Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 | 8:33 p.m.
North Las Vegas
AOL Travel is telling its readers to stay out of North Las Vegas.
In an Aug. 26 article titled “Safe and Dangerous Places in Las Vegas,” AOL Travel listed North Las Vegas as an area to avoid.
To be fair to the oft-snubbed, northerly suburb, the article also lists the “south, center and north sections of the Strip,” as well as the “old Downtown area on Fremont” as areas where travelers should be “particularly aware.”
The article says: “North Las Vegas should also be traveled with caution.”
The author then launches into a list of violent crimes — noting that the valley has a higher number of these crimes than most places — before telling readers that, overall, they should feel safe in Sin City.
“It’s not clear if it’s really the city of North Las Vegas that they’re referring to,” said city spokeswoman Juliet Casey.
The article listed crime statistics, saying that the rate of violent crimes in Las Vegas exceeds the national average by 1.10 times. The article does not list separate statistics for North Las Vegas.
Between 2006 and 2009, the rate of violent crimes in North Las Vegas decreased by 1.7 percent, said North Las Vegas Police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon.
“I think that North Las Vegas is just like Las Vegas. It has parts of the city that are more dangerous than other parts of the city,” Coon said. “Unfortunately, this article does not differentiate between the areas where there is and is not high crime in North Las Vegas.”
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