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Old 10-24-2006, 06:34 AM
 
3 posts, read 16,693 times
Reputation: 12

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...too much fun.

hey all,

my boyfriend & i are looking into moving to the pasadena area from irvine, where we've both lived for far too long. i know most would suggest that we stay where we are for a variety of reasons (smog, traffic, crime, etc.), but we'd like to be closer to glendale/burbank to avoid our current commute. plus, truth be told, while irvine is safe and clean, blah blah blah, it is also incredibly insular, way lacking in diversity on all fronts, and, well, blah.

here's the thing:

during an online apartment search last week, i came across a property management co. that had a link to the megan's law website for CA, http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/. the thought that people were using this database while apartment hunting hadn't even crossed my mind before--so, if you plug in any intersection anywhere in CA or even an address, you can actually see the faces and home addys of the local registered "sex offenders" who live just over your back fence (note: please resist the urge to check it out, unless you're prepared for what you'll find). ...knowing the data are there, it's been difficult to ignore, making for some pretty uncomfortable moments of late.

now, i'm trying to walk the line between being calmly cautious of where we decide to move (when does some information become too much information?!) and flying into full-throttle panic that a person with multiple rape convictions and a rather intense mugshot lives down the block from the apartment we had been seriously considering. i've lived in many areas where there have been registered "sex offenders" (this i now know retroactively), and i felt safe enough. this is true of the areas i've lived that have been urban and suburban, affluent and not. but that doesn't mean it's attractive to know that another apartment we were considering in eagle rock has 6 "sex offenders" in a several block radius. and yes, i know that it's oversimplifying to assume that once an offender, always an offender. frankly, i'm trying to get back my sense of balance and perspective on all of this, and i'm finding it difficult.

so, please, people, help me reframe things, stop freaking out, and figure out a way to apartment search in L.A. without going insane. all we're looking for is a studio/1-bedroom place (for around $1000) with parking close by where we won't feel excessive fear. and a yard would be nice (just kidding). can i get a list of areas near pasadena where people feel safe, and where they have lived for a good period of time without feeling too unnerved?

alhambra? which parts?
eagle rock? which parts?
the vicinity of occidental college?
highland park? which parts?
glendale? which parts?
monrovia? which parts?
south pasadena? which parts?
particular areas of pasadena proper?
areas to wholly avoid?

irvine has its share of sex offenders, too, by the way. it's one thing to open your eyes to things, another to figure out how you want to interact with that information once you have it....

input?

thanks.
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Old 10-24-2006, 07:31 PM
 
Location: CITY OF ANGELS AND CONSTANT DANGER
5,408 posts, read 12,664,460 times
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sex offenders abound. most are shown in the "central LA" (Downtown) area. due to all the transitional housing available in skid row, downtown etc. there are actually some sex offenders within a couple blocks from me. they are everywhere. watch out. its a great idea to check your hood for these freaks. though i do wonder which ones mighthave been caught having sex in public and not assaulting people. i have a friend that got a bad rap. two consenting adults cant even have a roll in the bush no more!!!!
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Old 10-25-2006, 09:52 AM
 
45 posts, read 133,922 times
Reputation: 24
I live in So. Pasadena and haved checked out the sex offender's page a few times. There are just a few in this town so I wouldn't worry about the chances of having a major nut as a neighbor. I've lived here all my life, it is very safe!
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Old 10-26-2006, 02:35 AM
 
3 posts, read 16,693 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by the one View Post
sex offenders abound. most are shown in the "central LA" (Downtown) area. due to all the transitional housing available in skid row, downtown etc. there are actually some sex offenders within a couple blocks from me. they are everywhere. watch out. its a great idea to check your hood for these freaks. though i do wonder which ones mighthave been caught having sex in public and not assaulting people. i have a friend that got a bad rap. two consenting adults cant even have a roll in the bush no more!!!!
i know what you mean. it can become pretty misleading when the language used to categorize certain sex-crime convictions is fairly broad, and the label "sex offender" is applied to all.

anyway, it's assuaged my fears a bit to do a quick check on the LAPD e-policing site for a sense of the variety and density of crimes cited in different areas; then, i compare those stats with the sex offender stats of that particular area (though the LAPD stats only seem to cover the past month at most, as far as i can tell). while the LAPD stats are only a brief snapshot, when you're not familiar with regional neighborhoods, it ends up being a kind of cheat-sheet for locating the worst parts of town. and a significant number of the "sexual predators" live in areas where there has been no sexual crime reported (lately), so it contextualizes things... somewhat.
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Old 10-26-2006, 02:47 AM
 
3 posts, read 16,693 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pasadenagirl View Post
I live in So. Pasadena and haved checked out the sex offender's page a few times. There are just a few in this town so I wouldn't worry about the chances of having a major nut as a neighbor. I've lived here all my life, it is very safe!
i'm glad that you've found a good spot to be. my boyfriend and i drove through part of south pasadena the other night, and we were totally floored at the size of some of those mansion-like homes!

btw, in case this is of interest to anyone who travels with their families and stays in low-end motels to save cash (which was me, on many a trip, actually)... one thing that threw me when i was first looking at those sex crime maps is when a number of offenders would be listed at the exact same address in a given town. different apartments, same street address. after googling one of the addresses after, like, 8 names of registered offenders showed at the same one, i realized many live permanently in those "weekly rental" motels, probably partly because they have a hard time renting elsewhere with background checks, etc. ...definitely something to consider when planning your next trip on the cheap....
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Old 10-27-2006, 12:40 AM
 
9,725 posts, read 15,170,027 times
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I don't know if you can count on the sex offender registration meaning much... I noticed once that most of the sex offenders registered in Hollywood and moved and never reregistered.

Also, I had a roommate many years ago who was raped by a man who climbed in one of our windows. We didn't know him. As it would happen, her brother was a cop in a neighboring city and figured out who the guy was via fingerprints.

We went to court. It was his 7th rape trial.

Again, this was a guy we didn't know who climbed in through the window and left fingerprints (and other stuff like pubic hair) throughout our house.

We went to court.

He showed up and he was tall and handsome. He had a beautiful wife and two kids, aged 2 and 4. Beautiful little kids.

We testified that we didn't know him. He claimed that he knew us, he knew our maintenance man, he was allowed to climb in our windows from outside and leave half hand-prints coming in and fingerprints all over our house and my roommate let him leave pubic hairs in her bed.

The jury said he wasn't guilty.

Recently, I looked him up via Google and found out he is making a living as an entertainer in the city I used to live in.

Is he listed as a sex offender? OF COURSE NOT! HE NEVER WAS CONVICTED!! Oh! If we had only had DNA evidence back then!! We were his 7TH RAPE TRIAL. He never was convicted. Gawd only knows how many other trials he might have had after that one because I moved out of the state.

I guess everyone knows that really good looking married men with small children would never dlimb in a window and rape a woman they don't know. (Ha!)

Anyway, I wouldn't put a lot of faith into those lists.
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Old 10-27-2006, 09:12 AM
 
45 posts, read 133,922 times
Reputation: 24
I've always lived in apts. here in So. Pasadena and never had any problems. I'm more concerned about my car getting broken into than sex offenders. Plus, I don't have children either
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