Crime in Harrisburg (Camp Hill, Hummelstown, Penn: apartment, home, neighborhoods)

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Wow - this is a record. Not one, not two, but seven crime reports on PennLive's front page. And that's just from the past 24 hours. Is this an editorial shift at PennLive, or have we just had a really crappy weekend?

Personally, I still feel safe walking through the city. I wouldn't think twice about walking a few blocks to the grocery at 11pm. I don't feel uncomfortable in my parking garage. At worst, the areas I avoided ten years ago might have started to sprawl a little bit.

Woman mugged in Harrisburg parking garage | PennLive.com

Robbers pistol-whip Harrisburg store clerk, take cash and cigarettes, police say | PennLive.com

Robbers hit Harrisburg man with brick, take cash from his pockets, police say | PennLive.com

Camp Hill man suffers broken nose in assault in Harrisburg park | PennLive.com

Police say robbers took Harrisburg teen's laptop as he sat on his porch using it | PennLive.com

Man kicked Harrisburg woman in face, stole purse, police say | PennLive.com

Harrisburg man stabbed while walking, police say | PennLive.com

[ki0eh]

Funny, I don't see anything like those in the police blotter in the Hummelstown Sun. The lead crime story a couple of weeks ago concerned a report of someone deliberately running over a turtle.

[ekeo]

I don't see much Police presence in the city, maybe I'm just missing it. I'm not a fan of the Giuliani approach, but I'm not a fan of having no cops either. I suppose given the city's finances, more police are out of the question.

[danwxman]

Most of the crime happens in a couple sections of the city (Allison Hill and Uptown right above Maclay) and is thus avoidable for the most part. It's also usually domestic, as a result of a beef between rival groups/people and rarely do you see "random" victims.

I lived in Harrisburg city for two years and was never a victim to, or witness to, any sort of crime. Now I did have a neighbor around the corner from me robbed and tied up, but let's just say this guy was known on my block to be involved in "suspicious" behavior of many sorts, so it's hard to say that it was actually random.

[ekeo]

It looks like quite a few of these are random. Some random muggings earlier in the summer on Boas and Calder (I think), too, which isn't the dreaded Allison Hill or Uptown. Generally, however, I agree. Indeed, most of the crime isn't in downtown or midtown, and no matter where you are, most victims of crime know the perpetrator be it domestic squabblery or thuggery.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by ekeo

It looks like quite a few of these are random. Some random muggings earlier in the summer on Boas and Calder (I think), too, which isn't the dreaded Allison Hill or Uptown. Generally, however, I agree. Indeed, most of the crime isn't in downtown or midtown, and no matter where you are, most victims of crime know the perpetrator be it domestic squabblery or thuggery.

Oh right. I don't want to make it seem like random crime doesn't happen. It certainly does, and it happens even in the nice sections of the city, and at a higher rate than the suburbs no doubt. But I still don't think it's a major issue for most residents in those neighborhoods. Just a reason to use typical street smarts. The vast majority (actually, pretty much all) midtown residents I knew in my time loved living there, despite the threat of crime and municipal bankruptcy!

[velior]

I used to live near Harrisburg. Whenever I would go into Harrisburg I always felt pretty safe. Crime can happen anywhere though.

[SouthBound47]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Funny, I don't see anything like those in the police blotter in the Hummelstown Sun. The lead crime story a couple of weeks ago concerned a report of someone deliberately running over a turtle.

I find this hilarious. I live in a suburb of Buffalo and last year the front headline on out little weekly newspaper was that traffic was stopped on a semi-major two lane road for nearly 3 minutes while some ducks crossed. There is something to be said for a town where you can just relax and not worry about anyone bothering anyone.

[CluelessreNY]

Originally Posted by SouthBound47

I find this hilarious. I live in a suburb of Buffalo and last year the front headline on out little weekly newspaper was that traffic was stopped on a semi-major two lane road for nearly 3 minutes while some ducks crossed. There is something to be said for a town where you can just relax and not worry about anyone bothering anyone.

And that is what Harrisburg is to me. I lived in downtown Harrisburg for 5 years. Never the victim of a crime (and I frequently exercised outside after dark). I moved to a respectable NJ suburb and w/i a year both my car and apartment were broken into and robbed.
It's all relative.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by CluelessreNY

And that is what Harrisburg is to me. I lived in downtown Harrisburg for 5 years. Never the victim of a crime (and I frequently exercised outside after dark). I moved to a respectable NJ suburb and w/i a year both my car and apartment were broken into and robbed.
It's all relative.

Same story here. I lived downtown from 99-04 and again starting early this year. I never once had any trouble. Within six months of moving to the country, I came home to find my back door pried open.