Which is relatively safer...oak ridge or west knoxville? (Memphis: crime, how much)

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by LauraC

All theft-related (purse snatching, shoplifting, car break ins, store robberies, house break ins, car jacking, property theft, etc.) crime happens here much more that it did in all of the other places I have lived in my life combined. It affects your quality of life. I no longer carry a purse and I lock my car doors whether I'm in or out of the car. The police told us they watch your houses before they break in, preferring that you not be home. I worry about leaving my car in a parking lot for an extended period of time or going places with a camera by myself. I'm always looking around me when I park my car (to see who is sitting in cars) or get into it. I hardly ever go out alone at night.

If you are talking about drunk, drugged and/or unlicensed drivers maybe killing you in your car, in addition to the cell phone users, throw that in, too.

Other than that, unless you associate with the wrong people, live a stupid lifestyle or let your spouse beat you up, not so much crime.

I didn't realize it was that bad in Oak Ridge. I am a very paranoid person, but I don't have that amount of fear in Knoxville. Of course, I still use common sense, which what you are doing, too. I also like taking my dog with me.

[jabogitlu]

I had a bit of a skewed sense of reality when living there, because I lived near Cumberland, just across from the Fort. Like, the second parking garage attack of 2007 happened the same night I was walking along one of the (dark, dirty) roads behind the garage.

But when I ventured out into West Knox, I never felt anything remotely akin to fear or concern for myself or my possessions. It's hard to find a place (in a fair sized city, mind) that is going to be safer than greater west Knoxville.

I have no idea about Oak Ridge.

(As an aside, I love where I live now. The other night, I accidentally left my wallet in the car all night long. It was going to be a pretty night and my car needed airing out, so I also left the windows down. Not smart, but the wallet was still there the next day. This is in a parking lot. )

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

I had a bit of a skewed sense of reality when living there, because I lived near Cumberland, just across from the Fort. Like, the second parking garage attack of 2007 happened the same night I was walking along one of the (dark, dirty) roads behind the garage.

But when I ventured out into West Knox, I never felt anything remotely akin to fear or concern for myself or my possessions. It's hard to find a place (in a fair sized city, mind) that is going to be safer than greater west Knoxville.

I have no idea about Oak Ridge.

(As an aside, I love where I live now. The other night, I accidentally left my wallet in the car all night long. It was going to be a pretty night and my car needed airing out, so I also left the windows down. Not smart, but the wallet was still there the next day. This is in a parking lot. )

I feel extremely safe in Fountain City, too.

Knoxville is NOTHING like the crime that I found in Florida. You also had to be careful who you talked to, your neighbors, etc., no matter where you lived. Lots of drug dealers in beautiful communities.

Here, everyone knows everyone else. Maybe Oak Ridge is more transient and that is why there is a problem, just like Florida?

[jabogitlu]

And like Sevierville.

[itsjustme64]

We live in West Knox, and feel very safe. No guarantees anywhere you live, but we are very comfortable here.

[jibanez]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I didn't realize it was that bad in Oak Ridge. I am a very paranoid person, but I don't have that amount of fear in Knoxville. Of course, I still use common sense, which what you are doing, too. I also like taking my dog with me.

Was LauraC referring to Oak Ridge? She didn't specify in her post.

In any case, regarding either area, I would like to know where all the other places she's lived were just to put her comments in perspective. Because the crime in W. Knox and Oak Ridge does not compare to that of cities like DC and New Orleans, where the original poster is coming from.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by jibanez

Was LauraC referring to Oak Ridge? She didn't specify in her post.

In any case, regarding either area, I would like to know where all the other places she's lived were just to put her comments in perspective. Because the crime in W. Knox and Oak Ridge does not compare to that of cities like DC and New Orleans, where the original poster is coming from.

LauraC lives in Oak Ridge.

I used to live in Oak Ridge. My friends who are still there tell me that crime has gotten a lot worse there over the years, particularly the petty stuff that LauraC was mentioning. It's not enough to make my friends leave Oak Ridge (yet) but they're beginning to sound more serious when they wistfully talk about moving to West Knox to be closer to better shopping and restaurants than what Oak Ridge has to offer.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by jibanez

Was LauraC referring to Oak Ridge? She didn't specify in her post.

In any case, regarding either area, I would like to know where all the other places she's lived were just to put her comments in perspective. Because the crime in W. Knox and Oak Ridge does not compare to that of cities like DC and New Orleans, where the original poster is coming from.

Oak Ridge has a population of around 27,500. In comparison to other places with a population of around 27,500, it has a lot of theft-related crime. Of course it has no where near the all types of crime numbers from large cities. But it scores a "6" in both property crime and violent crime when the national average is 3 for both and the place I lived before in Maryland was scored 3 for both and had a population of around 22,000.

Knoxville, by the way, gets a 7 for both property and violent crime so either the newspaper plays it down and you don't know it or you are from a big city that was worse in comparison.

I'm pretty sure I don't have much to fear from the violent crime because from reading the crime reports it appears you can avoid being a victim of violent crime by not being associated with lowlifes or an abusive family member, do criminal activity yourself or drink a lot. Property crime, however, impacts everybody.

[jibanez]

6 and 7 on what scale? And if it's comparable to Knoxville's ratings, why are you knocking it in comparison? Or are you talking about the area as a whole?

I guess on the day-to-day of Oak Ridge, I'm just not seeing the high danger of the place. Even the big stories that get into the paper would just get buried in larger cities due to their mundane nature there. Not to say that such things should just be tolerated. As a citizen, I plan on demanding better for my city. But when someone makes a statement like this:

"If you are talking about drunk, drugged and/or unlicensed drivers maybe killing you in your car, in addition to the cell phone users, throw that in, too."

It just strikes me as too bleak a description.

And I don't mean to pick on you specifically, either. I've read other posts on here in a similar vein painting a picture of Oak Ridge that make it sound like something out of a Grand Theft Auto game. And any real problems notwithstanding, that's just going too far.

Again, I'm new to the area, so maybe I'm just really lucky, oblivious, or jaded, and I respect your right to your own opinion. Nor am I downplaying the seriousness of crime in any way. When you're the victim, no statistics about crime rates, high or low, will matter at that point. However, from my "on-the-ground" perspective, so far I feel Oak Ridge is pretty safe, especially in comparison to the cities the original poster listed.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by jibanez

6 and 7 on what scale? And if it's comparable to Knoxville's ratings, why are you knocking it in comparison? Or are you talking about the area as a whole?

I guess on the day-to-day of Oak Ridge, I'm just not seeing the high danger of the place. Even the big stories that get into the paper would just get buried in larger cities due to their mundane nature there. Not to say that such things should just be tolerated. As a citizen, I plan on demanding better for my city. But when someone makes a statement like this:

"If you are talking about drunk, drugged and/or unlicensed drivers maybe killing you in your car, in addition to the cell phone users, throw that in, too."

It just strikes me as too bleak a description.

And I don't mean to pick on you specifically, either. I've read other posts on here in a similar vein painting a picture of Oak Ridge that make it sound like something out of a Grand Theft Auto game. And any real problems notwithstanding, that's just going too far.

Again, I'm new to the area, so maybe I'm just really lucky, oblivious, or jaded, and I respect your right to your own opinion. Nor am I downplaying the seriousness of crime in any way. When you're the victim, no statistics about crime rates, high or low, will matter at that point. However, from my "on-the-ground" perspective, so far I feel Oak Ridge is pretty safe, especially in comparison to the cities the original poster listed.

Crime scores are gotten by dividing population and crime. They are broken down into two categories for scoring purposes: property crime and violent crime.

Just for example's sake:

A town with a population of 10,000 and 50 acts of property crime would get the same score as a city of 100,000 and 500 acts of property crime during the measured time period.

I'm thinking big city newspapers and TV news don't report property crime so how would you know whether there was a lot of property crime unless you compared scores? And again, I mention property crime because anybody can be a victim of that whereas violent crime, you have a much better chance of reducing your odds of being a victim by controlling who you hang out with, who you live with and by the lifestyle you choose.

If you compared numbers of property crime then you could only compare that to a city with a similar population size...and you'd have to know those populations. The scoring system, however, allows you to compare a medium sized town, for example, to a big city.