What is the real crime story in Charlotte ? (Monroe, Huntersville: new house, quality of life)

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by nkjaws

Sure Charlotte from the outside looking in looks promising. However, you cannot truly know a city until you live there for a while. THERE IS A LOT OF CRIME HERE. I used to live in Boyton Beach and visited the surrounding areas over there and crime here is so much worse then there. Also if there is one thing that you should take into consideration is the fact that there are state income taxes here, which you are not paying in FL. I certainly wonder where all this income tax goes since our police department is so under staffed and cannot keep up with the crime.

What do you plan to do, what's your next step. Given your frustration with the the local precinct and things don't seem to be moving fast enough, are you planing a move?

[ncisgreat]

Originally Posted by Miker2069

What do you plan to do, what's your next step. Given your frustration with the the local precinct and things don't seem to be moving fast enough, are you planing a move?

Good point. A lot of people complain and complain but don't do anything to help the situation.

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by the 7 oh 4

I don't feel unsafe in Charlotte either. Like Sunnykayak said, I feel safer now then back in 1995, Charlotte had like almost 130 murders, 2006 it was about 83, 2007 in the 70's. So murders have come down.

Just don't watch the news or read the paper and you will be OK!

Where has crime not increased in a city the size of Charlotte or larger?

The 1st murderer of 2008 in Charlotte had only been out of jail 3 days. How is that for our justice system?

A large part of the perception of crime has to do with the syndrome of "victimology". Your attitude can determine the outcome of a crime.

If a burglar broke into my home, given my less than Martha Stewart housekeeping, he might be in for a real shock!

If I caught the burglar, I might not call the police. Marketing opportunities abound!!

Should I dust off my copy of the Dummies Book "Selling Human Organs for Fun and Profit on Ebay"?

With the freezer in the garage fairly empty and a good meat grinder, I may never have to buy those annoying 4-packs of "9 Lives Sliced Beef and Gravy" for the cats again! Yes Folks, I saw Sweeney Todd on Broadway in 1979, so I'm an "expert".

Think of the poor woman in Washington who was highjacked in her older model Mercedes with the power windows that redefined the word "power". The guy's arm with a gun was caught in the window- she got real nervous and gunned her car with the highjacker being dragged along. She "decided" to open the window while she was doing 70 on the Beltway! You can guess the results!

I worked for the Post Office and started my career in an area that was crime-ridden. Our cars were broken into all the time. The cops could hardly be bothered to come down to take reports so we took matters into our own hands. A guy was caught breaking into a car and one of the mailhandlers punched his lights out and then ran him over with a Postal Truck. Another was jumped on by a 350 lb clerk, until he was coughing up blood! We left him there. I guess all of those posters hanging in the building with pictures of McGruff, the crime dog urging us to "take a "Bite out of Crime" had an effect!

Wth the ease of being able to buy a handgun down here compared to NJ where even the governor would have a hard time getting a handgun permit, I tend not to worry about crime. The criminals perhaps, should be worried about me tho'.

[nkjaws]

Originally Posted by Miker2069

What do you plan to do, what's your next step. Given your frustration with the the local precinct and things don't seem to be moving fast enough, are you planing a move?

I am not complaining about anything. I will be honest and inform people that ask what the real crime story is like in Charlotte. I am not one of those people that picked a dot on a map and moved here, my husband was trasferred here. Since his job and salary do not grow on trees, obviously we cannot just uproot our whole family again and move right now. Ofcourse we do not like the crime here and I would love to see if turn around someday. Also, with the big housing market crash we won't be turning around right now and selling our house which we built a year ago and taking an $80,000 or so loss on it. That is just not going to happen. So if nothing changes then yes, we will be moving but obviously not until it is financially a smart decision. Until then we just have to ride it out, however, that means I can put my two sense in about my opinion on the crime here. Heck if someone had done the same for me we probably would have protested the transfer but we had no idea there was so much crime here at the time.

[ncisgreat]

You sound like a victim in your posts. The majority of us on these boards have lived here for years, not been victims of any major crime, and view your posts as being a bit alarmist and giving misinformation.

Perhaps you should turn off the news, which is giving you a skewed view of crime, and look at what's really going on around you. Why do you continue to put a viewpoint on these boards that makes you sound like you live in Baghdad? It really is not as bad as you are making it out to be, unless that grand home you bought is somewhere on West Boulevard.

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by nkjaws

I am not complaining about anything. I will be honest and inform people that ask what the real crime story is like in Charlotte. I am not one of those people that picked a dot on a map and moved here, my husband was trasferred here. Since his job and salary do not grow on trees, obviously we cannot just uproot our whole family again and move right now. Ofcourse we do not like the crime here and I would love to see if turn around someday. Also, with the big housing market crash we won't be turning around right now and selling our house which we built a year ago and taking an $80,000 or so loss on it. That is just not going to happen. So if nothing changes then yes, we will be moving but obviously not until it is financially a smart decision. Until then we just have to ride it out, however, that means I can put my two sense in about my opinion on the crime here. Heck if someone had done the same for me we probably would have protested the transfer but we had no idea there was so much crime here at the time.

Actually I wasn't insinuating that you were complaining. Actually I'm taking you at your word that your area has deteriorated and police responsiveness is slow. Given all this, and how it's affected you in that it's caused you to have a very negative perspective on Charlotte, I was curious as to how you see yourself correcting it (not crime per se, but your situation).

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by TheEmissary

A large part of the perception of crime has to do with the syndrome of "victimology". Your attitude can determine the outcome of a crime. . . .

I worked for the Post Office and started my career in an area that was crime-ridden. Our cars were broken into all the time. The cops could hardly be bothered to come down to take reports so we took matters into our own hands. A guy was caught breaking into a car and one of the mailhandlers punched his lights out and then ran him over with a Postal Truck. Another was jumped on by a 350 lb clerk, until he was coughing up blood! We left him there. I guess all of those posters hanging in the building with pictures of McGruff, the crime dog urging us to "take a "Bite out of Crime" had an effect!

Wth the ease of being able to buy a handgun down here compared to NJ where even the governor would have a hard time getting a handgun permit, I tend not to worry about crime. The criminals perhaps, should be worried about me tho'.

Thanks for the light-hearted approach here . . . I got a chuckle. However, you illustrate exactly what I was saying. There is some personal responsibility w/ protecting your home, family (and yes - even the workplace) from crime.

Before moving here, I lived in very low crime area. My DH and I had to leave our home for several months - on assignment in another State. We had an excellent Neighborhood Watch program.

One nite around midnite, one of my neighbors took his dog out for a walk. He noticed a van pulled up to the basement entrance to our home. He shouted at the intruders, ran inside his home, called the cops, then turned on all his flood lights and went outside. He saw the van backing out.

We had motion activated lights at that entrance of the house (installed into existing fixture). When my neighbor checked them, the bulbs had been unscrewed. Sometime earlier (during the day) someone must have deliberately unscrewed them. So this was a very planned attempted break-in. We also had an alarm on in the house, but evidently the would-be burglars did not care or had not noticed (we had stickers on the window - at our present home, we have plainly posted signs in our yard).

My point is - this break-in was foiled b/c of the actions of our neighbor. Perhaps they would have left just hearing the alarm siren. We will never know.

So the closest we have come to a break-in was in a very low crime neighborhood, not here in CLT. And it was the actions of a neighbor that staved off that break-in. We all have to pay attention and look out for each other, regardless of where we live. Crime can happen anywhere. Statistics just do not tell the whole story.

[NCgirl]

Heck if someone had done the same for me we probably would have protested the transfer but we had no idea there was so much crime here at the time.

This is why it's important to do some research before one moves somewhere. Crime is not a new issue here. As I said before, everyone must evaluate the crime factor and decide if it is a deal breaker for them. Many, many people live here and feel fine while others may not. Everyone is different.

I shop at the Whitehall center all the time. I've never seen a fight or gang activity - not even a West Side Story style dance off!

Crime can happen anywhere. Statistics just do not tell the whole story.

Amen!

[nkjaws]

Originally Posted by ncisgreat

You sound like a victim in your posts. The majority of us on these boards have lived here for years, not been victims of any major crime, and view your posts as being a bit alarmist and giving misinformation.

Perhaps you should turn off the news, which is giving you a skewed view of crime, and look at what's really going on around you. Why do you continue to put a viewpoint on these boards that makes you sound like you live in Baghdad? It really is not as bad as you are making it out to be, unless that grand home you bought is somewhere on West Boulevard.

Oh please, I do not act or sound like a victim of violent crime. Yeah, that is real smart let's all turn off our tv's and stop reading the local papers about crime and pretend it doesn't exist. That will just make this area perfect. The news is not scewed, read the CMPD SITE, you know all of the crime that is reported and that the police are dispatched to. I'm sure that is skewed too? Just b/c you are naive and don't want to believe what this or my area has become that is not my problem. I will not turn a blind eye to crime here nor will I not tell people the honest truth as I SEE IT. Ofcourse, you are entitled to your opinion just as I am entitled to my opinion but don't go off the deep end and tell us to stop reading about the crime. It is people like you who make crime worse because you fail to see it exists. As for your very sarcastic Baghdad comment, at what point did I claim that there was constant gun fire or that it was unsafe to go outside. A little dramatic if you ask me.

[ncisgreat]

Can someone please tell me where there is a mid-sized to large US city with zero crime?

I think the property crime needs to be addressed in Charlotte, but there really is not a lot of violent crime here at all, especially the ranom variety.

I'll tell you one thing-- even if I lived somewhere in quiet Idaho I'd still stay aware of my surroundings, my neighborhood, and lock my doors. It's called personal responsibility. I can't change how some thugs may choose to act, but I can choose how I act and react in response.

Yeah, that is real smart let's all turn off our tv's and stop reading the local papers about crime and pretend it doesn't exist.

Honey, I worked in journalism for 6 years and am a newshound. No one knows more about local news on this thread than me. The difference is I understand that journalism = entertainment and ratings these days and "if it bleeds it leads." You seem to not understand this and it is skewing your view of Charlotte.
There were days we would not cover anything but crime in 7 surrounding counties and really hype it up, especially during the book in Nov or Feb.

You need to calm down, take a breath and a step back, and readjust your reality because you are doing yourself a disservice. This is a great place to live and you will miss out on it because you insist on portraying it as a mini-Lebanon.