New Port Richey (home, neighborhood, schools)

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by phonelady61

I could not agree more and the gangs have taken over the neighborhoods and the schools and the parks .

What gangs are you talking about?

Bloods, Crips?

I love when people start putting stuff like this up with really no verifiable facts to back it up.

I know you posted that you are moving to Lexington.
Did you know that violent crime is much higher there than NPR?

Gangs are not a big issue at all in NPR. It is definitely not free of crime but you try and make it seem as if it is a war zone.

[rich67]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

What gangs are you talking about?

Bloods, Crips?

I love when people start putting stuff like this up with really no verifiable facts to back it up.

I know you posted that you are moving to Lexington.
Did you know that violent crime is much higher there than NPR?

Gangs are not a big issue at all in NPR. It is definitely not free of crime but you try and make it seem as if it is a war zone.

There are several gangs in west Pasco. You have the WPCC (West Pasco Crazy Crips), and you have the Valentine Bloods as well. Not to mention the Latin Kings have smaller groups as do the Gangster Disciples and some other little groups calling themelves various spinoffs of those gangs.
You ask for verifiable facts. Newspapers tend not to publish gang names or activity, since it has been proven to glamorize that lifestyle and causese gang activity to rise.
Pasco County's homicide rate has nearly doubled this year. Any many of these murders involve narcotics. The recent double homicide in Spring Hill (Pasco side) was drug related- drugs and gangs go hand in hand. If you do not live in Pasco (and looking at your information on your post it seems like you do not), then YOU have no right to say anything about what goes on here. I live here, and have for 16 years.I can tell you this place (NPR, PR, Holiday, etc.) have gone DOWNHILL in the past 5-6 years.
Pasco DOES HAVE A GANG PROBLEM. I lived in LA for 25 years, and although its nowhere NEAR the scale of the LA or Chicago based gangs, it is emerging and the violence that occurs in our county DOES have some ties to it. As does the petty crime. There is a gang in Holiday Lake Estates called the "Lake Boyz", and they are singlehandedly responsible for many of the auto burglaries and residential burglaries as well as the drugs here. They fight constantly. Ask anyone who lives in HLE. I know people in there and they call all tell you GANGS EXIST THERE AND THEY ARE A PROBLEM. Stop relying on newspapers and Bay News 9 for information, they don't know the whole story. I have many Pasco deputies as friends, and they will ALL back up anything I have said. Come down from Weeki Watchee or Inverness or wherever, find a Pasco deputy and chat with him about this. You'll find I am right.

[rich67]

New Port Richey Community Info - crime statistics, demographics, and census data

26 or 27 homicides this year in Pasco County alone. War zone? Maybe not, but it's definitely on par with larger populated counties!

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by rich67

There are several gangs in west Pasco. You have the WPCC (West Pasco Crazy Crips), and you have the Valentine Bloods as well. Not to mention the Latin Kings have smaller groups as do the Gangster Disciples and some other little groups calling themelves various spinoffs of those gangs.
You ask for verifiable facts. Newspapers tend not to publish gang names or activity, since it has been proven to glamorize that lifestyle and causese gang activity to rise.
Pasco County's homicide rate has nearly doubled this year. Any many of these murders involve narcotics. The recent double homicide in Spring Hill (Pasco side) was drug related- drugs and gangs go hand in hand. If you do not live in Pasco (and looking at your information on your post it seems like you do not), then YOU have no right to say anything about what goes on here. I live here, and have for 16 years.I can tell you this place (NPR, PR, Holiday, etc.) have gone DOWNHILL in the past 5-6 years.
Pasco DOES HAVE A GANG PROBLEM. I lived in LA for 25 years, and although its nowhere NEAR the scale of the LA or Chicago based gangs, it is emerging and the violence that occurs in our county DOES have some ties to it. As does the petty crime. There is a gang in Holiday Lake Estates called the "Lake Boyz", and they are singlehandedly responsible for many of the auto burglaries and residential burglaries as well as the drugs here. They fight constantly. Ask anyone who lives in HLE. I know people in there and they call all tell you GANGS EXIST THERE AND THEY ARE A PROBLEM. Stop relying on newspapers and Bay News 9 for information, they don't know the whole story. I have many Pasco deputies as friends, and they will ALL back up anything I have said. Come down from Weeki Watchee or Inverness or wherever, find a Pasco deputy and chat with him about this. You'll find I am right.

First off let me say that living in an area does not preclude someone from having the facts about that area.

Never the less I have lived in the Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando area for almost 18years. I worked for Pasco County and lived there for a few years. I know many deputies and never claimed that there was not crime in Pasco, I also never stated there were no gangs.

What I said was that gangs were not a big issue in NPR and that crime did exist there but it was not a war zone.

Did you know that the Monroe County A.K.A. The Keys has a higher murder rate than Pasco County last year?

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by rich67

New Port Richey Community Info - crime statistics, demographics, and census data

26 or 27 homicides this year in Pasco County alone. War zone? Maybe not, but it's definitely on par with larger populated counties!

I didn't see in the link where it stated the number of murders so far this year.

[rich67]

Those stats are not in UCR as of yet. That information is from the Pasco Sheriff's Office directly. You can call over there to their Major Crimes Unit and they can tell you that.

And I disagree with you as far as not living in an area allows you to subjectively say what a certain area is like. If I want to know how "bad" and area is, I don't want to just look on the web for statistics. I want to talk directly to someone who lives in the area and can tell me his/her observations about the region. I personally can say I am more than qualified to talk about the west Pasco area since I work in it (for 15 years) every day and I have lived here for 16 years.
You somewhat insulted the poster by stating "I love when people start putting stuff like this up with really no verifiable facts to back it up." Your "facts" are what? Based on web stats and fleeting experiences? The way I see it, your thoughts and opinions on gangs and crime in Pasco are unverifiable.
Monroe County has always had a high murder and crime rate, particularly due to drug traffiking and the nature of the businesses down in that region. You can compare crime stats to anywhere in the nation and come up with some kind of appearance that makes it seem like one place is better than another. Bottom line is, the people who live in an area know more about what that area is like than anyone else does. Do you know how many crimes go unreported to police agencies? Quite a few. A fight here, a car break-in there...many people feel it's just not worth reporting and believe the police will do nothing for their case. In my neighborhood alone, 5 people had their cars broke into this year, and had change, cigarettes, and even a GPS unit stolen...how many of them reported it? NONE. That is where stats are flawed.
Furthermore, gangs ARE ALWAYS a problem when even just one group of them is tied to even ONE homicide. If you have people claiming gang affiliation and they kill someone in the county that you live, you better not ignore the issue and say "it's not a problem". That's what they did in LA for a long time until it got so out of control the LAPD decided to form CRASH and other gang task forces. But by then it was too late and so far gone they couldn't do anything about it except chip away at the giant block of granite with a spork. LOL.
I'm not trying to create a problem with you, Mike. You have as much right to disagree with me as you want. I just have another perspective of the whole issue, and am encouraging a little friendly debate.
I do like Pasco...but when someone asks for an opinion of a certain place, I think they need to know all the facts to help them get a true feeling of whether they need to move into the region. I like Trinity and Wesley Chapel, and those areas are relatively crime-free and good places for people to look.

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by rich67

Those stats are not in UCR as of yet. That information is from the Pasco Sheriff's Office directly. You can call over there to their Major Crimes Unit and they can tell you that.

And I disagree with you as far as not living in an area allows you to subjectively say what a certain area is like. If I want to know how "bad" and area is, I don't want to just look on the web for statistics. I want to talk directly to someone who lives in the area and can tell me his/her observations about the region. I personally can say I am more than qualified to talk about the west Pasco area since I work in it (for 15 years) every day and I have lived here for 16 years.
You somewhat insulted the poster by stating "I love when people start putting stuff like this up with really no verifiable facts to back it up." Your "facts" are what? Based on web stats and fleeting experiences? The way I see it, your thoughts and opinions on gangs and crime in Pasco are unverifiable.
Monroe County has always had a high murder and crime rate, particularly due to drug traffiking and the nature of the businesses down in that region. You can compare crime stats to anywhere in the nation and come up with some kind of appearance that makes it seem like one place is better than another. Bottom line is, the people who live in an area know more about what that area is like than anyone else does. Do you know how many crimes go unreported to police agencies? Quite a few. A fight here, a car break-in there...many people feel it's just not worth reporting and believe the police will do nothing for their case. In my neighborhood alone, 5 people had their cars broke into this year, and had change, cigarettes, and even a GPS unit stolen...how many of them reported it? NONE. That is where stats are flawed.
Furthermore, gangs ARE ALWAYS a problem when even just one group of them is tied to even ONE homicide. If you have people claiming gang affiliation and they kill someone in the county that you live, you better not ignore the issue and say "it's not a problem". That's what they did in LA for a long time until it got so out of control the LAPD decided to form CRASH and other gang task forces. But by then it was too late and so far gone they couldn't do anything about it except chip away at the giant block of granite with a spork. LOL.
I'm not trying to create a problem with you, Mike. You have as much right to disagree with me as you want. I just have another perspective of the whole issue, and am encouraging a little friendly debate.
I do like Pasco...but when someone asks for an opinion of a certain place, I think they need to know all the facts to help them get a true feeling of whether they need to move into the region. I like Trinity and Wesley Chapel, and those areas are relatively crime-free and good places for people to look.

I responded to that one poster because she posted this.

Originally Posted by phonelady61

I could not agree more and the gangs have taken over the neighborhoods and the schools and the parks .

Sorry but Pasco County is not East NY or LA

As I stated, I worked in Pasco and lived in Pasco and I think I would have noticed gangs taking over the neighborhoods and schools. I still work out of a Pasco office many times a month and it takes me maybe 10 minutes to get to Pasco County line from my house. I think I can comment on Pasco with some credibility.

I guess the rest is just perspective. To some it may seem as if there is a bad gang problem but to others it may just seem as if some of the suburban punks that have been around a while like in many other areas have just taken names for their groups and thus we have gangs.

[rich67]

I worked at River Ridge HS and Ridgewood HS. There were quite a few gang members at Ridgewood. THose kids dropped out and follow the same lifestyle to this day. Do you even know how to identify gang members? Do you know hand signs, the difference between Folk Nation and People Nation, what colors Latin Kings use to represent? Do you know if Folk nation members represent the left or right? Do you know if they identify with the five or six pointed star? Pitchforks up or down? If you can't answer those questions, then you cannot comment as to whether or not you are aware if gangs are in your school or neighborhood.
And yes, this is all perspective. The original poster asked this:"I'll be moving to New Port Richey this summer. Any one here have pictures of the area or can give me your opinion of the city?"
Someone gave their opinion on the gang issue and your put them off. Then I put up some information that backs up the claims and complaints of others who posted on this thread, and you try to downplay that too.
It seems to me that being a realtor you are trying to sugar-coat the life here in Pasco (specifically NPR and PR) to sell more homes, and your statements are a little biased toward your special interest.
No kidding, this isn't LA or NY. But the OP was asking for an opinion of the city, people posted theirs, and if you didn't like it you belittle them and throw up ridiculous comparisons.And like I said, Trinity or Wesley Chapel even Odessa are all awesome areas in Pasco. What, don't you sell any homes out there?
Bottom line, crime in Pasco up more than any other year, and people are tired of some of the traffic issues and overcrowding along the US19 corridor. If you say that isn't happening, then you are a flat out liar, or don't work up here often enough.

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by rich67

I worked at River Ridge HS and Ridgewood HS. There were quite a few gang members at Ridgewood. THose kids dropped out and follow the same lifestyle to this day. Do you even know how to identify gang members? Do you know hand signs, the difference between Folk Nation and People Nation, what colors Latin Kings use to represent? Do you know if Folk nation members represent the left or right? Do you know if they identify with the five or six pointed star? Pitchforks up or down? If you can't answer those questions, then you cannot comment as to whether or not you are aware if gangs are in your school or neighborhood.
And yes, this is all perspective. The original poster asked this:"I'll be moving to New Port Richey this summer. Any one here have pictures of the area or can give me your opinion of the city?"
Someone gave their opinion on the gang issue and your put them off. Then I put up some information that backs up the claims and complaints of others who posted on this thread, and you try to downplay that too.
It seems to me that being a realtor you are trying to sugar-coat the life here in Pasco (specifically NPR and PR) to sell more homes, and your statements are a little biased toward your special interest.
No kidding, this isn't LA or NY. But the OP was asking for an opinion of the city, people posted theirs, and if you didn't like it you belittle them and throw up ridiculous comparisons.And like I said, Trinity or Wesley Chapel even Odessa are all awesome areas in Pasco. What, don't you sell any homes out there?
Bottom line, crime in Pasco up more than any other year, and people are tired of some of the traffic issues and overcrowding along the US19 corridor. If you say that isn't happening, then you are a flat out liar, or don't work up here often enough.

Did you know that many kids that flash hand signs are not actually in gangs?
Did you know that there some gang members in even the most upper class neighborhoods high schools?
As I have stated before, I never said there were no gangs.

Yes, I had something to say about the poster that said gangs had taken over the schools, parks and neighborhoods. It is just not true. I am sure there may be a few areas that are not safe to walk at night but to make it seem as if the whole county is a war zone is wrong. You say my comparing Pasco to East NY or LA is a ridiculous comparison then I guess you agree with the poster that said the gangs took over.

I see you used the old fall back and say that I am only saying these things because I am a Realtor. Pretty weak.

Yes, crime is up in Pasco by 1/5th of a percent. The clearance rate by law enforcement on those crimes is also up, from 25.4% to 32%

[rich67]

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Percentages, percentages. Is that all you got? LOL!
Do you even have a clue how the clearance rate is calculated? Do you know those numbers are skewed by a very simple method: a report is made for a burglary, for example. There is no perp. The initially unknown perp then goes to a local pawn shop and sells the stolen property from the burglary. A new report is made for the dealing in stolen property, with a known perp. Perp is arrested for the dealing charge but denies the burglary- says he got the stuff from a friend. Sheriff's Office still clears out the burglary case "assuming" the perp did the burglary also and clears out the dealing case. One person, two clearances. Intersting how that number can be fudged, huh? It's been done on large scale burglary cases too-20 cars get broken into on the same street and a perp is arrested. He admits to only 2. He is charged with two and the case detective clears out the other 18, again "assuming" the same guy committed the crime. He's not arrested for them, mind you- the cases simply go "bye bye" into the wonderful world of clearances courtesy of the FBI.
I got way off track anyway on this thread. It's been a pleasure, but at least we had a good debate. Back to your regularly scheduled topic!