The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in West Helena, AR: Crime Maps and Statistics

Crime per Capita in West Helena

This overview combines violent, property, and other offenses into a single grade for West Helena. The dedicated violent crime and property crime pages go deeper on each. The map below shows the overall crime rate per 1,000 residents.

 

West Helena, AR Map of Crime Rates
Click the map to explore
A+ B C D F
Safest Highest crime
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F

Overall Crime Grade™

F
F
Other Crime Grade
D-

$1.85 million

Cost of Crime™ for West Helena, AR

In 2025, crime will cost $4,198 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of West Helena with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is West Helena, AR Safe?

The F overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where West Helena's combined rate is much higher than the norm. West Helena sits in the 3rd percentile, ahead of 3% of cities and behind 97%. The grade covers only West Helena's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in West Helena is 68.01 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 7 in the northeast neighborhoods to 1 in 21 in the southwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the north parts of West Helena, AR report the most crime, about 25 cases per year. The southeast part reports the fewest, around 1 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in West Helena, AR

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in West Helena for 2025 is $1,849,273, about $1,401 per resident and $4,198 per household. That equals 5.6% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:
  1. Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 47.9%
  2. Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 40.6%
  3. Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.4%

How Much Does Crime Cost in West Helena Compared to Other Cities?

West Helena, AR: $1401
Marianna, AR: $2490
Centerton, AR: $306
Arkansas: $729
USA: $464

The overall cost of crime per resident in West Helena is $1,401 per year, which is $937 more than the national average and $672 more than Arkansas's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to West Helena:
  • In Marianna, AR, crime costs $2,490 per person, which is $1,089 more than in West Helena.
  • In Centerton, AR, crime costs $306 per person, which is $1,095 less than in West Helena

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of West Helena for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.
Crime
Cost to West Helena
Cost per West Helena Resident
Murder
$838,343
$635
Rape/Sexual Assault
$106,384
$81
Robbery
$31,558
$24
Assault
$308,359
$234
Kidnapping
$20,278
$15
Vehicle Theft
$102,584
$78
Burglary
$81,210
$62
Theft
$193,987
$147
Arson
$5,947
$5
Vandalism
$108,713
$82
Animal Cruelty
$270
$0
Drug Crimes
$48,474
$37
Identity Theft
$3,165
$2
Total Cost of Crime
$1,849,273
$1,401

The Intangible Cost of Crime in West Helena, AR

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in West Helena totals $6,145,538 ($4,656 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $7,994,810 ($6,057 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The north part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas do the same, and of West Helena's 1,320 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in West Helena, AR at ISP Reports.

West Helena Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 West Helena residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Assault
8.134
Robbery
0.7601
Rape
1.329
Murder
0.3380
Total Violent Crime
10.56 (F)
 
 

 


Property Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Theft
28.38
Vehicle Theft
5.019
Burglary
6.783
Arson
0.1866
Total Property Crime
40.36 (F)
 
 

 


Other Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Kidnapping
0.2534
Drug Crimes
4.965
Vandalism
11.53
Identity Theft
0.3098
Animal Cruelty
0.0277
Total "Other" Rate
17.08 (D-)

 


Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in West Helena is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to West Helena.

Nearby City
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
F
F
F
F
F
D-
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
D-
D-
D-
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

West Helena is higher versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
A+
A
A
A-
A
A
B+
C+
C+
B-
B
B
C-
C
C
B-
C+
C+
A-
A
A
A-
A-
A-
B+
B+
B+
A
C
C

Considering only the crime rate, West Helena is less safe than the Arkansas state average and less safe than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in West Helena, AR average SchoolGrade of F, with 18% actual proficiency versus 19% projected; overall, schools meet expectations. See West Helena schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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Home Security

A crime occurs on average every 4 days 1 hour in West Helena. Want to protect your home?

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.