Be smart, don't travel to towns with a lot of crime at night. These towns include: Roosevelt, Hempstead, North Amityville, North Baldwin, Wyandanch, Rosedale, North Bay Shore, Central Islip, New Cassel, Brentwood, Uniondale and northern Freeport. In the daytime, these areas are generally safe.
Other than those towns, which most locals could tell you is where most of the dangerous crime occurs, crime on the rest of Long Island is related to drug-arrests and burglarlies of high-end neighborhoods.Most robberies are related to hired help, and are low-profile crimes. However, the most recent epidemic crime problem has been the increase in heroin use among Long Island teens, particularly of wealthier neighborhoods along the North Shore. Generally, this should not be a problem for a tourist.
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The daily, Island-wide newspaper is Newsday, which also provides a detailed history of the island. (http://www.lihistory.com).
News 12 on Cable TV Cablevision also covers local news.