Crime on the rise? (Charlotte, Huntersville: apartment complexes, how much, houses)

[brokensky]

The types of crime seem to be changing here, but no stats available to support that supposition. My concern is w/ home breakins. Used to be - criminals chose a time to break in when homeowners were gone. They did not want to encounter anyone. They wanted to get in and get out quickly. Correct me if I am wrong, but if larceny involves a handgun, it is automatically a felony, right? (someone tell me what the law is, LOL). So criminals w/o a weapon wanted to get in, get out, and no encounters w/ homeowners.

Altho my perception is that these types of breakins are still the majority, all over the country, it appears to me that home invasion types of crime are occurring more often (country-wide). The criminal is armed and wants someone at home so they can get info from the owner as to where valuable items are kept.

Therefore, these guys are often targeting the upscale homes in affluent areas, as they assume there will be a bigger "haul" of electronics, jewelry, etc. (and cash, I suppose, but who keeps cash anymore, LOL). This is not exclusive to CLT, but I guess it is shocking b/c it is happening here - in areas wh/ we have considered somewhat "immune" from crime in the past.

I agree w/ posters who have said - spousal abuse and drug crime make up the majority of what goes on here. And I also agree - the media here cover a large area that goes outside Meck specifically. However, I am wondering (and do not have the stats to prove or disprove this theory) - are home invasions in affluent areas on the rise? Or does it merely seem that way b/c we are hearing about very isolated incidences wh/ seem so shocking (b/c they occurred in what we thought were "safe" residential areas?)

I have tried to find some consolidated figures and as Loves said "tis the season" so perhaps in a few days, we will have access to stats that will give us a more accurate picture as to the types of crime that have occurred - and - most importantly (to me personally) where these incidences are occurring. My perception is that more crime is occurring in S. CLT, involving a perp w/ a handgun. I will be very interested in finding out if this is accurate or a misconception on my part.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Miker2069

It isn't an idiotic statement and you took it out of context. Every year at this time, every major news market counts down every horrible crime including murder and compares those numbers to last year. The media continues this maybe through mid January, then you rarely hear about comparisons to previous years crime stats.

So yes it's the time of year in which panic and mayhem are trumped up as the media awaits to squeeze as much bad news in before 12/31/07 11:59 PM

THANK YOU Miker, Brian and ncisgreat - you at least knew what I meant The increase in domestic violence and domestic murder during the holidays is well documented. Again, sad, but true.

[slowlazygc]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Another reason to be careful where you choose to live around Harris Blvd. I would consider a change in location, though apartments in general, especially large complexes, are frequently targeted by criminals.

See what i dont understand is, they are saying the same about apartment complex and neighbourhoods. People in certain neighbourhoods are selling the places after few months, which is a clear indication of what is going on. I dont mind losing some things from my place.. But not me or my loved ones getting harmed by a stupid robbery.

I think the problem here is jobs, there are some who are high income brackets with finance jobs and most of the other jobs are ground level. As a result there is a huge difference in pay and the high ones are getting noticed clearly and getting robbed. May be the killings are because of wife stockers and drugs.. but robbery is very targeted towards race and life style. just my 2 cents, not a racist at all.. but the things here seem that way.

[NCgirl]

Originally Posted by indy5k

You are not alone. Just had this conversation last night after hearing about the 6th murder this week.

As y'all know there have been 7 murders in the past week. As of today the 2007 total is 74 - 9 less than last year and 11 less than 2005. I say that not to minimize the murder rate but to show that (overall) there hasn't seen a huge upswing of homicides in Charlotte. This week has been unusual but as noted up thread, there's almost always a surge in crime at the end of the year. Unfortunately property crime has increased. Hopefully that will drop in 2008.

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

See what i dont understand is, they are saying the same about apartment complex and neighbourhoods. People in certain neighbourhoods are selling the places after few months, which is a clear indication of what is going on. I dont mind losing some things from my place.. But not me or my loved ones getting harmed by a stupid robbery.

I think the problem here is jobs, there are some who are high income brackets with finance jobs and most of the other jobs are ground level. As a result there is a huge difference in pay and the high ones are getting noticed clearly and getting robbed. May be the killings are because of wife stockers and drugs.. but robbery is very targeted towards race and life style. just my 2 cents, not a racist at all.. but the things here seem that way.

Jobs isn't the problem (IMO) but drugs and the drug trade is the root of soooo many crimes. Before hard core drugs in the last 40 years, it was one thing to commit a robbery, engage in prostitution, etc (and I'm in no way romanticizing or minimizing these acts as being less of an impact in the past), but drugs has taken all of these things to a new level- *anything* goes. Any crime, against anyone, anywhere.

You do however raise a very good point on the middle jobs. Many cities are a "tale of two cities", haves and have nots. I thought about this a lot over the years and we (society) needs jobs in the middle to allow the family income earners to provide a decent future. A lot of that has eroded with the globalization of our economy. However, unlike many cities like San Francisco, New York, or Boston where it's really hard for the middle, Charlotte gives you a slight (and I do mean slight) amount of breathing room.

[NCgirl]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

See what i dont understand is, they are saying the same about apartment complex and neighbourhoods. People in certain neighbourhoods are selling the places after few months, which is a clear indication of what is going on. I dont mind losing some things from my place.. But not me or my loved ones getting harmed by a stupid robbery.

Hey slowlazygc, I just saw your post on the Raleigh board.

Shops are dirty and people are getting killed and houses getting robbed. these are very new to me and i dont feel safe.

I can sympathize with your feelings. Instead of dismissing all of Charlotte, why not look for an apt/home in a different area? The surrounding counties/suburbs have lower crime rates than Charlotte proper.

[Frank Lucas]

Originally Posted by slowlazygc

See what i dont understand is, they are saying the same about apartment complex and neighbourhoods. People in certain neighbourhoods are selling the places after few months, which is a clear indication of what is going on. I dont mind losing some things from my place.. But not me or my loved ones getting harmed by a stupid robbery.

See, this is what scares me about moving to Charlotte. Things like this involves people that aren't even in the drug trade or involved with domestic abuse. I want to be able to have a one bedroom apartment without having to worry about what happens when I leave for work or without having to sleep in fear.

[carolina_guy]

Originally Posted by Frank Lucas

See, this is what scares me about moving to Charlotte. Things like this involves people that aren't even in the drug trade or involved with domestic abuse. I want to be able to have a one bedroom apartment without having to worry about what happens when I leave for work or without having to sleep in fear.

The only way you can find absolute safety is to buy your own private island with inaccessible boundaries. Charlotte is no more dangerous than the next place and crime does happen everywhere. By carefully researching the areas in which you choose to live, one can easily diminish the risk of being a victim of any crime. Take the Lake Norman area for instance which is affordable to people of ANY income--Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville, and Denver. Occasional break-ins do happen, but there is hardly an area in these towns that I would be afraid to walk down the streets at night.

There is much evil in this world and it is impossible to escape it. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family is to choose a safe area to live and be proactive about your safety (i.e. owning a firearm, dogs, alarm system, community watch, and getting to know your neighbors). You will NEVER escape crime ANYWHERE!

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by Frank Lucas

See, this is what scares me about moving to Charlotte. Things like this involves people that aren't even in the drug trade or involved with domestic abuse. I want to be able to have a one bedroom apartment without having to worry about what happens when I leave for work or without having to sleep in fear.

Frank you can get that. try ballanytne or matthews for starters...nice places to live off read rd providemce rd route 521. just got to do your homework

[BrianH1970]

Originally Posted by carolina_guy

You will NEVER escape crime ANYWHERE!

No but maybe he feels he can diminish his chances of becoming a victim by not moving to Charlotte.

And I'll tell ya something else, the foreclosure thing ain't making matters easy. I think it was World News Tonight that did a story on increasing crime in areas with a large amount of foreclosures. Just google "foreclosures crime rate" and you'll see it's become more and more of an issue around the country. Here's one from this month for Charlotte, taken from the Wall Street Journal:

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/20...-charlotte-nc/

It's taken from this article:

http://www.charlotte.com/253/story/397430.html (broken link)

And even if you don't like the Charlotte Observer, just pay close attention to the quote credited to police chief Darrel Stephens regarding areas with large foreclosures and crime:

"Pay attention to this," Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens told his commanders in November, as they examined a map of Charlotte's highest foreclosure areas.

"If these are not hot spots already, they will be. ... There are going to be a lot of challenges as we try to deal with families in crisis."

That's not a quote from some journalist, that's coming from the police chief. And please, before someone spits out the whole fear and loathing and "If it bleeds it leads"...well...if it didn't bleed then something else would have to lead.