Why so much crime in Oroville? (Chico, Yuba City: violent crime, home, neighborhood)

[Gyva]

US average hangs around 300 and Oroville is around the 600-800 index. Chico not so far away is around the 200-300's so whats up in Oroville? Is it gang violence or just bored youth with nothing to do? Perhaps its dumb rednecks with too much testosterone lol... Whats up with Oroville? I see many posts about how folks love it there so I'm assuming this violence and crime is centered within the youth crowd or the bar scene, can anyone shed some light on this question.

Thanks in advance.

[mstnghu2]

Minimal amount of decent jobs and boredom...That pretty much sums it up. There are many podunk CA towns in the same position.

[rimmerama]

Poverty + meth = crime. A nice area geographically, but dirt poor. I reckon the hospital and casino are the two main employers in the area... And state parks.

[WesternPilgrim]

Oroville has always had a higher-than-average level of crime. The city had a rough and lawless start. The south side of Oroville is probably the worst. Roving bands of feral children cause a lot of problems, and the violence can be shocking. It's definitely the tattoo capital of Butte County, if not California. I wouldn't send a child to school in that town if my life depended on it.

Having said that, there are lots of decent, God-fearing, salt-of-the-earth people in the area. It's almost like Appalachia, and I mean that in a good way. Besides, I actually think the place has cleaned up considerably in the past 25 years. You can walk around downtown and feel completely safe most of the time.

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

Oroville has always had a higher-than-average level of crime. The city had a rough and lawless start. The south side of Oroville is probably the worst. Roving bands of feral children cause a lot of problems, and the violence can be shocking. It's definitely the tattoo capital of Butte County, if not California. I wouldn't send a child to school in that town if my life depended on it.

Having said that, there are lots of decent, God-fearing, salt-of-the-earth people in the area. It's almost like Appalachia, and I mean that in a good way. Besides, I actually think the place has cleaned up considerably in the past 25 years. You can walk around downtown and feel completely safe most of the time.

Only because you're the only one there.

[BeauCharles]

Its not that bad. My sister was witness to a purse-snatching by a gang of teens (white) last year and that's about it. I've never been a victim of any crime here and I don't know anyone who has. Burglaries, car thefts, property crime - nada. I own a home here and am quite comfortable with the place. I feel safer here than I do in Chico to be perfectly honest. While there are some gangs here that seems to be more prevalent in Chico and Marysville/Yuba City (with their larger Hispanic populations).

Crime indexes aren't infallible. They're based on crimes reported to police departments and that can vary widely from community to community. Plus the type of crime and its impact on you can vary. Drug abuse and domestic violence have almost no potential to affect you if you aren't personally involved. Without seeing the index by crime category I would suspect that those are the most often reported here.

As far as meth activity - its way down here compared to the 1980s and 90s. That wave seems to have crested here and spread to the rest of the country. There may be a lot of poor and/or trashy people here, but the majority are hard working, very nice people.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

I feel safer here than I do in Chico to be perfectly honest. While there are some gangs here that seems to be more prevalent in Chico and Marysville/Yuba City (with their larger Hispanic populations).

I don't disagree with anything you wrote except the above. C'mon, even the worst neighborhood in Chico is safer than south Oroville/Palermo.

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

I don't disagree with anything you wrote except the above. C'mon, even the worst neighborhood in Chico is safer than south Oroville/Palermo.

I don't hang out in Southside. I don't hang around druggies or cruddy people either. Your exposure to crime has a lot to do with your habits. Again, I have a large extended family in this town who've been here for decades and crime hasn't touched any of them. Anecdotal evidence yes, but when dozens of people go about their daily lives unscathed for years I would say its not a "dangerous" community.

Its a much larger city, but I see some violent crime in Chico on the news very regularly. It comes back to habits - most of those crimes occur late at night and oftentimes in connection with bars or drugs.

[Gyva]

Thanks for the responses thus far everyone. Any of you live in Oroville?

[Curmudgeon]

Nuthin' better to do?