News in Delaware - Crime (Wilmington, Dover: fit in, low crime, lawyers)

[rdlr]

I hesitated to start a new thread on this topic, but it doesn't seem to fit into separate town threads regarding crime. And, I didn't want this to be deleted for not staying on topic. So, here's a news item for you, and for ME, a local having been here in Delaware forever. This, to me, dispels the notion that Delaware's crime statistics are blown out of proportion, because of the small size of our State. The article states, sadly, Delaware is like any other state (or worse) in regard to crime. Click here for the article which appeared in the News-Journal, a Delaware newspaper
delawareonline ¦ The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. ¦ Biden asks for more money to fight crime FBI says Del. 7th most violent state in U.S.

[angiei812]

Thanks Delly, that was very interesting. I don't know for sure what to make of it, but it is interesting.

[rdlr]

You're welcome, Angie......
That little announcement has surprised many of us ...........When doing a Google search, Delaware is not listed as #7 for violent crime, but is about half way down the list of states. I guess our Attorney General ought to have the correct stats, though, before making such a statement!

[nsa162]

I take numbers with a grain of salt.Delaware is a very small state.When you take the state as a whole,of course it will rank high in violent crime.The bad areas make that rank higher.If you take out certain parts of New castle county, i am sure it would be at the bottom. Since Delaware is so small,theres no room to absorb the crime from the bad areas

[rdlr]

Well, I take this new information very seriously. As a tax payer, it affects my pocketbook, and as a citizen it affects the safety of my family and I.There is a lot of money being appropriated for crime, and evidently the stats are real. Granted the Wilmington area is the worse because of close proximity to Philadelphia. But Baltimore isn't that far from mid-lower Kent and Sussex County. I'm concerned.

"Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden asked lawmakers Thursday for nearly $2 million more than Gov. Ruth Ann Minner proposed for next year to hire more lawyers and support staff needed to alter Delaware's FBI ranking as the seventh most violent state in the nation." - News-Journal

[anniebleu]

Delly,

As a 30 year resident of Dover, I must say that this surprised me. On the other hand, I have to remind myself (and this has figured in one of my recent posts) that there are quite a few areas in Dover where I wouldn't walk (or drive) after sundown.
In our neighborhood though, I know of only a few minor crimes, over several decades.

After reading this article, I have to wonder if this is, indeed, one of those areas (crime) where this state has suffered because of low taxes. Only a question. But sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Annie

[rdlr]

Could be, Annie.

And if this information hadn't come from the Attorney General, I may have brushed it off.

[Laural]

I found something very interesting, its a New Castle County Crime Reporting Map. It shows crime trends in different neigborhoods, you put in an address and it will map where in burglaries, homicides, rapes, etc happened in that area. It's an excellent tool when shopping for a house! But very scarey! Coming from a very low crime area, I don't know if I'm ready for this.

[Laural]

oops forgot to post the website Geo NCC Locations (http://www.nccde.org/sqlcrime.asp - broken link)

[rdlr]

That's great, Laural!! Thank you!

I was working up in North Wilmington last weekend, and noticed a few memorials within a 6 block radius. Memorials, I'm speaking of are, the teddy bears/balloons where someone was killed.