Bloomington Crime (Indianapolis, Lafayette: apartment complexes, crime rate, unemployment)

[maybemove123]

Hi,
Our family is considering a move to Bloomington. In researching Bloomington, I noticed that the number of burglaries in Bloomington is very high, and the number of thefts is also very high. Does anyone know why they are so high, and continue to rise every year? Is Bloomington a safe city?

Thank You!

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by maybemove123

Hi,
Our family is considering a move to Bloomington. In researching Bloomington, I noticed that the number of burglaries in Bloomington is very high, and the number of thefts is also very high. Does anyone know why they are so high, and continue to rise every year? Is Bloomington a safe city?

Thank You!

Bloomington is a safe city however you have to keep in mind IU is in the city so you have *College Students*
I would recommend not having anything valuable on display and the farther away you are from the University the better you are.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

Bloomington is a safe city however you have to keep in mind IU is in the city so you have *College Students*
I would recommend not having anything valuable on display and the farther away you are from the University the better you are.

You mean like the southside of Bloomington where this happened:

Bloomington pizza man shooting: Bloomington police investigate shooting of pizza delivery man - fox59.com (http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-bloomington-police-investigate-alleged-delivery-driver-shooting-20111103,0,485704.column - broken link)

[maybemove123]

Thanks for the replies, but I'm not sure that I can blame the high crime rate on the University students. If you compare Bloomington crime rates with Iowa City, Iowa ( https://www.city-data.com/city/Iowa-City-Iowa.html ), a very similar university town, the crime rate is considerably lower in Iowa City. Has there been a large number of people moving to Bloomington from Indianapolis or Louisville? Is there a lot of gang activity in Bloomington?
Thanks again!

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by maybemove123

Thanks for the replies, but I'm not sure that I can blame the high crime rate on the University students. If you compare Bloomington crime rates with Iowa City, Iowa ( https://www.city-data.com/city/Iowa-City-Iowa.html ), a very similar university town, the crime rate is considerably lower in Iowa City. Has there been a large number of people moving to Bloomington from Indianapolis or Louisville? Is there a lot of gang activity in Bloomington?
Thanks again!

And you could compare Bloomington to other "college towns" like Columbia, MO and Lafayette, who both have higher rates of violent crime, or you could compare B-town to Ann Arbor, which has a lower rate of violent crime.

It's all relative, and the crime rates in all of the examples are actually quite good for 50K to 150K cities containing the degree of economic diversity that they do.

There are gangs in Bloomington. but I wouldn't say there is a lot of gang activity. I think it's important to remember that while Bloomington isn't considered to be an industrial/manufacturing hub today, it does have some manufacturing roots and jobs have been lost in the last 20 years. It's not the rust belt, but there is some poverty. A lot of the crime you see is relatively petty theft by breaking into vehicles or stealing things from people's lawns. College towns in general will see more simple assaults and drug offenses as well.

Bloomington is still a very safe city, though. If you have worries about B-Town, then you will probably have worries about 90% of all 50K plus cities.

[rrah]

The students do provide opportunities for low-life scum. The thieves know students leave for breaks, know which apartment complexes are likely to be empty during these breaks, and thus know which ones to hit.

One needs to be smart. Lock your doors and windows. Keep your car locked and don't keep valuables in plain sight in your car. I can't tell you the number of times I read about someone having valuables stolen from a car. What are people thinking?

There is not a place in Bloomington that I would be afraid to be in at night with the right amount of caution. I can't say that for many places.

I've been told by a former federal law enforcement official that worked in Bloomington that Bloomington does not really have gang activity on it's own. That is not to say there are not gang members in B-ton, but they are minimal, and I have never seen gang tags among the graffiti I do see. People from northern towns will make there way here and stay awhile because there is a market for their goods (read drugs). The police keep a close eye on it.

[redroses777]

Originally Posted by maybemove123

Hi,
Our family is considering a move to Bloomington. In researching Bloomington, I noticed that the number of burglaries in Bloomington is very high, and the number of thefts is also very high. Does anyone know why they are so high, and continue to rise every year? Is Bloomington a safe city?

Thank You!

Not enough jobs. The unemployment rate is actually fairly low, but if you factor in students, and the high number of people who have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet here, then it makes it awfully tough for someone looking for work in this town. Even the local Work One office told me that if I am single and don't have any commitments here that I should look elsewhere for employment.

[MrJeremy]

I have lived in Bloomington for going on 2 years, and I consider it to be a pretty safe city. Of course with IU taking up the main part of the middle of the city there is two distinct areas of town. West Side and East side. The west side is more industrial, and the east side is where the mall is and a lot of the nicer places. South of the mall area on the East side is a really nice area, a area where I would feel safe walking around at night.

[maybemove123]

Thanks for all the responses!