After much research -- the crime in Orlando IS cause for concern. (Miami: violent crime, how much)

[^Eagle^]

No I don't plan to move to Orlando and be in a known bad area at night. No I don't plan to do drug deals with people. As a guy in my 20's though one of the reasons I consider moving to Orlando is because of the activity that goes on downtown. The clubs and bars. I'm single and I will seek out the singles scene and have fun whenever I can.

This apparently would put me at risk. I notice there are many murders right in downtown Orlando which is actually very crazy to me because area's like that are suppose to be safe. Miami may be dangerous too but you go to southbeach and it's clam tight security no problems very safe overall.

Orlando on the other hand just seems to have issues with some uncontrollable crime and the law enforcement seems to have very little control over their city. The area's that are bad neighborhoods are sporatically spread out and intermixed. Crimes and murders seem to go down anywhere and everywhere sprinkled throughout the city along with the outskirts of town that are in bad neiborhoods.

I'm not scared by any means but I would never move to Orlando without a weapon of some sort and I would NOT feel safe walking through downtown at night or walking home if I lived closeby unless I am with a big group of people.

The people who argue that Orlando is not that bad are people who say most of the murders are domestic or drug related. That they are isolated to well known bad area's. I don't see any evidence of that by looking at the crime maps. Living in a well known safe neigborhood and living like a hermit may protect you sure, but wouldn't choose to move to Orlando to live like a hermit. I guess it's justification for those of you who already live here and live in a good place to be able to justify staying here despite the fact that criminals and druggies have taken over your city.

Law enforcement seems to not have control of this place at all. If you can't even secure the downtown area's around where the public goes for their nightlife than that's pretty pathetic if you ask me.

Yes there are places that are more dangerous with more crime than Orlando but when you factor in the sporatic nature all over the map of the crimes, you factor in the population, and then you factor in the fact that there is no real "safe" zone unless you live in certain "safe area's" outside of the city (winter park) it sounds like the bad rap that Orlando has gotten is very well justified and that the cops need to man up BIG TIME.

[DailyJournalist]

I think that it is great that you did some intense research before moving to Orlando. I am sure you will find a city that meets your needs. Best of luck.

[Wilshire81182]

If you do not live here, I do not know how exactly you can determine that it is not safe to leave your house without a weapon or at night. I am also glad you did your research and crime is random in Orlando, I will give you that, though it is much much worse and more violent in a group of neighborhoods. I live in a very safe area of 32812 and know where the good and bad parts of town are, even within my own zip code. I am downtown often and feel perfectly safe walking around alone and in small groups. I feel like it is good to be aware and not be ignorant, but it is not good to be paranoid and unrealistic. If you visited the area day and night and saw the crowds downtown, the neighborhoods in the area, etc I think that you would be able to see why people defend the area and choose to live here. There is no part of town that I am really afraid of or outright avoid day or night, just a few of parts of town I have no reason to really be in especially at night. I think every city has that and quite a few have worst of the worst areas far worse than Orlando's.

Do I think that there could be more police? Yes.
Do I think they could be smarter, more strategic, tougher? Yes.
Do I think that it is getting better though? Yes.

The numbers for 2008 and 2009 are better than 2006-2007.

[Pete C]

The very thought of anyone walking around Lake Eola in the twilight hours and being scared is hilarious. There are families, couples, people playing musical instruments by the lake to themselves, people walking dogs, people feeding birds, some others are sitting at the lakeside bar socializing or cheering for sports. This is every night, not just weekends. Well, whatever...all I can say is that it is hardly the environment painted by the few. I love it.

After dark, go downtown in any city at 3 AM and see how comfortable you are when you are outside the main pedestrain areas. In downtown Orlando, it is no different. All of the bars and clubs are in heavily trafficed pedestrian areas with tons of people around. Orange/East-Central is blockaded by police cars. This area is very safe to me.

[^Eagle^]

Originally Posted by Wilshire81182

The numbers for 2008 and 2009 are better than 2006-2007.

In 2008 Orlando set a new all time record for murders within their city at 123. When doing a crime map search for murders I was alarmed to see that these murders occured around major area's of Orlando's night life including but not limited to west church street and east church street. When doing a search of violent crime I found that while there were certain area's that had clusters of violent crime (obviously bad area's) that the majority of them happen right in downtown Orlando. To me that means that even if I live in a good area I will not be able to avoid the potential violence if I want to go out and have a good time.

For this reason i am seriously reconsidering a move here because unless I go out with a group of people I will not feel very safe and for that matter any time that I have to leave whatever secure place I pick to live at night in my car I will not feel safe. For those looking to relocate here who cannot memorize a map and code out bad area's and track paths to avoid them while driving and execute those plans perfectly -- they could be at risk (especially early on when they don't know there way around very well).

Contrast that with area's like Hollywood Florida which has plenty of night life and had only 4 murders in 2008 .. which is also a short drive to Fort Lauderdale or Miami. Contrast that with Tampa bay which also has crime but has a bigger population than Orlando with a lower overall crime rate. In Tampa there are big safe zones in which to live such as South Tampa where there is very little crime that also has access to all the amenities like shops, restaurants, bars and clubs. Even a place like Daytona beach is much less dangerous than Orlando with the ability to access all the amenities that make life worth living (at least during their peak season).

The problem for Orlando is that there is no real safe zone. You can pick to LIVE in a safe zone but those safe zones are also away from all of the action that makes someone want to live in a city. If you want to take advantage of city living, you must go into the warzone.

No I don't live there but on paper it looks to be more dangerous than even MIAMI which has a lot of bad area's but keeps it's inner city and tourist draw area's relatively more safe (as well as places like south beach). Most of Miami's problems tend to be on the outskirts much like in Vegas. There are some bad area's in the downtown area but they seem isolated to a certain part of town.

Orlando seems to have a huge problem compared to many other places that one can choose to live to find action. I have no doubt that on a typical night out I would probably feel safe. Despite how bad the crime was in 2008 it's still only 123 murders out of 270,000 people ... so one can probably go out and feel safe more often than not .. but given enough time it seems your luck is more likely to run out in a place like Orlando than in many other places in Florida that can also provide the amenities I seek (although probably not in such a high volume compact capacity like Orlando).

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by Pete C

The very thought of anyone walking around Lake Eola in the twilight hours and being scared is hilarious.

First Look Of Lake Eola Rape Suspect - Central Florida News 13

[Wilshire81182]

Your post reeks of paranoia. It isn't as bad as those stats make it seem, especially this year. The fact that you think crimes will only occur in those exact spots are ludicrous! You should also check the times these crimes are occuring because church street and downtown are filled with cops at times so I know these crimes are occuring at odd hours! There are a great deal of crimes that are committed related to crime or domestic issues! You can interpret crime stats into a perceived reality bit this is pure paranoia.

[MiamiRob]

I have to agree with EAGLE on this since I moved from the Miami area in late 2005 to Orlando and was shocked too see how much crime occurs throughout Orange County. The crime here is random too since you see violent robberies occuring even in the wealthier areas. This is not the Orlando I remember when I came to visit in 1998. I do agree with Eagle about Miami though since South Beach even at the 5 am closing time for clubs is relatively safe. My first road rage incident occured here where a angry tailgater actually pulled a gun on me! It seems everybody here owns a gun too.

[^Eagle^]

Originally Posted by Wilshire81182

Your post reeks of paranoia.

The alternative would be ignorance. I'd rather be informed and paranoid than niave and dead. Never lived in a place with this type of crime before and trying to find a fun happening place without having to worry about being shot. That being said there does seem to be plans that one can make that limit their risks...even in a place like Orlando. I have found that many complexes have public transportation and have been informed that cops are all over the place during club/bar times -- but it still is a dangerous place.

[TehB33nz]

I am a female in my 20's, and I have never felt unsafe in Orlando. There are areas I certainly avoid going, but if you are talking about Downtown Orlando near Church Street, Wall Street, Orange and Central, or Washington, where many of the bars are, I have always felt safe. I don't head Downtown as much as I used to but even if I was there with just other girls, I never felt like my life was in danger or I was going to get shot at. The only thing I do recall is homeless, which compared to other major cities I have been, to is not as bad here. When I went to Magic games last season, I had no other choice then to walk downtown by myself, as I came from work and met my friends at the games....I know that crime is out there, and I am not naive, but from my experience of growing up here, I do not feel unsafe.