Study: Cape Cod Among U.S. Beach Areas With the Lowest Risk of Thefts
A new study from The Action Network highlighted Cape Cod as a U.S. beach area with the lowest risk of theft, making it among some of the safest spots to…
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A new study from The Action Network highlighted Cape Cod as a U.S. beach area with the lowest risk of theft, making it among some of the safest spots to be at the beach in the nation.
Cape Cod National Seashore and Marconi Beach share the top spot with the lowest implied theft risk in the United States — only 0.95%. This percentage is backed up low theft (1.62 per 1,000 residents) and burglary (1.23 per 1,000 residents) rates in the surrounding area.
According to an Action Network report, the research team used several categories in its analysis of ZIP-code-level criminal statistics to uncover theft-related risks in neighborhoods near more than 500 beach locations across the country:
- Theft: Unattended personal objects on or near the beach
- Robbery: Confrontational theft in public venues around the beach
- Vehicle theft: Stolen bikes, scooters, or vehicles from parking lots or access roads near the beach
- Burglary: Break-ins reported in areas surrounding the beach, including storage facilities and vacation rentals
To calculate overall risk, Action Network analysts used a weighted scoring methodology prioritizing crime types based on relevance to beach settings and frequency. Weight-based percentages were assigned as follows:
- Theft: 40%
- Robbery: 30%
- Vehicle theft: 20%
- Burglary: 10%
These weighted scores were then used to create an implied probability for each beach to describe theft-related risks for each locale.
In addition to Cape Cod and Marconi Beach, Massachusetts also scored high for locations where beachgoers face the least risk of theft. Old Silver Beach and Siaconset Beach both have reported theft rates under 2.5 per 1,000 residents, according to the Action Network.
