There was an age years ago when Time Square in NYC was seen as a somewhat dark, dreary place, filled with ominous foreboding. Dens filled with thieves were commonly depicted in black and white film noir. Tourists knew not to go there too late. It just wasn’t what you did. Then, through a combination of luck, policy, and sheer force of will, Time Square became somewhat of an adult Disneyland. Stores, restaurants, and a night life that never slept were its key features. As cell phones became more and more popular, it also became the selfie capital of the world. Now, unfortunately, things have changed again, and if you want to walk around Time Square at 1AM and take a picture, you better have a few large friends by your side.
Crime comes and goes in waves because large scale, slow moving forces are usually the impetus for higher criminal activity. A cooling industry can slowly destroy an entire city, like Detroit. A shift in law enforcement policies can easily ramp up crime, as we are seeing in some of the larger west coast cities. Immigration policies, economic states, single stock implosions… all of these can shift the tides of criminal engagement in large areas, and it’s very hard to know where you are or were in the cycle in your present location. It’s even harder to know how things are playing out in a place where you don’t currently live.
If I wanted to know what crime is like in a place I know well, like the city I grew up in, it might actually be difficult to figure out. What statistics would I look at and where would I find them? Who would I speak with if I and most of my friends have moved away? Exactly which neighborhood would I examine? Crime can easily shift from one area to another as schools, jobs, and politics shift. It’s a difficult puzzle to piece together, and that’s just considering my hometown! What if I wanted to move somewhere about which I knew very little? That’s where TopHap comes into play.
Using TopHap’s incredible heat map, I can put in any city, town, or even neighborhood and I’ll instantly see an amazing visual representation of what crime is like in that area. Want to know the safest areas of Seattle? No problem. Ever wonder where in Knoxville, TN is safest? Sure thing. With TopHap, you can immediately see where you can find the safest spots in the US, and in a time of great social and economic uncertainty, who wants to be guessing about something as fundamental as crime in an area they’re considering for a new home? No one, that’s who. Explore the TopHap Crime heat map.
