Dallas, No. 1 in crime by mistake?

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by matto

Yes, because I am sure FW covers up murders and rapes. I look at dfw news everyday and rarely see anything big going on in FW compared to Dallas.

Dallas' homicide numbers are pretty good, in comparison to other cities.

By the way, criminologists say that most rapes go unreported. We don't know what percentage of FW rapes are reported to the police, or if FW women particularly trust their police.

Your perception of what you think you see in the media... if you base your knowledge of the world on that, your opinions are not particularly well founded. You are just believing in what you are told.

Mattio, I have to tell you that I'm not interested in anything you've said, I see no value in your opinions, and I'll allow you to believe whatever you want to believe.

[matto]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Well I don't remember a Dallas city councilman's house regularly getting shot up as was the case in Fort Worth...

No, just people getting shot and killed in the streets often.

[matto]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Dallas' homicide numbers are pretty good, in comparison to other cities.

By the way, criminologists say that most rapes go unreported. We don't know what percentage of FW rapes are reported to the police, but it likely to be very different from Dallas'.

Your perception of what you think you see in the media... if you base your knowledge of the world on that, your opinions are not particularly well founded.

Yes, Dallas tops the dangerous big city, and Fort Worth makes the safest big city, and some skewed numbers are going to make Dallas as safe as FW. Take your blinders off.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by matto

No, just people getting shot and killed in the streets often.

At 2am in a known bad part of town while driving a blinged out pimpmobile. But the average resident at that time is home tucked in bed asleep and not typically effected by such crimes. Just as I would not go cruising down MLK Blvd in Dallas at 2 in the morning w/ gold rims, windows down blaring gangsta music, flashing gang signs I'm also not going to be doing the same in FTW in the Stop Six district.

[lh_newbie]

I think your referring to use some common sense - you'll drastically reduce your risk. Why don't people get this? There are bad places spread across the metroplex. Avoid them.

[aceplace]

In every city, almost all the criminal danger is concentrated in a very few bad neighborhoods, so devising a single number that is supposed to represent the entire city is an unrealistic fiction.

[CallMeLaura]

Originally Posted by matto

Fort worth has a better police department, and a city government that understands what needs to take place to squash crime. Dallas city government is too busy bickering over personal issues. Fort worth also had a dedicated tax to law enforcement which has beefed up it's resources. A lot of the articles I read involving crime in Fort Worth it seems like the police are always around the corner and respond in time to make an arrest. In Dallas it always seems like they respond in time to take a report.

lol, you should listen to the Chicago news, then. You can't even *own* a gun in Chicago without a license, but that doesn't seem to slow down the number of shootings. It took over half an hour for the police to respond to a break-in, resulting in the murder being caught on the 911 tape.

Or Milwaukee. I had to quit watching the news - two kids kidnapped and drowned, a judge's mother killed, high school girls beating others on tape, a shooting or hit and run every week, it just goes on and on.

Basing your opinion on how safe Ft. Worth is compared to Dallas on news reports is just not sound. I couldn't live in any city if I thought the local news reports were indicative of the probability I'd be the victim of a crime.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by CallMeLaura

Basing your opinion on how safe Ft. Worth is compared to Dallas on news reports is just not sound. I couldn't live in any city if I thought the local news reports were indicative of the probability I'd be the victim of a crime.

I know. It's silly to assume that a news show will feature crime stories from each city in the exact percentage they occur.

Actually, there's no such thing as a CRIME rate, since criminals go to great lengths to hide their crimes and not get caught. Or they intimidate their victims into silence. The numbers that come out are basically reports by alleged victims.

So what's wrong with that? The problem is that the number actually measures how much the citizens trust the police. The more they feel the police can help them, the more crimes they report, and the higher the stat. Or if they do not trust the police, and rarely ask for their help, the lower the crime rate appears to be.

Rape is a good example. If a woman feels comfortable in reporting, if she feels she will be treated humanely, and that her assailaint will be caught and punished, the higher the rape report rate will be.

Also for criminal extortion. The poorer neighborhoods of cities are sometimes controlled by criminal gangs who demand money from small businesses in return for leaving them alone, and keeping other gangs away. If a gang is so established the victims believe reporting is futile, and the police cannot protect them, that lowers the extortion rate reported by the police.

So if a police department reports a higher crime rate, it doesn't necessarily mean its town is more dangerous. It may mean the police are doing a better job with the public, getting victims to come forward, and identifying and solving crimes.

[CallMeLaura]

Very interesting perspective, ace.

I think you also have to look at the types of crime for a particular area, too. If I recall correctly, most of the reported crime in DFW has something to do with property, like theft or vandalism. To me, that indicates the typical criminal is a coward and that just a change in bearing could reduce your likelihood of being assaulted. I can hold my own, but I try to stay out of places with high assault or murder rates.

One final thought - the amount of crime in an area isn't solely dependent on the police department. Economic factors have a lot of impact, as do mores and customs. Texas has seen a drop in violent crime since the concealed carry law went into effect. There are also stories (on the news) about individuals or communities reducing crime in a neighborhood by simply not tolerating it. Why do you think Neighborhood Watch programs are so popular? They work.

[SprintRider]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

I think your referring to use some common sense - you'll drastically reduce your risk. Why don't people get this? There are bad places spread across the metroplex. Avoid them.

This is probably the best advice anyone could give. I've lived in So. Cal. all my life and have never had a single problem. I go to downtown L.A. whenever I need to and even drive through South Central on occasion. People need to realize that Dallas is a large city and with this comes crime. There's no way to get around it. Well, there is a way to get around it; BE SMART!

I haven't had much to say on this subject because I don't live in the area YET. I have to admit though that the figures can really be frightening. This pretty much goes for any large city. Remember one thing about numbers and statistics. "Figures don't lie, but liars figure!"