Brooklyn Runner

The latest crime statistics for New York City parks are out, and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park has the lowest rate of all city parks. The 585-acre Prospect Park, according to the Daily News article, had 27 crimes in the first three quarters of 2007, while Central Park had 90 and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens had 43.

It’s certainly nice to hear and I’m happy to know Prospect Park has fewer crimes than the city’s other parks (go Brooklyn!) But the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. What types of crime are taking place? During what time of day? And where inside the park? It’d be one thing if there were robberies happening at 2 a.m. on the wooded hilltop in the middle of the park, quite another if there were assaults taking place at Bartel Pritchard Square at 3 p.m. on a Sunday.

No matter how low crime rates go, it’s always important to be vigilant as a runner in the city (especially when running alone). In general I feel safe running in the city and in the park, but I do pay attention to what’s going on. I don’t run after dark by myself, I avoid remote, empty places, and I stick to routes where I know there will be people around, if not nearby. Finally, in the event that something should happen, I always go out there with some piece of identification on me, in case I end up in a situation where I’m unable to communicate.

Of course, crime should not have to be a problem — we should be free to run through a park at 9 p.m. without fear of being attacked. But it is a reality that we have to live with, so we might as well be smart.