Crime in Cincinnati? (Avon, Madeira, Wilson: construction, casinos, tax)

[The Don]

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed that nobody in this forum has mentioned that poor lady.
Here we had one of the most vulnerable amongst us, brutally killed. She moved to Roselawn when it was still a vital and safe neighborhood. She contributed in a positive way to our community she did not deserve to die in such a terrible fashion.
Above that, though what is happening to our neighborhoods? How could Roselawn, Westwood, Price Hill decline so rapidly from decent and safe communities to the hell-hole it is now?
We better not just shrug it off. Today its "their" neighborhood, tomorrow it will be ours.

[wilson1010]

Originally Posted by The Don

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed that nobody in this forum has mentioned that poor lady.
Here we had one of the most vulnerable amongst us, brutally killed. She moved to Roselawn when it was still a vital and safe neighborhood. She contributed in a positive way to our community she did not deserve to die in such a terrible fashion.
Above that, though what is happening to our neighborhoods? How could Roselawn, Westwood, Price Hill decline so rapidly from decent and safe communities to the hell-hole it is now?
We better not just shrug it off. Today its "their" neighborhood, tomorrow it will be ours.

My mother lived in that buildig and, had she not died of cancer many years ago, would have been 93 today. A most disturbing coincidence.

What failed us and the poor victim was our emasculated justice system. The Golf Manor Police had an encounter with the killer that would have landed him in jail a couple of decades ago. Today? Criminals' rights trump society's safety every time.

[price hill will]

Originally Posted by The Don

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed that nobody in this forum has mentioned that poor lady.
Here we had one of the most vulnerable amongst us, brutally killed. She moved to Roselawn when it was still a vital and safe neighborhood. She contributed in a positive way to our community she did not deserve to die in such a terrible fashion.
Above that, though what is happening to our neighborhoods? How could Roselawn, Westwood, Price Hill decline so rapidly from decent and safe communities to the hell-hole it is now?
We better not just shrug it off. Today its "their" neighborhood, tomorrow it will be ours.

Frankly I'm disappointed and deeply offended that that you refer to Price Hill as being a "hell hole" Please stop stereotyping my neighborhood.

[Hartwell Girl]

This has nothing to do with those neighborhoods, its the bad people who are giving those communities bad raps. Too many criminials, drug dealers, sex offenders, and persons with mental illnesses are allowed to freely roam our communities that we work hard to build up and make safe for our families. That is why I get SO defensive when someone will slam my or any other City neighborhood. I say this over and over again, there are FAR more good people in this City than there will ever be bad. That man that killed Ms. Martin should never have been on the streets. There have been too many frustrating murders this year due to people who should be locked up, but are not. The County is being over taken by inmates being let out early or other being shipped to Hamilton County due to the amount of state funding our county receives and what frustrates me more than anything is NOT so much the criminals, but the people who live In these neighborhoods who come home from work, pull their blinds and disappear. Never getting involved in their community, not knowing who lives next door, what is going on or how much they can be a part of the solution to the many problems that are going on. How can you take a loan out for a home, your biggest investment you will ever make and not protect it? Protecting it doesnt mean getting a conceal & carry for when someone enters your home, getting involved, knowing your neighbors, watching out for eachother, where did all that go? Are we all so busy that turning a blind eye is everyones way of dealing with things? You cant show up once a month to get involved in a positive way for your neighborhood? You cant pick up the phone and call the police when you see something concerning? I am more ticked at people who live in neighborhoods and dont do anything to keep them safe than the drug dealers & buyers who are pretty much just killing eachother. Sorry, that's just how I feel today.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by Hartwell Girl

This has nothing to do with those neighborhoods, its the bad people who are giving those communities bad raps.

DAMN, hartwell girl ... this was GOOD! Care if I use this quote in the future?

[ChickeyDuck]

Originally Posted by NegativeSense

Hi Everyone,

I may be moving from Chicagoland for work and one of the cities I might be placed near is Cincinnati. While I understand there is crime regardless of where I go, I've noticed that Cincinnati's crime rate is three times the national average, which concerns me. Is this mostly confined to different parts of the city or is it prevalent throughout?

Also, I read that Over the Rhine has been getting some renovations and is a good place to live for young professionals. I'm 23 and I'd like to live in a pretty safe neighborhood with a lot to do. I understand regardless I'm going to have to lock my car whenever, but I'd like to live somewhere that I feel safe walking around at night. Is this a good neighborhood, if not could you please suggest some nice places to live for someone my age.

Thanks!
Josh

Cincinnati Pretty Safe, Says Forbes - Cincinnati News Story - WLWT Cincinnati

Minneapolis & Safest Cities, Forbes 2009 List Winner (Pics, Video) - National Ledger

It also collected historical natural disaster data from a number of different government agencies and looked at violent crime rates from the FBI's 2008 uniform crime report.

Here is the list of the Safest cities Top 10 according to Forbes.com:

1 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
2 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
3 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
4 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
4 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
6 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA
7 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
8 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
9 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
10 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH
10 Denver-Aurora, CO

[northwoodsman]

is forbes serious

[goyguy]

All those magazine surveys have to be taken with a grain of salt. Publishers have seized upon them as a way to have catchy covers and sell issues. Rating criteria are subjective like you wouldn't believe. But I admit that I got a kick out of seeing that the college I first attended out of high school placed above an Ivy League school in one mag's recent list. Normally it hovers between first and second tier.

Writing off neighborhoods and staying away from them complicates the "big picture" for everyone. Not only does it do a disservice to communities like Roselawn which are still fairly nice places outside of "certain areas," it has an effect on how broader issues get handled. There aren't drug-dealing gangs in Madeira the way there are in Avondale, but when Avondale is outvoted by Madeira and a tax levy for jails is defeated, not only are crack sellers put back on the streets sooner (if they're taken off in the first place) but so are the legally-adult high school seniors who get hauled in after a vandalism spree on, say, Miami Ave. The good taxpayers of Madeira think of imprisonment only in terms of confining people who do evil things in places they never go, so they invariably are more likely to vote down new expenditures. Similarly, although most behavioral-health patients are no threat to anyone but themselves, when there are violent exceptions to that rule the neighborhoods abutting the former "Longview" bear the brunt of it. The probability is lower, but putting a politician into office who OK's cuts to funding for mental illness treatment also endangers the family and community of the psychotic person in Delhi who doesn't stay on their meds. Voting against "them" always has a way of coming back to bite "us."

One hot summer Sunday during the '70s, services were underway at an affluent suburban WASP church (which will otherwise remain unidentified) when a "bag lady" burst in all of a sudden. In spite of the weather, she was clad in layers of raggedy clothes and had a torn scarf over her scraggly hair. Finding an open pew, she arranged sackfuls of newspapers and more tattered garments around her and settled in while loudly scratching herself. During a hymn, she noisily blew her nose into a sleeve; as the sermon began, she belched before reclining to take a nap complete with snores. All the while people were steadily putting distance between her and themselves. Then...to the utter astonishment of all present, the bag lady leapt up and tore off her scarf and wig. She, like everyone there, was well-off financially and in a comfortable living situation. Even for that one day, my godmother had held a mirror up to the thinking of her fellow congregants, and they were caught with their pants down .

When a neighbor fell upon financial hard times, I anonymously footed the bill for some medical expenses and openly gave her a no-interest loan to help satisfy other debts. That shouldn't make me all that "special," but out of all her other acquaintances there were few who lifted a finger to assist that woman with money they definitely had. When I was arranging with the medical provider for payments, they made me sign a statement to cover themselves because of their skepticism that I'd follow through. What do this and the bag lady story have to say about how society has deteriorated? We as a nation emerged stronger after the Great Depression and WWII because people took to heart the notion that everyone was in the same boat. Now folks are glued to their cellphones and iPods and PDA's, don't bother to so much as find out the names of who lives on their block, and seem to relocate at the drop of a hat. Networking to move forward in a career spills over to the social level - if you don't have an in for me to get a promotion or find a better job, what good are you?

Mostly overlooked in all the reporting of the Ida Martin incident are the facts that other people in the vicinity had recognized that someone was among them who was unknown and acting strangely; there were immediate and multiple 911 calls; had there not been strong and vocal reaction in the aftermath, the "authorities" undoubtedly wouldn't have moved as swiftly to catch the offender. "Ms Ida" not only was well known in her community, she was entrusted with pass keys to her whole apartment house and was known to do neighborly things like letting someone borrow her washer and dryer to spare them a schlep to the laundromat. Even after her husband passed away thirty or so years ago, and after all her Jewish and other White neighbors had departed from her building, she'd happily stayed put for 43 years without incident. Hundreds of other persons from all backgrounds will live out their lives in Roselawn and meet death not by criminal hands. It's ironic that a neighborhood can show that it defines the term well but still be dismissed out of hand. ("On Summit Rd? Whould've thought?!" read one sarcastic Enquirer blog post.)

Crime in Cincinnati (and everywhere) is less prevalent the more citizens are involved in their communities and know and care about their neighbors. It really is that simple. And it really isn't as common now as it was a half-century ago. And all this has already been said, and in better and fewer words, so this rant is done.

[wilson1010]

Originally Posted by goyguy

. . . but when Avondale is outvoted by Madeira and a tax levy for jails is defeated, not only are crack sellers put back on the streets sooner . . .

You are kidding, right? Isn't Avondale the prime example of what could be a good neighborhood but for the apathy to crime by its otherwise non criminal population?

[Hartwell Girl]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

You are kidding, right? Isn't Avondale the prime example of what could be a good neighborhood but for the apathy to crime by its otherwise non criminal population?

Are you saying those who are the non criminial population in Avondale doesnt care or are not involved in addressing criminial activity in Avondale? Because I know many residents and community leaders in Avondale, North Avondale and Walnut Hills that would beg to differ with that comment.