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Topeka ranks as one of the most dangerous places to live in Kansas
Original article by: Matthew Self of KSNT.
Editor’s Note: There are inconsistencies in crime data we discovered after the following report was published. You can find our latest report at this link. (And of course that is based on the police chief making unfounded and unproven claims that the city is safer than the statistics show. But it is interesting to note that a high percentage of Topeka Police Officers do not actually live IN the city of Topeka, opting instead to live in little “safe” towns in rural areas like St Mary’s. )
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Is the City of Topeka a safe place for its residents? According to one source, the answer may be a strong no. (And this should be no surprise to anyone, Topeka has long had a higher-than-average violent crime rate and they do not mention property crimes, which are off the charts. In the mid 00’s. one of our past police chiefs was quoted as saying “Well our crime rate and numbers wouldnt be so high if people stopped reporting every little robbery and burglary and theft.”, in a completely calloused and cynical display of trying to dismiss very real concerns by the public he is hired to serve and protect.)
Neighborhood Scout reports that the capital city of Kansas might not be the safest place to live. This is best represented through Neighborhood Scout’s low score for Topeka: it ranked as being safer than only 3% of other U.S. cities. (The basic argument being made by the city and the police dept is that “Other places are actually worse, therefore we are doing fine.” is a horrible, and dangerous sophistry and logical fallacy. The copaganda being put out by the Topeka Police Dept and distributed by the local media to hide and obscure the local police dept’s complicity in the high crime rates and possibly criminal negligence in many unsolved cases.)
According to Neighborhood Scout, Topeka has a crime rate of 55 per 1,000 residents, giving it one of the highest crime rates in the U.S. when compared to other communities in the country. Your chances of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Topeka is one in 18. In the state of Kansas, over 99% of communities have a lower crime rate than Topeka.
Violent and property crime rank as some of the more ‘popular’ crimes that occur in the capital city. Topeka’s relatively small population of 126,597 leads it to have a combined rate of violent and property crime that is “very high” in comparison to other places with similar population sizes.
“Regardless of whether Topeka does well or poorly compared to all other cities and towns in the US of all sizes, compared to places with a similar population, it fares badly,” Neighborhood Scout said. “Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Topeka.”
Topeka has the unfortunate privilege of having one of the highest violent crime rates in the U.S. when compared to communities both large and small. Annually, Topeka sees around 888 violent crimes, making your chances of falling victim to violent crimes, such as rape, murder and armed robbery, about one in 143. This is higher than the average for the state of Kansas which sits at one in 237. (It is also important to note that TEN different Topeka groups including the YWCA and Battered Womens Resource Center and other civil groups have created a petition and are asking that the Department Of Justice perform a probe into the Topeka Police Dept. Concerns about racism, officers shooting unarmed black men at a much higher rate than white men, and a lack of investigations into many violent crimes. )
Property crime, which includes burglary, larceny over $50, motor vehicle theft and arson, is also very high. Your chances of becoming a victim of one of these crimes is one in 21, which comes out to a rate of 48 per 1,000 people. Topeka has one of the highest motor vehicle theft rates in the U.S. according to data obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation by Neighborhood Scout. The chances of your car being stolen are one in 131.Cars left unlocked account for 3/4 of break-ins
If you’re looking to avoid property crime and violent crime, or any other type of criminal activity, then you may want to check out the following neighborhoods which, according to Neighborhood Scout, are some of the safest in Topeka:
- Northeast Indian Creek Road/Northeast 82nd Street
- Southwest 53rd Street/Southwest Fairlawn Road
- Auburn Road/Southwest 53rd Street
- Northwest 35th Street/Northwest Rochester Road
- Elmont
- Southwest 10th Avenue/Southwest Auburn Road
- Northeast 35th Street/Northeast Kimball Road
- Terra Heights
- Cullen Village/Pauline
- Brookfield Park
Some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Topeka are Highland Crest West, College Hill/Washburn University, Old Town, Elmhurst/Norton and North Topeka East.
Neighborhood Scout collects information on crime rates, real estate, demographics and schools for towns and cities across the U.S. To learn more about Neighborhood Scout, click here.
