High Amount of Reg Sex Offenders in Olympia (Seattle, Yakima: crime rate, houses)
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Olympia looks like a beautiful city & was considering a visit to check for relocation. The high % of registered sex offenders caught my attention.
229 as of 2007..that's 1 to every 193 residents. Is this a concern to others?
This is a copy/paste from the same question re: Kirkland.
When I lived in Sacramento (and worked for the Police Dept) there was about 600+ in my zip code (typical for the area - could be because there are more offenders, could be better registration).
In the 3 years I lived there, I never heard of anyone having any problems, and kids would play in the street all the time. I was also next door to an elementry school (a few offenders were across the street) and 2 blocks from a Highschool. There was probably 5-6 registrants within a 3 blocks of a school as well.
The thing of it is that almost all sex offender crimes are by someone you know (date-rape or touched by an uncle). A stranger victimizing a kid happens, but is (fortunately) much more rare. The only cases that I saw in my job with the PD involved relatives violating children.
The problem is that everyone is so fearful that the boogy-man will jump out of the bushes and "get them" that they overlook the danger right in front of them. Statistically, the most likely person to molest a child is a middle-aged, middle class white man (and what is the demographic of almost half of Western Washington?), but some parents in Washington (whether they admit it or not) would feel far more nervous about their child being around a 20 something black or hispanic than the 40 year old white guy. And yes, that means a brother, brother-in-law, or stepfather are your big risks, not the creepy guy down the street. A little "don't take candy from a stranger" advice and good old fashoned parental supervision goes a long way towards solving the "creepy guy" problem... Not so much when the criminal is mommy's new boyfriend or out-of-work brother.
A lot of parents are afraid that their child might get shot in school as well, but statistically school is the safest place for a child. The top two killers of kids under 12 is household accidents and car crashes, which means that a kid is far more likely to die at home or driving to and from school than they are to go out in a Columbine attack. A child is actually 3 times more likely to get struck by lightning than shot at school.
Another thing to keep in mind is that at least a few of the "indecent exposure" sex offenders are Frat guys who mooned an old lady. Not the classiest of folks, but certainly not a John Wayne Gacy. The frat guy still has to register as a sex offender in some cases.
If you are really worried, go talk to your local police department and they will be able to give you some solid facts to help you make a more accurate decision, because afterall, this is just an internet website, and people will say anything here and accuracy is not guaranteed.
Thanks evlevo for your intelligent & thought provoking reply. I'm sure we do have to worry more about the sex offenders who have NOT been caught yet.
I was comparing Olympia to Yakima in reg sex offenders & Olympia's % was much higher. This came as a surprise because I had read that Ykms general crime rate was pretty high.
Are there any Olympians that can tell me what they love about their city?
PS
I'm not sure why my post was on the Kirkland thread.
What I meant was that someone else asked a similar question and I basically copy/pasted my answer from the other thread (with a few adjustments) into yours. The only reason I mentioned it is because I'm not always sure what the moderators will ding you for, and I didn't want someone to mistakenly think I was spamming or something.
I don't live in Olympia, but my mom grew up there and my aunt and uncle have lived there for over 30 years and I visit them frequently. What I like about the area is that it has nice, well kept homes and alot less crowding and traffic compared to Seattle. The housing costs are very low, too. Having the Capitol there is also a nice touch. Personally I would have no problems moving to Olympia and raising kids.
I think the biggest reason there are so many in Olympia is due to the offender release programs being in the area for Thurston, Lewis, Mason and other counties. I believe there is also a large halfway house that houses quite a few of them downtown by the lake.
Olympia is a beautiful city, but what you're talking about is one of the primary reasons I moved my family away. I lived in what I considered to be a nice area near Black Lake road, and within one year, there were several instances of sexual crimes against children in the area. Almost on a weekly basis - enough to make anyone a little uneasy. What really bothered me is that almost none of these instances was reported on TV.
It wasn't the only reason I moved, the other being the vagabond element to the city and my perceived drug use amongst teenagers and college students (not unusual though really considering Evergreen College is right down the road).
I still think it's a great town overall. You can still get all the benefits of Olympia by living with 10-15 milles south of the city (Tenino, Rochester, and points south). My reason for not moving south of the city myself was mostly due to the rapid growth going on. I really can't stand traffic.
I moved here four years ago and feel it is the safest place I have ever lived in my 54 years. You cannot possibly move anywhere that will remove you from people doing drugs. I would feel less safe in rural areas like Rochester. Instead of wanting to not see homeless people, maybe it is time we begin to care enough to find answers instead of moving.
Yah, ya gotta watch out for us Evergreen students. Idealist, involved in the community, wanting to make change--horrors. How many students do you actually know, much less that they do drugs (whatever that means--meth, pot, ??) If someone were into seriously doing drugs, they would not make it through college. I would love to see a study on how many Evergreen students are helping the homeless, volunteering in the schools, making a real difference in the community. I have loved being in classes with these students. Unlike many adults who can't be bothered to turn off their tvs and get into their communities and volunteer, these students are doing it. What happened to the baby boomers who were going to change the world? I have high hopes some of these Evergreeners have the courage to keep on trying in spite of people stereotyping them.
I love Olympia. Many people care about this community. They have not given up and allowed the town to become homogenized into Walmart land. There are grass roots movements that care about the town and the world we live in. They are looking for answers, not just for the privileged, but for the poor. I hope to find a job in this area when I graduate and be able to say "I am from Olympia" (and an Evergreener who has never done drugs.)
Sorry to have offended you about Evergreen, it was off topic and not really the issue. The issue being sexual offenders.
I don't have anything against drug use when done by those who can do it responsibly. Drugs can open the minds of the ignorant while at the same time turn the brightest minds into mush. My whole point is that I don't want my kids growing up in or near an environment during their childhood years. You can only say "yeah man" so many times before you start saying it yourself.
High Times rated Evergreen College as the #1 stoner college in America. It's estimated that 80% of students smoke at some point. I commend you for not giving into peer pressure!
One of the issues that did bother me about Olympia is the number of teenagers on methodone. I've never seen anything like that anywhere I've lived before. It surprises me to hear a 17 year old say, well I'm on methodone and I dropped out of high school but I'm going to get my GED soon.
I totally disagree with you that Olympia hasn't been homogenized though. I"m sure you've noticed the expansion over by the mall and cookie cutter homes going up on every square inch of West Olympia? Now that Olympia has Bed Bath and Body, I think every big box store is available, except Costco which technically is in Tumwater. What I did like about Olympia is that there were 3 Home Depots within about 8 miles of each other, so if one location was out of a product, the other location had it. Every notable fast food chain exists in multiple locations (except Del Taco), and most chain restaurants are there (although it was sad to see Tony Romas close down).
And I know what you mean about Rochester, those cows and horses can get pretty unruly sometimes, especially with all the McMansions being built in the area.
One of the issues that did bother me about Olympia is the number of teenagers on methodone.
I think you may mean "methamphetamine", instead of methadone. It's methamphetamine that is the real killer....
Rheadabovewater
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