Stadium neighborhoods ranked on safety

Written by American City & County

The Atlanta Falcons usually bring up the rear in the National Football League standings, but they are No. 1 in at least one area. According to the CAP Index, an Exton, Pa., firm that provides site-specific crime risk information and vulnerability analyses, the Falcons play in the most dangerous of all NFL stadium neighborhoods.

The Georgia Dome was followed by New Orleans’s Superdome and PSInet Stadium in Baltimore in the firm’s rankings of dangerous NFL stadium neighborhoods. Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.; Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, near Buffalo, N.Y.; and Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.; are the three stadiums located in the least risky neighborhoods.

The firm’s second annual study on the subject focused on the immediate neighborhoods surrounding the stadiums in which the 31 NFL teams play. It ranked each of the areas in terms of their vulnerability to violent crimes against people (assault, rape, robbery and murder) and property (burglary, theft and auto theft). “During the 2001 season, nearly 20 million fans will attend professional football games,” says Daniel Kropp, CAP Index vice president for research and consulting. “It is important for fans to be ‘security aware’ in terms of their personal behavior. Awareness includes parents staying within visual range of young children, avoiding short-cuts and non-lighted passages to and from parking facilities, and using the most direct routes to and from stadiums.” Complete rankings are available at www.capindex.com.