The crime rate in Belle Fourche is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 14 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Belle Fourche is 1 in 72. Based on FBI crime data, Belle Fourche is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to South Dakota, Belle Fourche has a crime rate that is higher than 81% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

How does the crime rate in Belle Fourche compare to similar sized communities across America? When NeighborhoodScout compared Belle Fourche with other communities its size, we found that the crime rate was near the average for all other communities of similar size. So, whether Belle Fourche's crime rate is high or low compared to all places in the US, when we control for population size and compare it to places that are similar in size, it is near the middle of the pack in crime rate; not much more or less dangerous, and about what we would expect from the statistics.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Belle Fourche does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Belle Fourche.

NeighborhoodScout's research shows that Belle Fourche's violent crime rate is 1 per one thousand inhabitants, which is about average for all communities in America, across all population sizes. Violent crimes that are tracked and included in this rate are armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape (not statutory), and murder and non-negligent manslaughter. Roughly similar to the national average, our analysis shows that your chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Belle Fourche is one in 835.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Belle Fourche's rate for property crime is 13 per one thousand population. This makes Belle Fourche a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Belle Fourche is one in 79.