[brigid]

I just saw the crime stats and mainly have concerns with the most current stat for rape. Twenty seemed rather high given Burlington's population. I currently live in a major college town with a population of about 80,000 and the number of rapes was significantly lower. As a single woman this worries me.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by brigid

...Twenty seemed rather high given Burlington's population. I currently live in a major college town with a population of about 80,000 and the number of rapes was significantly lower. As a single woman this worries me.

Don't read too much into a stat like that. First, every police dept. and jurisdiction has inconsistent ways of reporting those stats, so it's difficult to compare between different states or even cities.

Second, rape stats alone don't tell you anything about the nature of those crimes. Were they date rapes by drunk frat guys against drunk sorority sisters? Or serial rapists breaking into apartments in the middle of the night? Preventing the first type of rape is EASY --- don't go to frat parties, but if you do, don't get drunk or go to an upstairs room with guys you don't know really well. The second type of rape is terrifying to the point that I cannot even begin to imagine how much it wrecks a person's sense of being in the world!

College towns tend to have higher rates of certain types of rape because of the abundance of potential targets. Apartment complexes dominated by student populations are often targeted by certain types of serial rapists. And then there's the "underbelly" of a city that wouldn't affect you at all if you're not involved in it. Burlington does have some kinda ratty areas where people don't seem to treat each other very well. The overall rate for a city doesn't mean much for you if your lifestyle and habits aren't anything like those of the victims.

One more thing, progressive states like Vermont define rape more broadly than most other states, so that inflates the stats, and there's also a culture that supports reporting rapes so more of them actually get counted. I don't know where you are now, but my bet is that it's not as safe as Burlington.

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by brigid

I just saw the crime stats and mainly have concerns with the most current stat for rape. Twenty seemed rather high given Burlington's population. I currently live in a major college town with a population of about 80,000 and the number of rapes was significantly lower. As a single woman this worries me.

brigid - Caution is a good thing. Rape is awful. But tell me, what statistics are you reading, and what do you think the population of The Greater Burlington is? Have you read all the previous posts here about this topic?

Thanks,

cHaZ

[brigid]

Originally Posted by chaz longue

brigid - Caution is a good thing. Rape is awful.

Yes it is.

But tell me, what statistics are you reading, and what do you think the population of The Greater Burlington is?

Population: about 38,000-39,000
Rape: 20

The town I currently live in has a population of about 79,000 with 7 reported cases of rape.

Have you read all the previous posts here about this topic?

Yes, I read the entire thread and there were some really good points made about crime in general.

Originally Posted by deeptrance

One more thing, progressive states like Vermont define rape more broadly than most other states, so that inflates the stats, and there's also a culture that supports reporting rapes so more of them actually get counted. I don't know where you are now, but my bet is that it's not as safe as Burlington.

So sad but very true. Unfortuately, I may currently live in a less progressive state.

Deeptrance, you made some really excellent (and comforting points). I suspect that I live in a town where many incidences of rape (particularly date rape) are not been reported. Thanks for that reminder.

I live in Evanston, Illinois which is home to Northwestern University so I’m familiar with the type of crime that is prevalent on college campuses. That is another reason why the stats were alarming. The figures freaked me out – thanks for rationalizing it all for me!

[tkx7]

you cant really get much more safe than living in northern new england. Vermont is much more hippy than surrounding states though, so there is a lot more drug use and messed up judicial system. Offenders and convicts get less years in jail so they return to the streets sooner. Vermont is probably one of the most "crime friendly" states, but that doesnt mean there is a lot of crime.

[Mark S.]

Brigid,

I suggest you call the local Burlington Police Department or County Sheriff. See if they'll give you a good idea of the reality of the stats. If you can get the right person on the phone, I've found that local police are more than happy to tell you all about the town. Most departments have a public relations officer of some sort. If Burlington doesn't, just ask around till you get the person you need.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by brigid

I live in Evanston, Illinois which is home to Northwestern University so I’m familiar with the type of crime that is prevalent on college campuses. That is another reason why the stats were alarming. The figures freaked me out – thanks for rationalizing it all for me!

You pulled a nifty surprise on me there! When you said you lived in a more conservative place, I was expecting something less progressive and urban than Evanston. Basically, you live in Chicago! So those low rape stats --- 7 ? --- seem suspicious to me. Is that just campus rape? I would expect the number to be about 10 to 100 times as high if you're talking about total in a year. SEVEN?

Sadly, I know MANY women who have been raped at some point in their lives and the majority never reported it. It's most often reported when it's one of those "guy jumps out of the bushes with a knife" type of rapes. When it's more ambiguous, women often are embarrassed to admit that they put themselves in jeopardy, or they think they'll be ignored, or they want to try to put it behind them so they try to forget about it instead of pursuing justice. But you know all this, I'm sure. All I'm saying is that I cannot fathom Burlington being as dangerous as a Chicago suburb, no matter how gorgeous and exclusive Evanston is.

Having spent a lot of time in Vermont, it's almost incomprehensible that an intelligent strong woman would be in danger there. However, there's an underclass that lives in a parallel universe in Vermont, and I've met a lot of them because I did door-to-door survey research in the oh-so-supposedly-progressive city of Montpelier for an environmental study. I got to meet the people who never come out of their houses, the ones you don't see hanging out in the hip coffeehouses downtown. It was kinda scary and reminded me that what we see along the habit trails of our lives is very different from the norm. The closest thing you'll get to being in a "normal" group of Americans is when you stand in line at a WalMart or to renew your driver's license. Very eye-opening.

My point is that you are most likely going to be living a lifestyle in VT that doesn't put you in contact with (and in danger of) the desperate, drug-addicted, sociopathic and other dangerous elements of VT society. Just as Evanston is an island of "safety" in a metro with massive amounts of violent crime, your life in Burlington would be safer than stats show because the stats are mostly based on what the lowest rung of society experiences. It's so sad that this type of inequity is so prevalent, but as long as it exists you might as well choose to surround yourself with those who have their s*** together and play your odds on the safe side.

[dumpstermcnuggets]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

Well, that's just my own take on it. But I think I'm right.

Then there is the hippy-dippy liberalism. (Sometimes called California liberalism.) They're the busybodies, who not only have their own view of the world but demand that everyone else have the same view. They are the type who pass a homeless guy on the street and rush past, thinking that the government really ought to do something about that, while they head off to Starbuck's to demand their double-decaff latte. I don't have much patience for these pop culture liberals.

that's the type of liberalism i despise too. its too bad that a lot of California-esque type alderman in Chicago have been trying to more and more do such bull in recent years(a la the recent 'big box' ordinance that luckily was vetoed by Mayor Daley). also, a small number of very vocal state legislators in Illinois(mostly Chicago area ones, unfortunately) have been trying to pull this crap off as of late, especially one Illinois law that was signed earlier this year into law that supposedly allows prostitutes to sue pimps! haha, like that's really going to discourage prostitution....

[asalligo]

I am a little confused. I am moving to Vermont next month for a job in Waterbury and one of the biggest reasons I am moving is the low crime rate.

Vermont Crime Index Rates Per 100,000 Inhabitants

Year:2005 Population: 623,050
Murder: 1.3
Rape 23.3
Robbery: 11.7
Assault: 83.5
Burglary: 491.8
Theft 1686.1

My Current State
Florida Crime Index Rates Per 100,000 Inhabitants

Year:2005 Population: 17,789,864
Murder: 5.0
Rape 37.1
Robbery: 169.4
Assault: 496.6
Burglary: 926.3
Theft 2658.3

Are there some stats I am not seeing?

Thanks

[asalligo]

And 2005 was a really low crime year for us. Take a look at some previous years.