Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainFall River reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Fall River’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #270 of 276 graded towns in Massachusetts.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MA” is every other Massachusetts city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Fall River
3 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Massachusetts towns on Fall River’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Westport (A−), Somerset (B), Freetown (B−). Neighbors ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Fall River’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its property rate (14.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Fall River’s police reported 2,315 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 8.1 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Massachusetts and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Fall River | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.9 | 3.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 9.1 | 3.0 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 7.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 7.9 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 15 property crimes reported
And about 8 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Massachusetts.
Show as a table
| Year | Fall River property | Rest of Massachusetts property | Fall River violent | Rest of Massachusetts violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 | 3.1 |
| 2023 | 14.3 | 10.8 | 9.1 | 3.0 |
| 2024 | 13.9 | 10.3 | 7.4 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 15.2 | 9.7 | 7.9 | 2.8 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
2,187 crimes reported in 2025
751 violent and 1,436 property, as reported to the FBI by Fall River’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
25 people died in crashes on Fall River’s roads in 2019–2023
Fall River had 24 fatal crashes in five years, in which 25 people died; 5 were pedestrians. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is 5.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Massachusetts towns of 25,000–100,000 people (4.0, 86 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Fall River and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall River | D | 8.1 | 14.5 |
| Westport | A− | 1.3 | 3.9 |
| Freetown | B− | 3.1 | 5.4 |
| Somerset | B | 1.8 | 6.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Massachusetts towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall River | D | 8.1 | 14.5 |
| Newton | A− | 0.5 | 5.6 |
| Quincy | C+ | 3.3 | 12.1 |
| Lawrence | C | 4.3 | 9.9 |
| New Bedford | C | 4.0 | 14.9 |
| Lynn | C− | 5.3 | 10.9 |
The five graded Massachusetts towns closest to Fall River’s population (95,298), by grade.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Fall River. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Fall River’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (94,628 in 2025); our figure for Fall River is 95,298 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Fall River
Is Fall River, MA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Fall River reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #270 of 276 in Massachusetts. Its police reported 8.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Massachusetts and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Fall River?
8.1 violent and 14.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Massachusetts reports 2.9 and 10.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Fall River?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Fall River in 2025?
Fall River’s police reported 3 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.2 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Fall River safer than Westport?
Westport reports less crime per resident than Fall River: Westport grades A− for safety and Fall River D. Westport’s police reported 1.3 violent and 3.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Fall River?
Fall River’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Fall River”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Fall River.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.