New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The most recent data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) ranked the 298 most dangerous cities in the Commonwealth. Two cities on the SouthCoast made the top ten list: New Bedford made 3rd place and Fall River made 7th place.
An alarming takeaway from the statistics is the massive leap in violent crimes in 2019 and the subsequent years. In 2019 New Bedford had 628 violent crimes, but with the arrival of the pandemic, violent crimes quadrupled: in 2020 there 2,771 violent crimes. 2021 wasn’t encouraging with 2,879 violent crimes.
Even worse is that the #2 city was North Adams, but the rankings were based on the crime rate per 1,000 people. In terms of actual violent crimes, New Bedford had almost 10x the number. North Adams had 72 violent crimes in 2019 compared to New Bedford’s 628, 302 violent crimes compared to 2,771, and 378 violent crimes, compared to 2,879.
The “honor” of first place and the most dangerous city in Massachusetts went to Springfield. There, they had 1,397 violent crimes in 2019, then a whopping 5,221 in 2020, followed by 5,337 in 2021.
Here are the rankings of other towns in cities on the South Coast:
#024: Fairhaven
#034: UMass, Dartmouth
#050: Dartmouth
#054: Freetown
#061: Somerset
#071: Wareham
#108: Westport
#111: Swansea
#148: Acushnet
#179: Marion
#196: Berkley
#208: Mattapoisett
#253: Lakeville
Unranked: Rochester
The New Bedford FallRiver article has left me with a sadden outlook not only for these two once blue collar, hard working cities but for all of humanity- Our society in most recent generations look for the easy way in life- easier to steal- scam- sell drugs- than to earn a living honestly.
Gone is family- gone also is respect and kindness for one another- and with that the lack any moral fiber that creates good judgment and the sense of what is simply right and wrong. Everyone seems to want to be a star, wether it be a you tube influencer or a professional basketball player making millions.
We need role models, I had them when I grew up they were my mother, a hard working single mom who labored 32 years in a factory so she give me a decent childhood. A Grandfather who was brought up during the depression only to come of age and be drafted to WW2- they taught me respect- hard work and faith in yourself could make you a better person. No shortcuts. Life is hard, in in some ways it’s harder today, but it can be done- with a little respect a lot of hard work and determination people can become a success without slaughtering each other, robbing each other, or decimating their minds and bodies with drugs and alcohol.