

You run into this in Western Mass as well. The college students are often counted as living at home make the population of places like Amherst look smaller than it is.

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kd8qdz t1_j25sytn wrote

North Adams gets hit by both factors. And its small, one extra even a year is a big deal when your population is barely over 12K.

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Seaworthiness222 t1_j26u1jx wrote

I don't know. I think it says something. Paxton has a college, is 7K people and still has really low rates.

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