With the wildly high murder rates in Chicago and Detroit, will Pittsburgh follow that trend? (Penn Hills: lawyers, unemployment rate)

[gg]

Originally Posted by TheYO

When I said Chicago is 11 times the size of Pittsburgh, I meant in terms of population, not land area. Chicago is larger in terms of land area as well, but it's only about 4 times bigger than Pittsburgh in that regard. (Chicago is 227.2 square miles. Pittsburgh is 55.5 square miles)

I understand that Chicago's population is much greater. I am just wondering if Pittsburgh's city limits were much greater, would that help us when looking at per capita? Not sure if I am explaining myself very well?

Anyway, I am always under the impression that overall, violent crime is going down, so I wasn't thinking of my post as some alarmist type of thing. Just wondering what the trends are in our region is all. Haven't been paying attention to it much, but was kind of shocked regarding 40 murders in Chicago. Guess that is normal over there, but sort of disturbing.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

Lobick, everyone has their favorite theory for a declining crime rate. The author of 'Freakonomics' claims it was legalizing abortion that accounts for lower crime beginning in the early 1990's. He says you saw the decrease first in NYC because that's the first state that legalized abortion.

Look, I get that, I just find the lead hypothesis more compelling and less speculative than most.

[greg42]

My first thought on seeing the title was "I can't imagine why it should" follow that trend. Good to see that others are backing this up. That's the long and short of it to me, at least for the moment.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Typical response from you. People can't ask about how the crime stats are without getting all personal about it. Real class.

You're an upper-middle-class white guy from the suburbs who bikes through urban neighborhoods where your chances of being randomly murdered are near zilch. I just don't understand why you worry about becoming a violent crime victim as much as you do. Property crime IS high in this city, as I've already been the victim of it. Violent crime? I live right near the Hill District and would walk through there in the dark to and from Oakland when I worked there without fear. I also run through my own neighborhood at night when the weather is fair, and I don't feel apprehensive. You live in Fox Chapel and worry more about crime than I do, and I live right by the ghetto. I don't understand it. I'm MUCH more concerned about someone hitting me in a crosswalk on Beechwood Boulevard near Lilac Street than I'm afraid of getting shot in the face as part of a gang initiation.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'm MUCH more concerned about someone hitting me in a crosswalk on Beechwood Boulevard near Lilac Street than I'm afraid of getting shot in the face as part of a gang initiation.

I'm hoping that the construction there means that pedestrian signals will eventually be installed. There was a news story saying that work was going to be done as part of the project to connect Summerset to Browns Hill Road, but it looks like the work now is only drainage.

[Clint.]

Originally Posted by Lobick

Homicides - Allegheny County, Pa.

Interesting. Most seem to be along the rivers and East End.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Clint.

Interesting. Most seem to be along the rivers and East End.

Depressing that since 2008 there's been 94 white homicides and...383 black homicides. Especially considering what a small proportion of the overall population of the county blacks are.

White murders also seem distributed pretty much randomly over the region (not all that much denser in the city and the Mon river boroughs at all), and are from a variety of methods, whereas black murders are clumped in, well, the ghetto, and 95% shootings.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Depressing that since 2008 there's been 94 white homicides and...383 black homicides. Especially considering what a small proportion of the overall population of the county blacks are.

White murders also seem distributed pretty much randomly over the region (not all that much denser in the city and the Mon river boroughs at all), and are from a variety of methods, whereas black murders are clumped in, well, the ghetto, and 95% shootings.

Consider this. Pittsburgh's Black population is among the poorest Black populations in the USA. Pittsburgh has the second highest Black unemployment rate in the USA. Milwaukee,WI is number one when it comes to Black unemployment rates. Pittsburgh's Black population is also highly concentrated in certain areas, where as the White population is more spread out throughout the Pittsburgh metro area. I might also surmise that the shootings committed by Blacks might be related to gangs and drugs, and other problems. Violence is often a symptom of other problems. One thing I've noticed, is that Blacks make up a smaller percentage of Pittsburgh's population than they did during the 1970s. The White population has dropped somewhat, but the Black population has decreased even more. From what I have heard, it is mainly Blacks who are college-educated, college-bound, or in the middle class who leave.

Sunday Forum: Loving/hating Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Uptown kid]

I promise I'll get to this thread sometime soon, though for now all I can say is that: if McKees Rocks, Garfield, Northern East Liberty, Lincoln, SW Penn Hills, Wilkinsburg, Homestead, Braddock, McKeesport, Duquesne, Mon View Heights, & Knoxville continue where they left off in 2012; in addition to if Homewood, the Hill, the Northside, Beltzhoover/Allentown, Mt. Oliver Boro, Larimer, Halzelwood, North Braddock, Rankin, Clairton & the Sheraden/Mountain View Apts get into further into the mix than they did last year means we will see a definite spike in homicides in the city/county. And it will greater than it was in 2011 or 2012.

[CountryGirl1023]

Being born and raised in Pgh. My husband, my father in law and I packed up and left Pgh Aug of last year to St. Marys Ohio. We are sick and tired of shootings, death and violence. Where we lived in a very nice high blue collar neighborhood now getting over run by Ghettos, welfare, gang bangers and druggies. I am tired of not feeling safe, having to watch my back where I have to go and theft has gone up so bad as well during broad daylight. Yes it will go back like what it was in mid 90's with gangs building right back up along with mafias.

Top it off violence is spreading like wildfire out in to the suburbs of the city as well. Look at Penn Hills, Plum etc they are now getting riddled with it.