Whats up with the CRIME??! (Florence, York: apartment complex, neighborhoods, taxes)

[sgfludd]

Middle Street, 7200 block: Police were called to a home at 4 a.m. Sunday where a man was beating on a metal structure with a baseball bat. The man admitted to hitting the building and was arrested. The officer noted more than $1,000 damage to the structure.

[Charleston native]

I don't know why quite a few people can live with property crime...sure, it's not rape or murder, but it is still a crime! You may not have to worry about your life, but do you still feel "safe" when you have a good chance of having your car stolen or your house broken into?

If you want to live in the Cola metro area, the NE Cola area (closer to Blythewood and towns in Kershaw County like Pontiac or Elgin) seems to be better.

[sgfludd]

I don't think that people don't have a problem with it - but non-violent crime stats should be separate - because it makes our state look like a cesspool of violence - which it isn't. And while I have no problem moving to a zipcode where there are 50 car windows smashed - I have a BIG problem moving to a zipcode where there were 50 rapes or murders. And with the stats the way they are - they scare people away for no reason at all. Which I was illustrating with the above posts.

[GoPadge]

Originally Posted by Charleston native

I don't know why quite a few people can live with property crime...sure, it's not rape or murder, but it is still a crime! You may not have to worry about your life, but do you still feel "safe" when you have a good chance of having your car stolen or your house broken into?

If you want to live in the Cola metro area, the NE Cola area (closer to Blythewood and towns in Kershaw County like Pontiac or Elgin) seems to be better.

You have to realize too that city wide statistics can be driven by small areas of high crime. I lived in Rosewood during high school, within walking distance of Henley Homes, and we never had any issues, period. No, rapes, murders, muggings, thefts or burglaries that I was aware of. I had some friends who during college lived up on Preston St within crawling distance from 5 Points. While you wouldn't want to out in MLK park after dark, they too, never had any problems with violence or thefts.

Finally remember that Columbia is 130+ square miles, it's going to have more crime rolled up into the city than Blythewood, (3.2 square miles), Pontiac or Elgin (~1 square mile) ever will.

[Charleston native]

Originally Posted by GoPadge

...Finally remember that Columbia is 130+ square miles, it's going to have more crime rolled up into the city than Blythewood, (3.2 square miles), Pontiac or Elgin (~1 square mile) ever will.

I understand all that. However, other unincorporated areas in NE are fairly crime-free, which is what I was referring to.

sgfludd, I would rather move to a zip code that didn't have any of those things!

[dlwdolly]

Here is crime rate info from homes.com on Lexington... Look at the Rape and violent crime...why is it so high? I want to believe you guys, but why do all these sources say it is a high crime area? If someone knows another site that has beeter info, please direct me.

Lexington, SC (29072) Property: 500 FEET OF LAKE MURRAY WATER Spectacular big wate...

[sandlapper]

You just have to visit Irmo & Lexington and see for yourself. I would wager those are probablly two of the safest areas in the Columbia metro (think young families, little league games, playgrounds, good public schools, pickett fences, 2.5 dogs in the yard, the lake, it's classic American suburbia, etc...).

[waccamatt]

Most of the crime statistics are at or below the national average, I'm not sure what the panic is about.

[GoPadge]

The crime stats are for ALL of Lexington, not the street you're looking at. Even in Lexington, there are a few seedy areas that drive much of the crime stats.

[sneako]

Here was my question

We were thinking of relocating to SC from MI, but man!!!!.we were looking over the Morgan-Quinto rankings for violent cities (we live near DETROIT which we thought was bad enough) here is what we found:

Most violent city in the U.S. in 2005 (latest year for FBI complete stats) and the winner is----


The national average is 469/100K
#1-FLORENCE SC at 1,250/100K
#9-Sumter SC at 939/100K
#17 -Myrtle Beach SC at 860/100K
#20-Charleston SC at 843/100K
#33-Columbia SC at 725/100K
#38-Greeneville SC at 705/100k


here is the link:http://www.morganquitno.com/met05a.pdf

My question is are these crimes limited to certain areas (god I hate saying that!) or does everyone live in gated communities.

We were getting ready to fly to Charleston to check out some clinics for sale but I think SC may be out of the question............TOO VIOLENT!

My question was addressed by many of same posters here.

My city is Farmongton Hills, mi which is one of the safest cities in the US. Detroit is horrible, Flint is bad, but whole counties are not like that in MI. Good, bad or indifferent crime areas are distinct.

There ARE NOT whole counties with high crime rates.

That is the most disturbing part. It seems crime is widespread and random in SC. Theft, aggrivated assault, and the like are usually crimes perpetrated on innocent people. Whereas 9 of 10 murders involve people murdered, knew their killer.

We are seriously reconsidering our potential move to SC.



Thanks
ANT