Why is the 6th largest city in Ohio so dangerous (Dayton) (Columbus: crime rates, neighborhood)

[JefferyT]

Getting back a bit to the thread header, about violence and violent crime in Dayton city.

I did some quick searches off this site: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Based on their numbers you have a 1 in 101 chance of being a victim of violent crime in Dayton city. This is compared to the Ohio average of a 1 in 281 chance of being a victim. Violent crime means robbery, assault, and rape, as well as murder (which is really a somewhat rare crime).

How does this compare to other Ohio cities:

Heres' a rank, with the highes chance at the top, lower chances at the bottom

Canton: 1 in 77 chance
Cleveland: 1 in 80
Cincinnati: 1 in 90
Toledo: 1 in 96
Dayton: 1 in 101
Youngstown: 1 in 112
Columbus: 1 in 119
Akron: 1 in 173 (the "safest". or place one is least likely to be a victim)

Now lets compare the two scary cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore + some smaller cities in the Dayton size-range.

Baltimore: 1 in 50 (uh oh)
Hartford: 1 in 69
Philadelphia: 1 in 73
Grand Rapids: 1 in 97
Dayton: 1 in 101
Syracuse: 1 in 112
Rochester: 1 in 123

So Dayton isn't the most risky nor the best. For either Ohio or some comparable US center cities.

You are more likely to be a victim of a property crime. You have a 1 in 14 chance of being a victim of a property crime in Dayton vs the 1 in 27 chance for Ohio on average. Propert crime being burglary, auto theft, theft from an auto, vandalism. Comparing to the suburbs, if you live in Kettering you have a 1 in 27 chance (state average), Beavercreek a 1 in 26 chance, and Vandalia (for you-know-who) a 1 in 39 chance.

So if you want to live in Dayton get a good burglar alarm and watch your car. I think this chance of victimization is more for people who actually live in the city vs occasional vistors like myself, since I've never had any property crime (car break-ins) in the years I've come downtown. At least not yet (I am probably jinxing myself by saying "no problems!) ;-)

[215GUY]

Like i said Dayton crime is so over-blown.

[JefferyT]

It's not overblown for property crime. It is for violent crime if you compare it to other larger cities. Suburban areas are considerably safer, though. I didnt do that comparison because it would be off the charts, apples to oranges.

[Billy from Dayton]

^ as would any other city vs suburbs in the U.S.

[Daytonnatian]

^Extremely true.

I can't understand why people always think Dayton is bad when so many other cities are so unbelievably worse......

[Beavercreek33]

Where is Detroit on that list?

[willabee]

Dayton isn't as bad as the media, or surrounding locales make it out to be. I've lived in L.A. and NYC, and as crime stats go, they are much worse. Not sure about the probabilities of me being a crime victim in either place and that brings me to my point.

I find it difficult to place merit in crime stats. For example, I live right in the middle of the East end. Bottom line you have to watch your back and your property.

In my section of the city there have been several murders, at least one home invasion that I am aware of (that ended with one of the perps catching a bullet in his head by the home owner), constant drug dealing, and prostitution. I caught a burglar leaving a neighbors home in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon (called PD and they caught him a couple blocks away and recovered all belongings - perp pleaded guilty to Felony 2 burglary and is awaiting sentencing), I've had occasion to chase away folks in the middle of breaking into cars outside my home more than once.

I don't think that we can minimize crime in Dayton. Far to many, like myself, live in the city and are impacted by it's presence. However, is it "overblown"? Depends on where you live and who you ask. I'm not slamming Dayton PD, but they just got around to acknowledging that Dayton has a gang problem. I could have told em that from all the tagging I've seen all over the city.

The suburbs are worth mentioning too. I invite folks to google suburban blight.

Suburban Blight Caused By Foreclosures : The Real Estate Bloggers

Foreclosures lead to another problem: suburban blight - Los Angeles Times

These are older links but they do point to a potentially alarming trend that could strike suburbs close to you. On another angle some criminals prefer to target suburbs simply because folks tend to let their guard down because they "feel" safe. My point is this - no where is really "safe".

Dayton is not as bad as perceptions may lead, but it has it's share of crime and problems - like any big city.

As i've said before I love urban living and understand that crime and blight are a part of any major city. And no, Dayton is not a cess pool of crime and violence where us poor citizens have to hide away from the bad guys.

[Cleveland_Collector]

Why is it that Ohioans need to be consistently reminded by resident expats that our big cities are certainly no worse and mostly safer than others of comparable size in other states? As for those "statistics," Cleveland's "1 in 80 chance" can be relegated to about 5% of the neighborhoods. Take the GCMA in to account and this place is safe. I'm sure it isn't a whole lot different in Dayton.

[willabee]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Why is it that Ohioans need to be consistently reminded by resident expats that our big cities are certainly no worse and mostly safer than others of comparable size in other states?

On one hand (and probably the most important) you have negative perceptions that are fed by the media.

On another, the parent topic of this thread...(not sure it was started by a "resident expat", guess you'll have to ask them......although crime is sure hyped here in Dayton - ahh guess were back to perception...)

btw...who invited Cleveland to a Dayton thread......oh, we must be bound together by being Ohioans?...

[willabee]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

As for those "statistics," Cleveland's "1 in 80 chance" can be relegated to about 5% of the neighborhoods. Take the GCMA in to account and this place is safe. I'm sure it isn't a whole lot different in Dayton.

Crime in Dayton is pretty much a city wide thing and stretches it's tentacles into the suburbs. However, I will note that a lot of the murders are concentrated into a few of the more impoverished areas on the west side. Glad to know that Cleveland has things "contained". Not so around here.

Since I'm on the subject. It really comes down to the citizens doing their part to keep things on the up and up. Working with the police is really important. That means you have to be willing to goto court to testify at times. Albeit, that can get your house shot up so you gotta use wisdom.

Education and crime prevention are very important also. I will include a very good link that gives some good insight into the topic. Crime and criminals should never make people run and hide. We gotta fight back and do it as a community. Ok....exiting soapbox...lol

The link is on the burglary page but the site has many, many topics covered.

Types of Burglars