Thinking of Moving to Olive Branch or Nearby Area (Memphis: best town, houses)

[Dd714]

Pearlbob - Agreed, but there is no invisible wall between those areas that are crime ridden. A criminal in Whitehaven (and, again, criminals may be anywhere, just that parts of Whitehaven have a high crime rate, and this is just north of Southhaven in Desoto County) does not automatically look at the border with Mississippi and say "oh I can't go there". No he takes his hoopity down I-55 for two miles to the Desoto exit.

Just common sense - Geographic distance seems to be the best bet on these circumstances. Or townships like Germantown that have a very dillegent and aware police force.

I'm the first to agree that crime is overexagerated in this forum.

Tigergal - Thanks, Glad someone gets it.

[Pearlbob]

I agree to an extent. But I think most crimes are committed in the person's neighborhood...I don't think too many criminals go out of their way to drive down the interstate, get off in some suburbs, and then do what? Steal a radio out of a parked car? I would guess most crimes in Olive Branch are done by people in Olive Branch who yes, may have moved down there from nearby areas of Memphis.

Of course no one recommends living in areas near bad areas, but mainly because thugs can literally walk to your house. But it also depends on the city too. I mean, look at Germantown. Germantown is close to some very bad areas, yet their crime rate is extremely low. It's all about how the city fights crime and protects it's residents. You never hear about crime spreading into Germantown as you do with any other suburb.

[strumpeace]

So are you all proposing that Olive Branch doesn't breed any criminals on its own? Crimes in Olive Branch must be perpetrated by outsiders? There's no way an Olive Branch native or resident could ever commit a crime there?

Spare me.

I know about spillover crime.

I also know about homegrown crime and small towns' frequent refusal to acknowledge it -- choosing instead to blame their ills on 'outsiders'. Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is a great example of that mentality.

BTW, I live a hell of a lot closer to Hickory Hill than you folks in Olive Branch do. And my neighborhood is undoubtedly more affluent than most anything you have down there. Yet, we have very little crime. Why would a thug travel to some backwoods town that's further away and has less to steal?

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

So are you all proposing that Olive Branch doesn't breed any criminals on its own? Crimes in Olive Branch must be perpetrated by outsiders? There's no way an Olive Branch native or resident could ever commit a crime there?

Spare me.

I know about spillover crime.

I also know about homegrown crime and small towns' frequent refusal to acknowledge it -- choosing instead to blame their ills on 'outsiders'. Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is a great example of that mentality.

BTW, I live a hell of a lot closer to Hickory Hill than you folks in Olive Branch do. And my neighborhood is undoubtedly more affluent than most anything you have down there. Yet, we have very little crime. Why would a thug travel to some backwoods town that's further away and has less to steal?

First, I don't live in Olive Branch. Secondly, I think the crime issue is best realized as a metropolitan issue. Of course, I hardly think that all criminals are coming from the subdivisions of Olive Branch and spreading out all over the 8 county metro area. It does stand to reason, however, (unless you disagree with the law enforcement officials) that the home-base of the vast majority of crime is indeed the urban area in any area of this country.

I'm not sure exactly what you're disagreeing with. Is it the actual police records which show the place of residence for the majority of the thugs as being in Memphis?

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

So are you all proposing that Olive Branch doesn't breed any criminals on its own? Crimes in Olive Branch must be perpetrated by outsiders? There's no way an Olive Branch native or resident could ever commit a crime there?

Spare me.

I know about spillover crime.

I also know about homegrown crime and small towns' frequent refusal to acknowledge it -- choosing instead to blame their ills on 'outsiders'. Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is a great example of that mentality.

BTW, I live a hell of a lot closer to Hickory Hill than you folks in Olive Branch do. And my neighborhood is undoubtedly more affluent than most anything you have down there. Yet, we have very little crime. Why would a thug travel to some backwoods town that's further away and has less to steal?

Just a note on the "far more affluent" portion of your post, the most affluent neighborhoods are more likely to have security systems and security patrolling the neighborhood. Middle-class neighborhoods are typically the victims of burglary and robbery most often because they have the nicer things, but also are less likely to have sophisticated security systems.

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

I agree to an extent. But I think most crimes are committed in the person's neighborhood...I don't think too many criminals go out of their way to drive down the interstate, get off in some suburbs, and then do what? Steal a radio out of a parked car? I would guess most crimes in Olive Branch are done by people in Olive Branch who yes, may have moved down there from nearby areas of Memphis.

Of course no one recommends living in areas near bad areas, but mainly because thugs can literally walk to your house. But it also depends on the city too. I mean, look at Germantown. Germantown is close to some very bad areas, yet their crime rate is extremely low. It's all about how the city fights crime and protects it's residents. You never hear about crime spreading into Germantown as you do with any other suburb.

Oh, I agree that the police must be proactive. In fact, the article I cited discusses the need to be proactive and not just reactive to crime. However, I don't know that all crimes are committed by people in the neighborhood. If we are to assume that many thieves (and worse) are inner-city, low-income residents many of whom are stealing to buy drugs (which is what the statistics and records bear out as the truth), then I think one could safely assume that they are going to go where there is something worth stealing. If I'm poor and I'm living in a neighborhood full of similarly poor individuals, the likelihood of my finding something worth taking in their homes is no greater than finding it in my own. It stands to reason, then, that someone wishing to support their drug habit (or shopping habit, what have you), is going to go where there's something worth taking and where the taking will be relatively easy.

[Pearlbob]

I don't agree with that. Criminals, especially ones on drugs, are not that swift. Out of site, out of mind. I would imagine most druggies would rather break into 5 crummy homes down the street to find items to hock, rather than drive across town to break into 1 affluent house. Most things like that are crimes of access and timing - you drive up, you leave a cell phone on the seat, they break into it while you're inside paying. They aren't going to drive themselves to a Germantown gas station and wait a Benz to pull up assuming that rich people leave money laying around their cars. Plus, they only need about $10 at a time to support their drug habit, they don't go all out for a $1000 steal.

Criminals are pretty dumb. Don't give them more credit than they deserve here Criminals that plan it out, take the time, and drive elsewhere to pull off some heist...those aren't your typical Memphis thugs.

[Dd714]

I love a good argument, but we are on the verge of hijacking the poor guy that just wanted to know if Olive Branch was safe or not. Plus at this point, like Tigergal, I can't figure out what the point of disagreement is. So I will respond to the idea of safe neighborhoods like Germantown, etc that may or may not be near bad ones and then let it rest - Now Germantown has a very dillegent police force, well paid, good morale, good leadership. Germantown pays the tax and higher property vaules for that service. Other communities may be gated, have security guards, etc. Collierville, Bartlett, etc...all benifit from just better service and some geographical distance. Look at downtown also - from Beale street to a few block north of downtown to the river. Very safe (some panhandlers and overzelous bouncers excepted), also very policed. But you go north or south a few blocks and you enter crackheadville.

Olive Branch, well, they have those OB police cruisers pointed north on 78 for a reason and it's not to look for speeders. Profiling? Maybe. But I won't go there. Just the same, I would tell people to live south of at least 305 in Olive Branch, all other things being equal. If nothing else, you have that garbage dump near the border on stateline and west of 78 and you don;t want to be near that.

[strumpeace]

I'm not sure exactly what you're disagreeing with. Is it the actual police records which show the place of residence for the majority of the thugs as being in Memphis?

Cite those records. Names, dates, places, please.

What I'm disagreeing with, btw, is this silly notion that I hear from folks who live out in the sticks (surrounded by meth labs, often) that but for Memphis, their towns would be crime free.

I am sure there are Memphians committing crime elsewhere. I am also sure that there are people from smaller towns who come here to commit crimes. I just find it interesting that Germantown, Collierville, Oakland, and other communities don't whine about 'spillover crime' the way the towns in DeSoto County do.

Olive Branch is a poor Southern town. Poor Southern towns have crime, regardless of their proximity to Memphis.

And if the law enforcement officials in Olive Branch disagree, then yes, I think they are idiots.

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

Cite those records. Names, dates, places, please.

What I'm disagreeing with, btw, is this silly notion that I hear from folks who live out in the sticks (surrounded by meth labs, often) that but for Memphis, their towns would be crime free.

I am sure there are Memphians committing crime elsewhere. I am also sure that there are people from smaller towns who come here to commit crimes. I just find it interesting that Germantown, Collierville, Oakland, and other communities don't whine about 'spillover crime' the way the towns in DeSoto County do.

Olive Branch is a poor Southern town. Poor Southern towns have crime, regardless of their proximity to Memphis.

And if the law enforcement officials in Olive Branch disagree, then yes, I think they are idiots.

You're certainly welcome to pay the Commercial Appeal to retrieve the article if you wish. Similarly, you are welcome to go to Desoto County and retrieve the police records.

I'll not engage in further discourse if it's going to decline into the denigration and name-calling of law enforcement (or anyone for that matter.)