Crime & Safety in Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre's violent crime rate ran meaningfully above the national and Pennsylvania averages in 2024 FBI data -- a real, disclosed contrast from the more favorable current-year figures documented for Scranton and Bethlehem.
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Learn moreTotal crime runs below national, but violent crime runs above
Per FBI 2024 data, Wilkes-Barre's total crime rate ran 1,988.5 per 100,000 (approximately 6.17% below the national rate), but its violent crime rate (431.6 per 100,000, 191 crimes) ran approximately 20.22% ABOVE the national violent-crime rate and approximately 75.72% above Pennsylvania's own rate.
A real, disclosed source inconsistency
A separately-cited 5-year (2019-2024) violent-crime average of 160.4 per 100,000 was described by the same source as '51.0% above the national average' -- a real, disclosed internal inconsistency this record states plainly.
A genuine, disclosed contrast from Scranton and Bethlehem
This project's companion scranton.js and bethlehem.js records both document currently below-average crime -- Wilkes-Barre's real, elevated violent-crime rate is a genuine, disclosed difference worth weighing directly.
Key takeaways
- Wilkes-Barre's total crime rate ran below the national average, but its violent crime rate ran approximately 20.22% above it.
- A real, disclosed source inconsistency exists in cited 5-year-average violent-crime comparisons.
- This is a genuine, disclosed contrast from the more favorable current crime figures in Scranton and Bethlehem.
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