"Random" shooting in Pioneer Square leaves young woman on life support (Seattle: violent crime, living in)

[NorthwestRepublic]

look if you feel safe wondering around the grungy places in seattle at night more power to you. since youre interested in getting into a pissing contest about who has the most murders here's a fun list of notable killers from the area.

John R. Gasser, Harvy L. Carignan, James Dwight Canady, Gary G. Grant, Ted Bundy, James Elledge, Gary A. Taylor, Dwayne Elton, Daniel Yates, George Russell, Robert Lee Parker, Dewayne Lee Harris, Gary A. Ridgway, Michael J. "Cowboy" Braae

lets not forget where the D.C. snipers were from.

im sure i've missed some so feel free to chime in.

[rainforest338]

I guess the thing that usually surprises me about the crime in Seattle is the 'where' part not the actual numbers. I've moved around and lived in various cities of the US, and most of the time those cities had the majority of the crime in certain parts of the city that were known to be 'bad areas'. Sure those cities had something strange happen here or there in 'nice areas', but it seems (to me) that Seattle just has more of the stuff happen in 'nice areas'.

[lovingthegreen]

Originally Posted by NorthwestRepublic

Anyway just wanted to point out that a false sense of security creates easy victims.

And needlessly feeling stressed out about life causes more health problems than is necessary when the numbers are relatively low.

A happy medium is good. Always be alert, but don't obsess over it.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by NorthwestRepublic

look if you feel safe wondering around the grungy places in seattle at night more power to you. since youre interested in getting into a pissing contest about who has the most murders here's a fun list of notable killers from the area.

John R. Gasser, Harvy L. Carignan, James Dwight Canady, Gary G. Grant, Ted Bundy, James Elledge, Gary A. Taylor, Dwayne Elton, Daniel Yates, George Russell, Robert Lee Parker, Dewayne Lee Harris, Gary A. Ridgway, Michael J. "Cowboy" Braae

lets not forget where the D.C. snipers were from.

im sure i've missed some so feel free to chime in.

You're from Alaska? Well why don't we check out the murder rate in Anchorage:
4.5 murders per 10,000 in 2010. That compares to 3.1 in Seattle. Looks like Anchorage is way more dangerous than Seattle!

[NorthwestRepublic]

From washington moved to alaska, recently at that. Confused with why you all are so defensive I think the history adds character to the area.

I got to get back to studying for finals goodnight

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Woof

You're from Alaska? Well why don't we check out the murder rate in Anchorage:
4.5 murders per 10,000 in 2010. That compares to 3.1 in Seattle. Looks like Anchorage is way more dangerous than Seattle!

Not to mention, the rape rate in Alaska is much higher.

[tablemtn]

There are a few things beyond the overall murder rate itself which make this crime disturbing:

-The location, which is in downtown Seattle. And the fact that the victim was apparently a total bystander.

-The number of shootings in downtown Seattle this year. There has been quite a spike this year.

-The lack of arrests or suspect identifications in these cases. People are getting away with murder, quite literally.

Thirteen murders doesn't sound so bad until we remember that Seattle had 20 murders during all of 2011. So, 13 murders by the end of April is not a good sign.

And, Seattle's "competition" in terms of murder rates are the cities closest by - Vancouver and Portland, both of which have similar populations within the city limits. Portland has been in the mid-20's in recent years, while Vancouver had 12 murders in 2011 and only three so far this year (and nine in all of 2010).

So, by those measures, Seattle isn't doing so well.

[Inkpoe]

Hey... even the chief and cops are confused by the spike in crime.

The all-time record is from 1994, with 69... are we on pace for that, I don't know.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Hey... even the chief and cops are confused by the spike in crime.

The all-time record is from 1994, with 69... are we on pace for that, I don't know.

I made calculations. If in a 4 month period, there were 13 murders, then the city would be on pace for 39 murders, not 69.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

There are a few things beyond the overall murder rate itself which make this crime disturbing:

-The location, which is in downtown Seattle. And the fact that the victim was apparently a total bystander.

-The number of shootings in downtown Seattle this year. There has been quite a spike this year.

-The lack of arrests or suspect identifications in these cases. People are getting away with murder, quite literally.

Thirteen murders doesn't sound so bad until we remember that Seattle had 20 murders during all of 2011. So, 13 murders by the end of April is not a good sign.

And, Seattle's "competition" in terms of murder rates are the cities closest by - Vancouver and Portland, both of which have similar populations within the city limits. Portland has been in the mid-20's in recent years, while Vancouver had 12 murders in 2011 and only three so far this year (and nine in all of 2010).

So, by those measures, Seattle isn't doing so well.

By those measures, not so well. But here is one thing to consider: Vancouver is in Canada, and Canadian cities have lower murder rates over all.

If you look at Seattle from a perspective of a national standpoint, and cities between 500,000 to 600,000 people, Seattle does better than alot of cities of similar size.