Crime in Paterson.?

A huge misconception that people have about Paterson are the crime rates. People always seem to clump crimes with everything that is illegal. Or in this situation, if a crime is committed people automatically assume that someone was shot and killed. This is not the case. Statistics show that there are 4 times more property crimes that happen in Paterson compared to violence crimes. This includes auto theft and home burglaries. There are about 4,000 property crimes that happen in a year and there are only about 1600 violent crimes that occur. Amazingly enough, on 15 out of that staggering number is an actual murder. The rest of the numbers are made up of burglaries that are armed and aggravated assaults. Only about 30 of the crimes are rapes. This shows that the city isn't as dangerous as most people think, and shouldn't be so quick to judge. While walking the streets at night, I didn't feel threatened or scared, I just felt that people did what other people did in other states. Crime is a part of life and people do commit crimes on the daily bases, in some towns more than others. There is a sense of fear when people come to Paterson, and people should not feel that way because it's not bad at all. The school system is worse than the crime rate. The sad part about people being concerned about the crime rate is the fact that the city is filled with Latinos, and this leaves a negative impact on their view in the world. People see them and assume they are up to no good and stereotyping them seems to be plaguing. The impression being left of the people of Paterson isn't too attractive when people think everyone is a murderer.
 Also, what was striking was the drug rate. It is nowhere as near as high as the drug rate in other towns. I am from colts neck, New Jersey, and the drug rate is out of control. More teens are dying from over dose more than ever. Which is a big concern because the drugs aren't just marijuana, but hard drugs like heroin and coke. This should be a wake up call to people all across the world. While reading the papers, I didn't see anything about teens dying from overdose. Not to say they aren't doing or selling drugs but in that environment they are more exposed so they are trained to handle it. In the suburbs, they aren't as exposed to it. Pretty much, Paterson is a calm familiar setting to people. If more people would take the time to visit, they would see a lot of similar attributes that