My intellectually delayed daughter has been to DC & NYC, alone, within the last year. She never encountered any crime. In both cities she got lost in "bad" neighborhoods. She calmly asked for directions & got her on the right busses. She would be a perfect victim, yet never experienced a bit of fear
Half my HS went to NYC for a schools conference one year (1980s.) One of the girls in my group got on the wrong subway car, ended up having a delightful day trying to get back to us. I was jealous - I had to sit thru the conference, and she got to sight-see!
I went to NY and was expecting the worst. Everyone was nice and helpful. A few interesting people as well, but nothing like I was expecting.
My niece lived there until just recently. She grew up in DC. She's never had any trouble. She's in Austin now. I worry about her 30x more that she's there.
In '92, I went with a small class in college from CA. Overall, my 1st solo trip was uneventful. The woman who got pinned to a building when a cab lost control then had her purse stolen by someone who checked to make sure she was ok 1st was the only thing that happened 😬
That's both nice and weird - make sure she's ok, then steal her purse. Wow. We arrived late at night, met with our hosts outside a Chinese restaurant near Central Park, and walked to where we were staying after a quick meal. It was quiet and calm, no random violence on our 6 block walk.
It was the *only* thing that happened while I was there, and I only heard about it on the news. I love visiting NYC & enjoy getting there every few years.
I haven't been back since that trip. Not because I didn't want to, just couldn't afford it, or didn't have the time to take, or both. I'd like to go back and see what has changed.