Kristen Wenrich, Director of Bethlehem's Health Bureau, provided a City Council Committee with her department's 2022 Community Needs Assessment yesterday. It's something the Health Bureau does every three years. Here are some interesting highlights:
1) Violent Crime Has Dropped Dramatically Over the Last Three Years - "Violent crimes in Bethlehem have dropped from 376.31 per 100,000 in 2019 to 273.1 in 2022.
"The most common types of violent crimes that occur within the City of Bethlehem are thefts (stealing personal property), followed far behind by burglaries (breaking into a home or building) and robberies (stealing from someone using violent force).
"Despite this, the overwhelming majority of residents surveyed (90.6%, SLUHN 2021) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement 'Bethlehem is a safe place to live'."
2) Bethlehemites Like Fruit, But Are Still Couch Potatoes. - Bethlehemites tend to eat more fruit than the rest of the Lehigh Valley. They are more active than the rest of the Lehigh Valley, but nearly 1/4 of them have been physically inactive for over a month.
It's probably all that fruit.
3) The Big C is Bethlehem's Biggest Killer. - Cancer kills 164 per 100,000 people in Bethlehem, followed by heart disease and accidental deaths.
For some reason, this assessment fails to list COVID, which has killed 320 Bethlehemites since March 2020.
4) Mental Health A Top Priority in Bethlehem. - "41.8% of Bethlehem residents report their mental health status as 'Not Good' in the past 30 days. This is higher than Pennsylvania (39%) and the United State (38.5%), and up from 37.5% in 2019.
"15% of Bethlehem residents have some type of mental health diagnosis, up from 12% in 2019, but less than Pennsylvania as a whole (19%)."
5) Bethlehem Police Do Respond to Mental Health Calls - "Of the 535 Community Connect Referrals Bethlehem Police Department responded to in 2021-2022, 50 (9.3%) were for depression and 48 (9.0%) were for suicidal ideation for a total of 18.3%."
Wenrich's data concerning prenatal care and pregnancy outcomes is outdated. Apparently, the state Department of Health has failed to update its data since 2016.
Announcer. The kicker hasn't missed a point after all season.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised the mental health numbers are not higher. Afterall, Bethlehemites continue to show their mental illnesses by consistently voting for the same people who just plain ignore them.
ReplyDeleteWait, wait, wait... I've been told by FOXNews that in Joe Biden's lawless, socialist America that I need to shelter in place ensconced in the safety of my Lay Z Boy in front of my TV!
ReplyDelete7:44 Yes there is lawless places run by liberals. Receipt below from CNN. The bastion of news
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thesfnews.com/cnn-news-crew-robbed-outside-of-city-hall/85936
It's like some pandemic closed things down and kept people indoors during that timeframe.
ReplyDeleteThe lion's share of that drop is in "theft" (901-->717). Interesting that theft is considered a violent crime. Burglary and robbery I get, but shoplifting and porch piracy aren't typically violent. Not right, but not violent.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, aggravated assaults almost doubled in the same period (56-->103).
"The lion's share of that drop is in "theft" (901-->717). Interesting that theft is considered a violent crime. Burglary and robbery I get, but shoplifting and porch piracy aren't typically violent. Not right, but not violent.""
ReplyDeleteI'll agree. Theft is a type 1 offense, but is not violent. You are also correct in noting a sharp increase in aggravated assault. If Wenrich included theft in her assessment of violent crime, her data is flawed. I did not notice this and thank you for the observation. It makes my story misleading but I prefer the truth to being correct. I haveto look into this.
Two points:
Delete1). It would be helpful to know what happened in Allentown and Easton during that timeframe. Did they also experience decreases during that time period?
As another comment mentioned, we were locked down for part of that period due to Covid.
2). Speaking of Covid, how do we trust a report that neglected to include Covid deaths (as you noted).
Its like MSNBC saying its a peaceful protest, with the building burning behind him. Lol.
ReplyDelete"If Wenrich included theft in her assessment of violent crime, her data is flawed. I did not notice this and thank you for the observation. It makes my story misleading but I prefer the truth to being correct. I haveto look into this."
ReplyDeleteThat's fair. Looking forward to the follow up. It's long been said that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Statisticians often joke that 94.35% of statistics are misleading, and 98.72% of those statistics are pulled from one's ass.
0:21 be careful that you TV does not spy on you like it is on MTG. You may need to start to where an aluminum foil face mask or the truth about your agenda will be come apparent.
ReplyDeleteFor the 2A types theft and even porch piracy could quick escalate into a violent act as they pull their guns and shoot whoever is near.
ReplyDeleteand then 3 people got stabbed last night in Pembroke....
ReplyDeleteAggravated assaults up and they try to spin it differently! (56-->103) thats not good! More Reynolds speak!
ReplyDelete