Shreveport Crime (Bossier City, Many: appointed, sales, apartment complexes)

[ShreveportNative]

I am a 53 year old Shreveport native who once was very proud of my city. I & others have been civicly active for years trying to get city government to address the high crime rate.

City government through several mayoral administrations has refused to take any meaningful steps to address crime, and many once safe middle class & upper middle class neighborhoods are being burglarized at unprecedented rates.

I have chosen to live elsewhere. I will be moving as soon as I can. I am not going to disclose the regional city I have chosen to relocate to as this is immaterial. It has a crime rate that is about the national average & is a healthy environment. It is unfortunate that many Shreveporters are in denial about the crime rate being much higher than the national average. The commonplace attitude that those of us who find the crime rate unacceptably high are welcome to leave is very unproductive. My situation is not unique, & I have more than a few neighbors who are moving out of town for the same reason.

I hope those who are Shreveport boosters insist on city government dealing w/ high crime. The business & civic leaders could make a difference if they chose to do so. It is very unfortunate that city leaders refuse to deal w/ crime as Shreveport has much to offer, particularly the large amount of very appealing housing stock in the historic Highland, South Highland, & Broadmoor neighborhoods.

[SBCmetroguy]

Ummm... well, let's see... the homicide rate dropped from 45 in 2005 to 30 in 2006. Sure sounds like a huge stride in the right direction to me.

Best of luck to ya, buddy, but remember that the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side. It will be extremely difficult for you to find a southern city as large as, or larger than Shreveport, with a lower violent crime rate. But if you do find this pot of gold at the end of your rainbow, then by all means go there if it makes you happy.

[ShreveportNative]

I have been involved w/ a very active neighborhood group since 1979. Some police have confided things to us that certainly would not be in an official press release. To keep crime stats low, on the west side of town it is standard practice when someone is shot, "...winged...", it is not written up in a police report. Our neighborhood group has repeatedly identified drug houses where routine street sales are commonplace. Even though the police confirmed that one of these certainly was doing street sales, they refused to arrest them as it is their policy only to go after "...middle management...". I am not going to take up space explaining how open street drug sales create an atmostphere & scene that quickly destroys decent neighborhoods, but it does horrific damage as anyone knows that has experienced this problem.

SBC Metroguy comented in another post that people were moving out of Southern Hills & indicated it was not considered a desirable neighborhood anymore. This area was once a solidly middle class neighborhood.

It is the refusal of city government to enforce crime that is causing these neighborhoods to be degraded. I say city government instead of the police as it is common knowledge among those who work closely w/ the police that they do not get support from the mayor, & if they enforce laws they will be reprimanded. Internal police polls show the police are very demoralized. An officer very close to our group said in the last 10 days, "Cities get the police protection that they expect."

Many cities deal with crime in a productive manner that keeps their towns from consistently being in the top 10-20 most dangerous in the nation. It can be done as New York City improved their crime rating drastically w/ the only thing that works, zero tolerance for crime, & this was certainly a tougher task than dealing w/ crime in Shreveport. Until the city leaders begin to deal w/ crime in a meaningful manner, the quality of life will be damaged. Comparing our high crime rate to other unsuccessful cities doesn't mean that it is OK, it only means that Shreveport has lots of company w/ other cities that are also in the unacceptable category.

Bossier City, the neighboring community to Shreveport has a stronger law & order stance, & it shows in their lesser crime stats.

[SBCmetroguy]

It happens all over, my friend. This is not unique to Shreveport. By leaving the city over crime, you're only going to find yourself disappointed. But you're older than I, so obviously you know more.

[ynotkimmee]

I've read the lowest crime area of Shreveport is east of Southern, Southeast Shreveport. Can anyone tell me what zip codes cover that generally area? Looking for homes in the area and I have young children.

[IloveNOLA]

Originally Posted by ynotkimmee

I've read the lowest crime area of Shreveport is east of Southern, Southeast Shreveport. Can anyone tell me what zip codes cover that generally area? Looking for homes in the area and I have young children.

71105 and 71115. For reasonably priced homes in a safe, stable area, look at Broadmoor. That is a good neighborhood with lots of kids and young families. But I think overall that Bossier is the place to be if you are moving to the Shreveport area. Bossier is much safer and has a far better school system than Shreveport.

[DFWMike]

SBC Metro guy seems to be in denial. I left partly because of crime and lack of jobs, look at the vast swaths of land that used to be decent not too long ago but is given to crime infestation now, particularly in southwest Shreveport. I miss the down home feel of Shreveport, but they have to do alot of work before that the city starts growing again or retaining it's own residents. I guess the only real good thing you can say about Shreveport outside of Southeast Shreveport is thank God for Bossier.

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by DFWMike

SBC Metro guy seems to be in denial. I left partly because of crime and lack of jobs, look at the vast swaths of land that used to be decent not too long ago but is given to crime infestation now, particularly in southwest Shreveport. I miss the down home feel of Shreveport, but they have to do alot of work before that the city starts growing again or retaining it's own residents. I guess the only real good thing you can say about Shreveport outside of Southeast Shreveport is thank God for Bossier.

I'm far from being in denial, Mike, but Shreveport's not as bad a city as some people on here say it is. Am I planning on moving out of state? Yes. Is it because of Shreveport or opportunity? Not at all. In my career I'm set here... but I yearn for another city that I've loved for years. Nothing against Shreveport, but I've been in love with this other distant, larger city for far too long to stay here.

I'm certainly not in denial. Obviously things aren't perfect here... but name a place that is.

[markablue]

Please, stick to the facts and your opinions, refraining from ad hominem arguments.

[Wandering_Celt]

Originally Posted by IloveNOLA

71105 and 71115. For reasonably priced homes in a safe, stable area, look at Broadmoor. That is a good neighborhood with lots of kids and young families. But I think overall that Bossier is the place to be if you are moving to the Shreveport area. Bossier is much safer and has a far better school system than Shreveport.

Ok I live in the 71115 zip and the crime rate here used to be low....that was before we got all those nice people from N.O. here. Lets put it this way...I and a few other home owners had to patrol the streets in our area ARMED because there were so many rapes, break ins, thefts, assaults, and so on that never made it in the news.

It used to be a nice safe place to live. We have people moving out of here in mass. The apartment complexes are turning into HUD housing. The property value is droping (I know I tried to sell my house not long ago and can't even get what I paid for it).

The thugs are coming from the area around the old South Park mall and infesting this area. Its not a race thing just a group of people that don't care thing.

I love Shreveport, yet I hate seeing it slowly die. Our wonderful leaders do nothing. They don't care. When we get one that does...the thugs that were voted into office shout him or her down.

Who knows what is going to happen when the river boats pull up anchor (and they will...as soon as Texas gets gambling).

The one thing about shreveport that confounds me is the fact that after the last census we found out that Shreveport is what 81% black (sorry african-american) and yet we are still called the majority? What gives?

But if we can get enough people ....black, white, yellow, brown whatever to come together and tell those in charge that we have had enough....then maybe, just maybe things will change. I know that I keep in touch with my councilman all the time and let him know how atleast I feel about things going on in the Great City of Shreveport.