Define "Safe"! (Springfield, Jackson: crime rates, hotels, mobile home)

[Lake Junkie]

Q: What, for you, is a safe neighborhood? Do you have to lock your doors? Can the kids ride their bikes around the block? Does it need a gate? How is your part of the world compared to 30 years ago?

We were talking yesterday about buyers asking whether a certain part of town was "safe". I thought it would be an interesting discussion!

I always encourage people to talk to the local police department about crime statistics. I figure my personal knowledge of the relative safety of each neighborhood might not be enough...and who knows better than our "boys & girls in blue" where they have to spend most of their time?

My thoughts are that it's pretty well relative. If you're coming from The Bronx, then the worst of Springfield will look like a cake walk. Branson safer yet. Looking forward to hearing everyone's ideas...

[SassyGirl2]

Well, you asked for it, Toyota....SAFE - the 60's!

Good neighbors - (BTW, I live in a very ethnically diverse neighborhood) the kind who do not meddle into your business but are always supportive. My neighbors are the kind you can give your checkbook and house keys to when you leave town and know everything will be as you left it. Heck, they will even feed your pets, collect your mail and address anyone close to your front door. Your neighborhood kids can all play outside together and any watchful eyed parent can take responsibility to protect/correct the little ones without fear of reprisal or a lawsuit. Do your neighbors wave when they see you but not come over unless you motion for them to? Do you answer the doorbell to see a smiling face saying...(I cooked too much, this food is for you, or I know your hubby loves strawberry shortcake so here you go)? Neighbors who are concerned and helpful - you are out mowing your yard and your next door neighbor is edging, the one mowing will do both yards, the one edging will edge both. One of the neighborhood kids missed the school bus and any one at home will take that child to school.

During Katrina, our neighborhood rocked. People with generators would run extension cords from house to house to help those with medical problems. (I know, safety issues here but times were extreme.) We all cooked the food we had in our fridges and freezers to share otherwise it would have spoiled anyway without any useful purpose. People offered up their homes to complete strangers, and their families, just so they had a place to park and lay their heads, although there was no electricity, because the shelters and hotels/motels were all full, and without utilities/food as well. We had tailgate parties while waiting in lines for gasoline, which turned into 24 hour viligence mostly. Everyone was forced to move outside on their patios as the interior temperatures in homes was well over 130 degrees. We would all collect precious ice to share with those who had medications requiring refrigeration. Extreme times, I know, but the during the best/worse of times, true colors emerge.

Streets - is traffice zipping down the street at high speeds looking to fill the never ending potholes or are drivers considerate of people and animals. Do you have gangsta' types roaming the streets at all hours, sometimes taking up posts in the middle of the street while talking on their cellphones, in groups intimidating anyone in their path? Are there pets/animals running loose in the neighborhood?

Area - what is close to hand - grocery store, school, city parks, churches; in other words, is the neighborhood nearly self-contained. In disasters, such as Katrina, can you walk to get what you need? Does everyone maintain their properties without trash, abandoned cars, 3 foot weeds, and the likes devaluing property and creating breeding grounds for vermin? Is there visible police presence? How close is the nearest fire department, medical/dental office, hospital? Is a neighborhood a suburb of a larger city area that is crime ridden and the propensity for "hit and run" crime is high? Do you hear the wails of sirens running up and down the streets numerous times a day?

Just a few thoughts to start this thread off. I could expound on any, and all, of these subjects, throw in more for good measure, but then what would others have to contribute?

Good job, LJ. I guess what it boils down to is a realtor MUST be familiar with any area they are attempting to "sell" to a client. I think you are going to get more than you bargained for with this one but I am certain all want to know.

[mrsgenealogy]

Good topic, L J!

I think I am in as safe an area as can be found...now! We moved from CA to the countryside in MO and we're in a little valley, off the beaten path. I know that people are people wherever you go, some good, some bad, so you're never really "safe"...but it seems like higher crime goes along with higher population. I don't know why it works that way but I think it's a higher percentage than the percentage of raise in population. Gee, that was hard to say! I hope it's understandable!

At any rate, I think you're right about it being relative. Having come from CA and a News Junkie, as well, I got burned out. I finally came to the place where I shut off the news and TV altogether. Here in MO, we still here about heinous crimes but the amount of them is low enough as to make them the rare exceptions so I'm not overwhelmed, anymore.

I love the idea of calling the police to check out the crime rates in an area. I had thought of that before but didn't know if it would be okay to do. I'm so glad you mentioned that!

[Lake Junkie]

Sassy...I hadn't thought about safety in terms of anything but crime.

(Busy traffic is also an issue!)

When I left Sac, I looked out my front window before I unlocked my front door to walk out & get into my locked car and then locked myself in my car! Robbers were yanking you out of your car while you sat at a red light!

When we first arrived in MO, we thought just a little gang activity was ok. Just a few murders a year...cool. I was so thrilled that the law enforcement efforts in MO seemed more SERIOUS than in CA...like they were waaaayyy less concerned about that poor rapists' troubled childhood, ya know?

What about the rest of you...how bad is it where you are? When you ask for a "safe" neighborhood, what does that look like?

[northbayeric]

In our family (as opposed to senior, obviously) mobile home park, it's still very safe for now. But Santa Rosa and especially Petaluma, in the north San Francisco Bay Area, have recently been hit with some pretty high-profile violent crime. Here's an article from our main daily newspaper, The Press Democrat: How police zeroed in on suspect | Santa Rosa Press Democrat // News for California's North Bay and Redwood Empire

Petaluma has been suffering from increased gang activity in recent months. We're not anything like East Oakland, nearby Richmond, CA or Compton down next to Los Angeles. But these crimes and gang activities are not going to help race relations between whites and Hispanics around here. Long-time residents here might start thinking that all Hispanics are law-flouting hooligans, and those who are not are going to wind up getting painted with the same broad brush, I'm afraid.

It's very hard not to be profoundly pessimistic about California's future over the next 5 to 20 years, for many, many reasons.

[SassyGirl2]

Originally Posted by Lake Junkie

Sassy...I hadn't thought about safety in terms of anything but crime.

(Busy traffic is also an issue!)

Sorry LJ, guess I got carried away without any specific boundaries set and left to my fertile imagination.

CRIME - why the heck do you think Mississippi now has the "gunslinger" law enacted. NO FOLKS, we are not going to debate gun ownership/rights in this thread! Safety only.

Jackson, MS, is crime infested. We have multiple homicides, armed robberies, grand larceny, home invasions, car jackings, rapes, etc on a daily basis. You are not really safe in your own home, much less your vehicle should you roam the streets of Jackson. It is just prudent to have any means available to protect yourself, your family and your property. It is not unheard of for people to be high jacked at high noon just going to the mall or Walmart. The holidays are the worse times for crime increases. Sadly, the Jackson PD has much to be desired; very over worked, under staffed, under paid, and the leadership of the city - well, I won't go there. (Law enforcement, do not take offense. I worked on this side of the law.)

Realtors are apprehensive about safety disclosure because of how rampant crime is, no matter where you live. There are just some areas safer than others and other areas you would never want to be caught in. Realtors find their hands tied at times.

Hope I got back on subject, LJ. If not, forgive me and I will zip it up!

[NOLA2SGF]

What is safe? Good topic! I'm a 59 year old woman who lives alone, so safety from crime is important for me. I live in probably the safest neighborhood in the New Orleans metro area, but there's room for improvement!

In a safe neighborhood, someone like me could go for a walk for a few blocks after dark on a pleasant night and not worry too much about being raped, robbed, murdered, or assaulted. I wouldn't have to worry about driving to the gym after dark, or being assaulted and my purse stolen in the parking lot.

In a safe neighborhood I could drive to my grocery store after 9 PM and not have to "run the gauntlet" through several dozen scumbags and drug dealers hanging out there, just in order to get inside, or have to wonder if they would steal my car while I was shopping.

In a safe neighborhood I would not hear about cold blooded murders occuring closer than a mile from me on a weekly basis.

On the other hand, I would always lock my doors and car doors, even if I lived in a safe neighborhood. No point in inviting trouble. Times have changed. I wouldn't leave expensive goods visible inside a parked, locked car, either. That's just ignorant.

Springfield seems VERY safe to me, from what I can tell from my visits and reading the online News-Leader.

We're probably going to drive up there tomorrow, and I can hardly wait!

[thirtyish]

Where I live in Central California. . .
I carry Mace when I jog with 2 friends in the morning @ 5:30 a.m.
We would not leave the house without locking the door.
With their homes locked, I know of 3 friends that have been robbed in the past year, all while they were at work in the same town. One of those was robbed a 2nd time within 6 months. Two years ago our truck was stolen out of the driveway of our home. It was found a week later in Sacramento, trashed but driveable. I work at an elementary school 1/4 mile from my home. My 10 and 8 year olds ride their bikes to school if I follow them in the car. I don't go into neighboring Stockton, Ca at night alone. Lodi, Ca vs. Springfieldare about the same size. How are they different? Could I go running safely with friends in the morning? Could I go shopping in the evening alone? Would I be okay with letting my kids walk to their neighborhood school? We will be visiting Nov. 28-Dec. 3rd to check out the area. I can't wait to find out for myself.

[thirtyish]

Lake Junkie~ I'm new on this board and I just realized you are from our 'hood. . .so to speak. The Sacramento crime sprawl is spilling over into Elk Grove, Galt and Lodi. Home invasions have been in the news twice in the past few months. I really can't wait to feel like I don't have to look over my shoulder when awake and in my sleep. I fear for my kids going onto middle school and leaving the haven of the elementary school where I teach.

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by thirtyish

Lake Junkie~ I'm new on this board and I just realized you are from our 'hood. . .so to speak.

Hi thirtyish...I lived 9 years in Sacramento. The month before we left, 14 years ago, there was a news feature about which gangs controlled which neighborhoods. We sat there saying, "Look, honey, the asian gangs control our area..." like we were talking about the weather. We had fought back the grafitti until we were worn out...we'd scrub & spray paint & take it off and within 4 days it was back. Every time.

After we moved to a rural MO area, I cried every day for about 2 weeks...each time I would see someone leaving their car running outside the post office or the lack of locks on the lockers at the school or someone wave as they drove by. The tears felt like a release of a tension I'd been holding onto for so many years.

I'm so glad to welcome people to this wonderful place. Yes, you should be careful everywhere. But I don't lock my car inside my garage any more.