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Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 22 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,110,503 times
Reputation: 1430
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Like I wrote, it must be summer time in Greenville. Over the last couple of weeks the robberies, stickups and shootings have increased dramatically in Greenville. I hope they get this under control shortly. They had been doing a really good job and everything seemed pretty quiet for the general population and area. Of course the usual parts of town was having it's problems but the rest of Greenville was being quiet.
And, if Greenville was the Greenville of my friends...soccer games and ECU activities and running in Lynndale and cookouts in Winterville, I would like living here. But, there is an element to this town that sours the entire experience.
I hate having to be on guard at night walking back home from my favorite pub. And, people say there is crime everywhere, it is no big deal. Nope, not everywhere. I have family that lives in a very cold state in New England...their town has no real crime to speak of. That is the kind of place that I want to live.
I am going to give an outsiders perspective, and I am fully prepared to be grilled for this. If you read my backposts my family desperately wants to be in Greenville ( started with me wanting to go to ECU, I'm 16) and hopefully, if all goes like we want, we will be in Greenville/ winterville by the summer/fall. We hae been to Greenville twice and we love it and here's why: 1. We are looking at the complete opposite side of town from where the crime is, it seems to be well "condensed" into small areas. We have talked to many locals and no one seemed to have any issues and the general concensus was don't hang around walmart @ 3am, and you will be fine. 2. Trust me Greenville is pratically HEAVEN compared to anywhere in the North. Winters long, cold and this past one gave us more snow than we could handle. Plus 99% of Northerners have vile attitudes, it's in the air. We have yet to meet 1 person in Greenville who wasn't a sweetheart. And there is apparently no crime for my town, but in small northern towns things go unreported a lot more often.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 22 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,110,503 times
Reputation: 1430
I didn't start this thread to be a beat up Greenville thread. It takes time to change a city-town. It won't happen in the course of one year. When I moved here back in 2006 it seemed like these types of crime waves were happening on a regular basis. They weren't so much a wave as the normal. Now they are waves. And this is the first one this year. Greenville is still hiring more and more public safety officers like police and firefighters.
A lot of larger NC towns and cities have a decent amount of crime. Look it up on this website...the crime statistics will say it all. However, most of the crime is segregated into certain areas of the city.
I also think the overall economy plays a part with crime...when times are tough people do more desperate things.
Don't get me wrong. I believe that Greenville has potential and there are parts of it that are great. Like I said Soccer Saturdays in this town are wonderful...THAT is the Greenville I adore.
But, there are existing attitudes, policies, organizations, etc. that are holding Greenville back.
A few thoughts:
1. The "old boy" network needs to go. It seems at times that the people in charge are more interested in keeping comfortable than making the uncomfortable choices that bring about positive change.
2. West Greenville needs help. I read a study where during an attempt at economic revitalization, the mostly visually diverse residents who lived on prime riverfront property where moved from the river to West Greenville. Moreover, the buildings in West Greenville tend to be older, the roads seem less well kept...the area feels neglected. It needs a financial hug from the city and improvement...which might help with crime.
3. Downtown (Uptown) needs a major change. The clubs that prey on the college kids (sorry, but that is my opinion...18 to party, 21 to drunk...BS...don't believe it...they do not lift our town up...they keep it down) but, they need an overhaul and, sorry, but we could do with a lot less of them.
4. And, like I said in another post, we need to be attracting businesses other than restaurants to town. Uptown Greenville has so much potential. But, Greenville needs to be giving incentives to keep businesses like Dulcinea alive and also attract major businesses to downtown. And, if they can't get the old dress shops to move on, at least create a minimum standard code for how their store fronts should appear...some of those stores look positively downtrodden.
5. Greenville needs to get tough on crime. I do not believe "community policing" is working. But, violent criminals and repeat property crime offenders should be dealt with strongly. I think we need to hire a lot more police officers and give them incentive to stay in the area. And support them when they get tough on crime. I am not sure if there is one in the area, but I think a police academy in Greenville with full, free tuition for candidates would be a great idea to attract great candidates for our police.
6. I think we need to go back to neighborhood schools in this town and go back to the idea of the neighborhood raising its children. If a school is underperforming...don't shift the children around...shake that school up and shift the personnel around. There is no reason a five year old should spend a half hour each way to school on a bus when a perfectly good school is right behind their house...just saying. I grew up, up north, where I could and did walk to school when I was little and the same housewives and retired folks and night shift workers watched me walk to school every morning. I was under more watchful eyes than a celebrity. That is what a neighborhood schools is about.
7. ECU and the town need to get tougher on the drug problem in town. I would be curious to see what would happen if drug dogs went through the school's buildings on a regular basis...but, the drug culture amongst some students and townies must be weeded out. (pun intended. :-))
I am going to give an outsiders perspective, and I am fully prepared to be grilled for this. If you read my backposts my family desperately wants to be in Greenville ( started with me wanting to go to ECU, I'm 16) and hopefully, if all goes like we want, we will be in Greenville/ winterville by the summer/fall. We hae been to Greenville twice and we love it and here's why: 1. We are looking at the complete opposite side of town from where the crime is, it seems to be well "condensed" into small areas. We have talked to many locals and no one seemed to have any issues and the general concensus was don't hang around walmart @ 3am, and you will be fine. 2. Trust me Greenville is pratically HEAVEN compared to anywhere in the North. Winters long, cold and this past one gave us more snow than we could handle. Plus 99% of Northerners have vile attitudes, it's in the air. We have yet to meet 1 person in Greenville who wasn't a sweetheart. And there is apparently no crime for my town, but in small northern towns things go unreported a lot more often.
You really have no idea what you are talking about.
2. West Greenville needs help. I read a study where during an attempt at economic revitalization, the mostly visually diverse residents who lived on prime riverfront property where moved from the river to West Greenville. Moreover, the buildings in West Greenville tend to be older, the roads seem less well kept...the area feels neglected. It needs a financial hug from the city and improvement...which might help with crime.
3. Downtown (Uptown) needs a major change. The clubs that prey on the college kids (sorry, but that is my opinion...18 to party, 21 to drunk...BS...don't believe it...they do not lift our town up...they keep it down) but, they need an overhaul and, sorry, but we could do with a lot less of them.
4. And, like I said in another post, we need to be attracting businesses other than restaurants to town. Uptown Greenville has so much potential. But, Greenville needs to be giving incentives to keep businesses like Dulcinea alive and also attract major businesses to downtown. And, if they can't get the old dress shops to move on, at least create a minimum standard code for how their store fronts should appear...some of those stores look positively downtrodden.
5. Greenville needs to get tough on crime. I do not believe "community policing" is working. But, violent criminals and repeat property crime offenders should be dealt with strongly. I think we need to hire a lot more police officers and give them incentive to stay in the area. And support them when they get tough on crime. I am not sure if there is one in the area, but I think a police academy in Greenville with full, free tuition for candidates would be a great idea to attract great candidates for our police.
Greenville is pumping money into W. Greenville. I think we all can agree that the MAJORITY of the crime is either in or originates from West Greenville. Greenville built new houses on 5th St for W Gville residents at low interest. Nathanial Village is another example. They have plans such as this Gateway. There are other projects dealing with the W. 5th St that they have planned. Once the Farmville-10th St connector gets finished, W 5th St will become a secondary/residential road, as opposed to the major thoroughfare that is is now.
Greenville has a Facade Improvement Grant, which awards up to $5,000 per facade. I think every business SHOULD take advantage of it and there should be some standards uptown. I also believe they should have some kind of tax incentive to get a medium/larger sized business uptown. If we had an influx for 500ish working professionals uptown, that would spur other positive growth.
GPD is accredited by the nations strictest accrediting agency, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, so they are doing something right (even if it is pushing papers). I'm not sure how other police organizations benefits compare to Greenville, but these seem good. Especially considering how low it is to rent/buy here. Heck, most apartment complexes give police officers a significant break when they live in apt complexes. As for the Police Academy, PCC does the BLET training. I think money could be spent in other places than that.
I guess that is it for now.
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