Is Birmingham this dangerous? (Huntsville, Detroit: low income, high crime, home)

[johnsonkk]

An article in a different thread said Birmingham would only have 8 murders this year for the current population if it was the same as San Paulo’s (Brazil) murder rate. As everyone knows, there have been over 125 so far in 2022.

https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/List_of_B...icides_in_2022

For a medium to large city, that seems rather high. Huntsville is larger yet has numbers in the 20’s the last few years. Is Birmingham turning the corner on homicides?

Here is the mentioned thread: https://www.city-data.com/forum/poli...cide-rate.html

[OldBankhead]

I've lived here all my life and I've only been murdered sixteen times, so I would have to say no it's not this dangerous... it's that dangerous. Others may have had different experiences so as they say, YMMV.

I have learned that the best ways to get murdered are to be involved in domestic disputes in a low income household in a depressed area with ready access to firearms. I got killed ten times that way. It's best to bring anger issues and low fidelity into a relationship to encourage this outcome.

The other way is to get into a turf war with a rival gang over drug sales. I know most people here aspire to these types of activities. Because, if you don't you will have a very low chance of encountering these people and the danger they bring, even if you live in the vicinity. Living across town and avoiding the drug trade means you'll probably only get to read about it in the news, and where's the fun in that?

Most people here don't worry about it and don't have to worry about it. You're probably more likely to run into a mass shooter that could pop up anywhere at anytime in America than you are to be killed in a shooting here, but... I digress.

Bottom line is, if you don't believe me, believe what other people who don't even live here have to say. Huntsville people are very good at offering level headed, non biased opinions about Birmingham since they live in a utopia that is separated from the rest of Alabama. Or better yet, find someone who has been murdered more times than me. Sixteen is only a fair to middlin' number after all.

[TimCity2000]

is birmingham dangerous?

for those who likely have decent educations, resources, opportunities, family involvement, and the ability to resolve conflict peacefully? no, birmingham is not particularly dangerous. i've lived here 20 years and have never once felt unsafe.

for those who are doing things they shouldn't be doing, don't have positive role models, or who are born into a cycle of poverty and don't see a future? for them, i imagine birmingham becomes a more dangerous place.

of all crime statistics, murder is the least random among them. yet it's the easiest to sensationalize. that's not to say it isn't a big problem, but i agree with OldBankead... it's just not one that the vast majority of us have to worry about. it's also not one that more police can necessarily solve. it starts at home and in schools.

[johnsonkk]

Appreciate both of your feedback. Location seems “key”.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

Appreciate both of your feedback. Location seems “key”.

Truthfully, a lot of it is rival gangs shooting each other or crimes of passion. If you're talking about random murder, then no.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

Huntsville is larger yet has numbers in the 20’s the last few years. Is Birmingham turning the corner on homicides?[/url]

Very deceiving. Birmingham Metro is like 2.4 x Huntsville Metro. Huntsville annexed a ton of area all around to prevent a bunch of suburbs from popping up. Birmingham is completely surrounded by dozens of suburbs, thus the core is slightly smaller.

Atlanta Proper population is about 500K. The Atlanta Metro is about 6M. Is anybody in their right mind claiming that Atlanta is only double Huntsville (HSV proper is about 212K)?

This is also why Birmingham has a higher crime rate, because the low income areas are largely in the city and not the suburbs.

Please look beyond just baseline statistics to get the big picture.

[nalabama]

Birmingham’s crime index is almost 900, Huntsville’s is in the low 500s I believe. I think the big picture is that Birmingham is much more dangerous than Huntsville. Always has been as far as I know.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by nalabama

Birmingham’s crime index is almost 900, Huntsville’s is in the low 500s I believe. I think the big picture is that Birmingham is much more dangerous than Huntsville. Always has been as far as I know.

Again, you aren't looking at metro numbers.

What you can logically conclude is, at minimum, Birmingham's crime is more densely apparent in certain areas. On the whole, I'd probably agree that the B'ham Metro is more dangerous, but the numbers would be much less pronounced that just city limits vs. city limits. The closer you are to high density crime areas, that crime will also spill out.

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Again, you aren't looking at metro numbers.

What you can logically conclude is, at minimum, Birmingham's crime is more densely apparent in certain areas. On the whole, I'd probably agree that the B'ham Metro is more dangerous, but the numbers would be much less pronounced that just city limits vs. city limits. The closer you are to high density crime areas, that crime will also spill out.

You could say that about pretty much anywhere. The majority of Huntsville's is in the North West part of the city. Whether you are comparing to Huntsville or some random small city in the Mid West. There is always that area where the majority of the violent crime happens. We all know where those area tend to be and how to find them on a map. The point he is trying to make is Birmingham has a high crime index and has been on the FBI's high crime list for years and years. We could flip this a little and talk about Detroit. I think we would all agree that Detroit has a high crime rate. Now I am sure that if someone that lives in and especially if they grew up in Detroit sees this post, they will jump in and start arguing with us saying it is in isolated areas. However, none of us really care if it is in isolated areas or not. We just know, if we do not go to Detroit, we don't have to worry about it at all.

[OldBankhead]

Oooh... did any one hear that? Very high pitched almost inaudible and as subtle as a grenade in a punch bowl?

When I'm traveling through rural Alabama, I can almost immediately tell when I'm in meth country. I don't need a fancy FBI listicle to point it out for me. They hardly ever do because they are spread out in broad areas in small municipalities or unicorporated areas so no trendy lists at all, but they are just as dangerous.

It's ironic for someone from elsewhere to talk about "those areas" keeping them from caring or going somewhere and then saying they have one in their town.