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I grew up in St. Paul, Oregon and my parents are from Oakland, CA and I can tell you how to avoid most of what has been described above in ANY city in Oregon. I currently live in Miami which has a WAY higher crime rate than any city in OR. Also, keep in mind my parent's house is across from Champoeg State Park, which is host to work release prisoners from the State Penitentiary. These are rapists, burglars, car thieves, you name it. They "case" (i.e. check out for future criminal endeavors such as burglary) you house as they work next door. Here is what my parents did: Have big 120+ pound dog who woofs loudly in the yard 24/7 (it can be a gentle giant like an English Mastiff as long as it is big and looks scary), have smaller barky dog inside house that always comes to door when you return from work/errands (if the dog doesn't come to the door, go to neighbor's house and get neighbor to walk through house with you to ensure all is okay), do NOT leave anything valuable in your car, only use cars that are not targets for thieves such as older models or makes that are not popular but are practical like a Yaris sedan for a new car or our 97 Honda Civic, do NOT answer your door for anyone who "broke down" on the side of the road - even a woman (yell through the door you are calling the police and they will come to help her), lock you car and house doors 24/7 even during broad daylight, know your neighbors and make sure they watch your house and you watch theirs, be aware of your surroundings 24/7. My parents also had guns loaded and ready for action all over the house but I feel this was a bad idea with kids in the house - we never had an incident because it was drilled into our brains NEVER to touch the guns without permission but they are lucky we were so obedient. We were the only house within sight of the work release prisoners that was not broken into ever. Also, as children, we were so well trained about the dog coming to the door that one day when the dog didn't come to the door, we immediately went to neighbors house and had him do a walk through with us (long story but it was a false alarm). If you do not want to be a victim, you must practice not acting like prey...if you act like prey, predators will be attracted to you, if you act strong and forceful nobody will mess with you (I am 5'5" woman size 6 and even 6'4" muscle men back away from me with just a forceful look). As for shop owners who are victimized, I would suggest the purchase of a well trained, obedient, intelligent dog like a Belgian Tervuren. My friend's dad had one in his pharmacy in Queens, NY and even when hopped up druggies tried to get free pharmaceuticals from him, the dog chased them away never to return. You might also consult with a security expert regarding loss protection for your store. Hope this helps!
Go on to the Register Guard's website, look up Lane County Jail's Inmate Information on their website, ride a bus, sit at a bus station long enough, visit a bar or tavern in downtown Springfield and in some cases downtown Eugene, even a bowling alley or one of the malls and chances are you will begin to understand that there is crime in this area.
I have had friends and peers who have been murdered, assaulted, robbed, stabbed, mugged, kidnapped.... Anybody (member name "oregonfamily") who says "I have been living here my whole life, nothing ever happens here is not being honest to themselves or to you who read this; you may need to slap your parents for sheltering you to such a degree of obliviousness. Have you actually ever walked outside of your house without a blindfold? Perhaps watched KEZI, KMTR, KVAL, or KLSR News at noon, 6pm, or 11pm each day?
I would argue that yes, there are some safe and respectable neighborhoods out there. North Delta area was just mentioned, and for the most part it seems pretty hassle-free as a neighborhood. I would say that anywhere where houses are either new, or big and overpriced is safer than everywhere else. If apartments in your area are renting for more than $800.00 per month then chances are mr thief or mr tweek won't live too close to you. The most that may happen is your car gets broken into or stolen by a stranger to your neighborhood.
A good rule of thumb would be to determine how much of your neighborhood is dependent on public assistance. Its not wealthy or comfortably successful people who are breaking in to your houses or cars, or assaulting you. It is the poor, specifically: those who either need to sell your stuff to get their drug fix(or video poker fix--same people), their children, or people who think you owe them a piece of your success; sometimes it is because of your race or religion, what car you drive, and even who's campaign sticker you have on your bumper or rear window of your car. These things can happen to anybody anywhere in town, but the perpetrator will not come from a high property value neighborhood--
Yes, I have to agree with Kikbaq. Be aware of the changes in Eugene. The City just sent police to study what a town in AZ is doing with over crowded jails and no support ($) from voters for law enforcement. The town in AZ has a tent city for prisoners. Eugene is headed for more problems and everyone is in total denial. Keep informed to keep safe and make the right vote(s).
A heart break for me this past week was when I visited a park bench that is dedicated to a dear friend who passed away last year and found it sprayed with black paint with the worst language. I walked all along the East side of the River (north of Valley River) and ever park bench, wall, and picnic table was sprayed with remarks about killing people of a certain religion or sexual orientation. Not such a peace loving community.
Ironically, since my last post I've known two more people who have had their cars stolen in the last couple of weeks.
Both times I was told about the thefts, this thread popped into my head and I had to wonder how anyone could live here and be so oblivious to the crime. The problem is you don't have to look for it. It's impossible not to talk to a someone, watch television or pick up a newspaper on a regular basis and it's there.
It looks like every person who has ever had a crime perped against them is posting here.
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Every city of any size has problems with poverty and crime. They go hand in hand. Eugene and Springfield are no different. I don't live there but I have friends who do. They haven't had any problems that I'm aware of.
had bikes stolen, numerous friends/relatives cars were broken into. ***** poor low wage local economy. downtown is like the mental ward let everyone out.
the redeeming qualities are the excellent summer month's weather, and cycling/ progressive environment. nice outdoor environment, otherwise it's kinda redneck and provincial.
Wow, I've never heard Eugene referred to as a redneck city before today. That's a new one!
Yes, there is crime in Eugene and Springfield. There is crime everywhere, unfortunately, and there are drugs everywhere too. For the most part, though, Eugene and Springfield are relatively safe.
According to the Eugene Police (as reported on one of the local news programs a while back) most of the car thieves are looking to steal whatever is portable in your car. They steal your car, take your MP3 player that's sitting out, steal your cell phone, take your wallet if it's in there, and then they dump the car. This is especially prevalent around the malls and any shopping centers where you will be away from your car long enough for them to steal it.
The Gateway area is notoriously unsafe. There is a large low-income housing complex a block or two away from the mall, numerous small apartment complexes, and a lot of meth houses. We used to live in apartments on Gateway street (ages ago) and saw more than one drug deal go down, even watched police raid a meth house across the street. Hopefully once the new hospital is up and running the area will clean up some.
A good deal of the crime in this area is driven by drugs. If we could solve our drug problem, then we could reduce crime significantly.
I agree with one of the prior posters who said a dog is a good investment. I personally have an English Mastiff, but he's only 9 months old and is the biggest wimp I've ever seen (afraid of his own shadow). But the other dog . . . . . he'll tear your leg off. (He also does well warding off unwelcome visitors, i.e. Jehovas Witnesses.)
I have lived just south of Eugene for about 4 years now. I go to Eugene one or two times a week. I have NEVER seen any crimes, or been a victim of any. I have a good car alarm, and I lock my car. I also park away from other cars in more visible places (habit from living in California). I used to live in the SF Bay area of California, where my car was broken into many times. In San Diego I used to see junkies passed out with needles still in their arms. At the LA bus station I saw some horrific crimes happen. Same with the Port Authority in New York City.
But New York and California aside, Eugene seems to suffer from too little city government. It is just too liberal for its own good. Too much touchey-feeley. The jails are overcrowded and crooks are turned out into the streets before their time is up. The roads are a disaster becasue they let federal and state funds expire before moving to build major road projects. They made the downtown area walk/bike/bus only, and the business there lost out and folded becasue cars could not access the downtown area. They made the same mistake in Portland earlier. It is a younger town, dominated by the university. The university attracts a lot of students, and those that drop out often become vagrants and tansients. Not unlike Santa Cruz, CA. Except in Santa Cruz, you cannot even find a public bathroom to use, becasue the street bums have destroyed them, or use them to bathe ans sleep in. Now that town is downright scary in places.
But the flip side is that Eugene is full of nice people. I meet people there all the time and they are as nice as can be. I am rarely hit up by bums, but it happens sometimes. I read about all the crime there, but I have not seen it myself. Publicity seems to be higher on crime there than other places I have lived, where it is mainly suppressed or ignored. Like in San Francisco, where crime is pretty rampant, constant and chronic. I used to drive through Downtown Oakland to work in Alameda every day, and every day there was always something crime or gang related going on there. No one seemed to even notice. It rarely made the news, unless there was a multiple murder or a cop was killed.
I feel the same things that OrygunBorn posted about. We have lived in large metropolitan areas as well as smaller towns in 4 different states. There is crime everywhere but it's no worse in Eugene than anywhere else we have ever lived or spent a considerable amount of time in while travelling.
And I also agree about Santa Cruz! That place was so NOT what we were expecting. My husband was doing some work there and we went along thinking it would be a great holiday spot, but it is a scary place. Especially along the more touristy areas and the beach boardwalk area. Wow.
Until people change and stop using alcohol and drugs as ways of escaping the realities they've created for themselves, every place is going to have serious issues and we all must stay on the alert for crimes to happen around us.
I used to do a lot of volunteer work with animals, until I realized it is the human condition we must change in order for the animals to ever stand a real chance. Fighting for animals is a lost cause when it all boils down to humans who are dysfunctional. Now I work for humans, seeing that as the root of so many problems - for our earth and every living thing on it.
Anyway - Eugene is a good and growing college town. You just can't go around leaving your doors and windows open or unlocked (car or home) and it's probably better to look somewhat poor or "average" rather than rich in a way that makes you a target or makes you stand out. That's how it is everywhere. If you look like you have something worth taking, chances are someone is going to be watching you and waiting for an opportunity to take it. It's just the reality we live in.
Reality... yes. I was born here, but it was a different world. We lived just outside of Portland in the 1960s. The family doctor made house calls. We never locked the house, much less the car. My dad had a '55 Buick that had a keyless starting option. Crime was something we saw in the movies. Now that is all some distant memory in the past. Oregon was a farming state then, and there were trees everywhere we went. Honesty went a long long way.
Looking at the City-Data crime stats, Eugene is not that bad. At about 400 (with Springfield slightly higher), it is worse than the national average index of 300, but far better than Seattle or Portland, which are between 500-600. They are about the same as Los Angeles, really. And living in all of those places, I found that crime was around, if you went looking for it. My nephew says to ride the MAX in Portland if you want to find all the crimimnals and see all the crime there. They busted some guy there not too long ago on MAX with a portable meth lab in a backpack. He started cooking in Gresham and it was done by the time he got to Hillsboro. Far different on BART; that was a clean and safe ride. However, the BART parking lots are magnets for car theives.
I dunno. I think that crime in Eugene is over sensationalized. A small town with a big town TV newscast on 4 networks every night. I cannot say that there are any places in Eugene or Springfield that I would not want to be caught after dark. I was only really frightened to be anyplace once. I was on the Staten Island Ferry in NYC and there was a knife fight between two Brooklyn all-girl gangs. No one paid any attention to it. It was like it did not even happen. The Port Authority workers just plodded along, and everyone got on and off the ferry like nothing was happening. Flash, knife, stab stab stab, scream, hair ripping, slash slash slash, laughing, yelling, swearing, fist fights, blood guching. No one noticed anything. Just another day in NYC.
So comparing the extremes, say of my youth in Lake Oswego, and later life visiting NYC, Eguene is not a bad place, overall. The poverty level around here may have more to do with crime than anything else, with a whopping 20% living at or below the poverty level in Eugene, and Springfield being slightly better at 17%. My view is that if you invite trouble, or go looking for it, you can find it anywhere.
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Crimes and Crime areas in Eugene and Springfield
