City Vs. City Crime Ratings/Rankings---How much stock do you put into them? (crime rate, place)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Great point. It's usually thugs killing thugs, not the soccer mom in her middle class neighborhood in one of the good parts of the town that made a store run.
Too many times people paint these "high crime" cities with a broad brush as if things happen all over to any body all the time when it's just not the case
Yep, pretty much. Don't get me wrong, every once in awhile random people are attacked, but I'd say on average it's not. To be honest, I've never seen any actual serious crime happen infront of my eyes here..
I don't put much stock into the methods of those rankings as they don't reflect which cities are prone to high rates of random violence. Chicago never ranks high on these lists but it's probably as dangerous as any city in the random context due to the gang culture, where the wannabes' are all ways out to prove themselves.
I don't put much stock into the methods of those rankings as they don't reflect which cities are prone to high rates of random violence. Chicago never ranks high on these lists but it's probably as dangerous as any city in the random context due to the gang culture, where the wannabes' are all ways out to prove themselves.
Only in certain parts of town, and even then it's mainly gang members versus other gang members many times (not all of course). There are a ton of parts of Chicago that are extremely safe. Actually most of it is. The areas that are bad are bad enough that they make the rest of the city look terrible if you are a layman and only look at city wide stats (but still it never rates the highest rates because in reality much of Chicago is actually pretty damn safe). Here's a statistic: Since 2007, about 75% of all homicides have happened in neighborhoods that only represent barely above 30% of the city's population. The neighborhoods that make up that other 70% have rates about equal to LA or NYC or lower.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
2,014 posts, read 5,096,386 times
Reputation: 2089
Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu
Only in certain parts of town, and even then it's mainly gang members versus other gang members many times (not all of course). There are a ton of parts of Chicago that are extremely safe. Actually most of it is. The areas that are bad are bad enough that they make the rest of the city look terrible if you are a layman and only look at city wide stats (but still it never rates the highest rates because in reality much of Chicago is actually pretty damn safe). Here's a statistic: Since 2007, about 75% of all homicides have happened in neighborhoods that only represent barely above 30% of the city's population. The neighborhoods that make up that other 70% have rates about equal to LA or NYC or lower.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
2,014 posts, read 5,096,386 times
Reputation: 2089
I didn't expect this poll to turnout so lopsided. I agree with the majority, but with all the people who toss around crime rankings and stats, I would've thought it was closer.
It seems to depend more on the company you keep. FBI statistics indicate, "about 80 percent of murder victims knew their killers ..." So you are right. Thugs killing thugs, domestic violence, child abduction and abduction. Odds are it will not be random, you'll know who thumps you. Granted, the study was in 1988, but even recent data I've reviewed indicates the same thing.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
2,014 posts, read 5,096,386 times
Reputation: 2089
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kar54
It seems to depend more on the company you keep. FBI statistics indicate, "about 80 percent of murder victims knew their killers ..." So you are right. Thugs killing thugs, domestic violence, child abduction and abduction. Odds are it will not be random, you'll know who thumps you. Granted, the study was in 1988, but even recent data I've reviewed indicates the same thing.
Chicago doesn't really take an unfair rap, as the city does have thousands of shootings.
I think it's the 66% of the city that's quite safe being thrown in with the 33% of the city that's quite dangerous being the "unfair rap".
Most of the dangerous areas of Chicago are EXTREMELY insular, people don't really venture out of them. There aren't a ton of jobs, life is in quite a bit of a bubble. My roommate of 5 years worked in those areas as a teacher and I talked to her constantly about it. She would take kids around the city and they would still ask if they were in Illinois or other random things. She said yes, they were just in a different neighborhood. Their families never left the block they lived on and they couldn't rationalize "the rest of the city". It might as well have just been some far away place you see on TV. She took them to the lake and they were in awe. The lake is like 50 blocks away, maybe a half hour drive through the west side as most.
Likewise the majority of functional and "normal" Chicago where people live normal lives and travel and go about their business - they mostly stare blankly when asked "how do you deal with the crime?" when they say they're from Chicago.
They don't.
OF COURSE - this just means that if the city is getting a really bad rap nationally for crime, and most of the city is actually safe, that the ghetto and unsafe areas are REALLY bad.
Like dozens of shootings and dozens of murders for neighborhoods of barely 50,000 people. No wonder everyone in those areas left that could.
It's no wonder essentially the entire population loss in Chicago the past 15 years has been black people from the south and west sides.
To use Columbus (Ohio) as an example. The majority of victims were black/Latino, between twenty and thirty years old and male. If you look at a homicide map the "hot spots" are Northeast Columbus and Hilltop on the west side. If you're a middle class person there is no need to ever venture in those areas. They are easily avoidable and much of Central Columbus is safe (Clintonville, Old North Columbus, University District, Short North, Downtown, Arena District, Victorian Village, Grandview etc.) Unfortunately if you are a racial minority, a male and living in an impoverished neighborhood your chances of being a victim are likely going to increase. If you are involved with a gang or drug trafficking then there is also a cause for concern.
To use Columbus (Ohio) as an example. The majority of victims were black/Latino, between twenty and thirty years old and male. If you look at a homicide map the "hot spots" are Northeast Columbus and Hilltop on the west side. If you're a middle class person there is no need to ever venture in those areas. They are easily avoidable and much of Central Columbus is safe (Clintonville, Old North Columbus, University District, Short North, Downtown, Arena District, Victorian Village, Grandview etc.) Unfortunately if you are a racial minority, a male and living in an impoverished neighborhood your chances of being a victim are likely going to increase. If you are involved with a gang or drug trafficking then there is also a cause for concern.
Columbus doesn't even have a lot of Latino homicides, there were more white homicides last year
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
