Combine official crime maps, a couple of drive-throughs, and a knowledgeable local agent. Many areas have official crime-mapping sites where you enter an address and see reported incidents nearby, often sourced straight from local law enforcement. Searching your city or county name plus "crime map" usually surfaces the local version, and some police departments host their own. That gives you reported data instead of the impressions that circulate on neighborhood apps, which can run alarmist. Then layer in the on-the-ground checks. Drive the area at different times, since a weekday morning and a weekend night can feel very different. Look at what surrounds the neighborhood on a map. And ask a local agent, because agents field this question constantly and usually know which tools cover your area and how a given pocket is regarded on the ground. One caution on the data itself: reported-crime counts partly reflect how actively an area reports, and boundaries can be fuzzy. Read a few blocks in every direction rather than fixating on a single pin, and you'll get a far more accurate picture than any one source gives you.