Macon Mall (What Happened)

[MacsMom]

Ok, Bulldawgfan. Yep, I asked you for numbers and all you would spout is that Macon's crime index is higher than the national average.

So here are some actual numbers for you:

Murders in 1999----28 (*highest point)
Murders in 2006----12 (*lowest point)

Rapes in 1999-----81 (*highest point)
Rapes in 2006-----53 (*lowest was 2003 with 46)

Robberies in 1999----405 (*highest point)
Robberies in 2006----358 (*lowest was 2003 with 229)

Assaults in 1999-----547 (*highest point)
Assaults in 2006-----430 (*lowest point was 2002 with 319)

Burglaries in 1999-----2471 (*highest point)
Burglaries in 2006-----2355 (*lowest point was 2003 with 1881)

Thefts in 1999-------7183 (*highest point)
Thefts in 2006-------5891 (*lowest point)

Auto Thefts in 1999----1628 (*highest point)
Auto Thefts in 2006----1240 (*lowest point was 2003 with 1010)

Arson in 1999----------69 (*lowest point was 2004 with 50)
Arson in 2006----------115 (*highest point)

Of all the crimes listed above, only arson had an increase. All the others decreased.

In comparing the crimes to a city with a similar population, the only other city within 5,000 population is Roswell, with 87,800 to Macon's 93,000. Here's Roswell's breakdown:

Murders in 2001----2 (*highest point was 2004 with 4)
Murders in 2006----0

Rapes in 2001-----12 (*highest point was 2004 with 13)
Rapes in 2006-----12 (*lowest point was 2002 with 5)

Robberies in 2001---42 (*lowest point)
Robberies in 2006----93 (*highest point)

Assaults in 2001-----95 (*lowest point was 2004 with 63)
Assaults in 2006-----73 (*highest point was 2002 with 172)

Burglaries in 2001----398 (*lowest point)
Burglaries in 2006----445 (*highest point)

Thefts in 2001----1395 (*lowest was 2002 with 1291)
Thefts in 2006----1586 (*highest was 2005 with 1724)

Auto Thefts in 2001----178 (*lowest point was 2002 with 136)
Auto thefts in 2006---187 (*highest point was 2004 with 203)

Arson in 2001----5
Arson in 2006----1

In Roswell, murders, assaults and arson decreased after hitting their highpoints. All the others increased.

I'm sure you won't feel this is an apples to apples comparison, but these were the two closest towns in population that I could find based on the U.S. Census.

Macon's crime has deceased in all areas with the exception of arson. And those stats are based on the City of Macon's stats, not Bibb County's, which includes downtown, all of the housing projects, and the Macon Mall area. I'm sure you will still say that these are horrible numbers. But the numbers have consistently decreased.

I'm done with this discussion because there will never be an end to it. You won't make me live in fear and dislike of my hometown and I won't make you see any value in it. This debate has already wasted too much time and forum space.

I notice, though, that you never extoll the virtues of the town YOU live in, just places that you visit and read about.

[kturnerga]

Mom that is an outdated set of stats from 2006. Read the papers.

[MacsMom]

Originally Posted by kturnerga

Mom that is an outdated set of stats from 2006. Read the papers.

Bulldawgfan states that he gets his information on areas from this very website. I was pulling the information from this very website. Apples to apples, as he would say. Sorry if it's outdated. Talk to the mods.

[Bulldawgfan]

Originally Posted by kturnerga

Mom that is an outdated set of stats from 2006. Read the papers.

kturnega,

MacsMom is pointing out that the crime in her city is on a down trend. "Outdated" stats or not, this is a good thing no matter how you look at it. I do not live in her city but I hope the crime index continues down to the national average and below. I really mean it. We could all appreciate less crime in our cities, right?

But I am gonna come clean here... and tell you what I think of the City-Data crime index format. Its total B.S.. I alluded as much in my post to King_X when I said

whatever data they use to come up with those numbers may not be to your liking

What I was really saying (in a sneaky kind of way) was that I thought they were totally wrong. And here is why...
In one city that I have actually lived in (for more than a year), which just so happens to be the exact same size as Macon, they had 73 murders in 2007. I am gonna repeat that. 73 murders. And yet the City-Data crime index for that city is lower than that of Macon.
(Pause for effect)
Same sized cities, 12 murders verses 73 murders. 73 murders equals a lower crime index. Someone way smarter than me is gonna have to explain that one.
But instead of finding these blatant discrepancies in the indexes, MacsMom essentially proved my point that after years of 24, 16, 18, 20, ect. murders a year she is, for a lack of a better word, content with only 12. Desensitized was the word I used. I think it fits.
No place is perfect... there are problems in the town I now call home. None of this changes how 'unsafe' I feel when I visit Macon. I stayed in a motel room in Macon just last weekend. They not only had the normal card key lock or the 'extra safe' dead bolt (built in) and the sometimes required, but clearly optional chain lock... but the owners of this motel (a national chain) thought it prudent to add another dead bolt above the first dead bolt and right below the chain lock. I ain't making this up... I stayed at the Comfort Inn on Eisenhower, check it out... if I am not telling the truth I will give you a hundred bucks. What would prompt the owners to add this household type dead bolt if they were not concerned about the safety of their guests? You tell me, and then we will both know.....

[RandyarmonG]

sometimes yall sound like a bunch of kids saying my home is better than your and the other one says prove it lol!

[Bulldawgfan]

Just saw on the news this evening that the brand new mall in Macon is filing for bankruptcy protection. How ironic... the new mall may close before the old one. What a city....