JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Beach was recently ranked as the ninth most dangerous suburb in all of the Nation by Movoto Real Estate blog. The bloggers from California looked at FBI crime statistics ranging from murder to assault and robbery for more than 116 suburban towns and Jacksonville Beach is listed in the top 10.
The blog claims that residents in Jacksonville Beach have a one in 18 chance of being a victim of crime. Neighbors in Jacksonville Beach told Channel 4 Wednesday they don't believe the information the Movoto blog is putting out.
"I'm not worried at all, I don't see much of that kind of stuff happening," said Jacksonville Beach resident Chris Timones.
"I'm surprised, really surprised. I haven't seen anything like that," said Jacksonville Beach resident, Elon Hieis. "The only thing I think of is Memorial Day, the only big crime I've heard of."
Hieis is referring to a video that went viral of a fight at the beach on Memorial Day last year, but Movoto said their stats are based on a 2012 crime study.
"What this tells us is just another piece of the story of a city, quality of living, standard of life," said PR and online associate of Movoto, Patrick Brown.
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham told Channel 4 that the stats are inaccurate and that police have been vigilant and proactive against crime.
"Every now and then you're going to get these negative hits because these are not by people living in Jacksonville Beach, rather people looking at spreadsheets and quantifying status' from different organizations and cities. Sometimes you get the good, sometimes you get the bad," said Latham.
Earlier this year the Motovo real estate blog ranked Jacksonville Beach seventh as one of the most exciting suburbs in America because of its nightlife and live music.