NC Gang Violence --- list of areas to avoid ??? (Raleigh: crime rates, neighborhoods)

[chloe410]

Hi Everyone!

I apologize if this is redundant, but I searched online, and have only been able to find scattered information regarding gang violence in NC. Some articles are estimating that the problems will be really growing in the next 5 years. At the same time, so many good people have been relocating there for years now, and seem very happy (according to posts here) that I just don't know what to make of it.

Can anyone out there, who's been a resident of NC for a long time, and really knows the whole state, provide me with some sort of list to let me know the places I should avoid.

I'm from a small town in RI, and my fear in relocation, is ending up in the wrong place. I keep doing searches with the crime indexes available online, but picking places off a map is getting really tedious!

I'd love to be within an hour of the shoreline, but I'm noticing a lot of those places have very high crime rates. That's odd to me, because in RI, the closer you get to the water & nicer neighborhoods, the less crime it seems.

Also, is it possible to be in nice small town in NC (25,000 or under) and STILL be within 30 min. of Whole Foods Market & about an hour from the shoreline....does this Unicorn exist???

Thanks SO much and hope I'm not asking too much.

[Francois]

If you're interested in being an hour from the beach (we don't call it "the shore" here ), you should go to the Coastal NC forum, not the Triangle area forum.

But gang violence, while existent in almost every locality in any state, is not really "a problem" except in the large cities and then, usually only in certain areas--this is not peculiar to NC; isn't every state like that. the cities here don't have the problems that places like Detroit, the Bronx, or LA have because they're smaller, but obviously the more people you have, the more "city issues" including gangs, you're going to have.

Anywhere that's within an hour of the coast in NC is going to be small enough not to have gangs, although I think I read that Greenville is having more problems than it used to.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by chloe410

Also, is it possible to be in nice small town in NC (25,000 or under) and STILL be within 30 min. of Whole Foods Market & about an hour from the shoreline....does this Unicorn exist???

Thanks SO much and hope I'm not asking too much.

Wilmington, NC has a Whole Foods & Fresh Market and is very near the beach (Wrightsville Beach). Wilmington is over 25K. But little towns like Hampstead are in that area and under 25K.

There are several towns w/ in a hour of the beach that are under 25K. But very few w/ a Whole Foods Market.

My parents live near the beach within a hours drive to Wilmington. I have never heard of any gang issues there or for that matter NC. Small coastal towns in NC do have some crime but it's not organized like gang crime.

Also, the only people who refer to the beach as the shoreline are those who relocated from the North. If you want to blend in, call it the beach. But blending in obviously is not a requirement. In Oregon where I lived for 20 years it's "the coast"... I'm getting use to calling it "the beach" again.

[coltank]

I'd look in the areas surrounding Wilmington as PDXmom suggested.

[B-rad69]

One gang you have to watch out for are the Yellow Jacket Boys. They never pay for soda pop and their doo-whoop entertains the whole neighborhood. Unlike most gangs they go to bed relatively early, so it is the late afternoons here you have to be on guard.

[NCgirl]

chloe410

In March 2008 the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety released an assessment of gangs in NC. This report estimated that there were 14,500 violent gang members in the state. It also estimated that the total by 2012 the total number of gang members will be 41,363.

For perspective NC's 2008 population was 9,222,414.

[CaliBoy]

Originally Posted by NCgirl

chloe410

In March 2008 the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety released an assessment of gangs in NC. This report estimated that there were 14,500 violent gang members in the state. It also estimated that the total by 2012 the total number of gang members will be 41,363. For perspective NC's 2008 population was 9,222,414.

Eh. What a terrible stat. All the more reason to up the level of crime prevention in the state. Shame that gang members are taking advantage of the good natured population of NC by exploiting such an opportunity to proliferate bad over good. I'm just hoping it doesn't get to the point where it infects us so much that it becomes an irreversible cancer on the state. Unfortunately, with a number increase like that, it appears our guard has been down for some time.

[JustChar]

I live in Ventura County CA (right now and will be moving to Raleigh later this year) and here they used to keep talking about doing something about gangs, but it was mostly just talk. Now you hardly ever hear anything about gangs except when there is a shooting. There are two gang injunctions in Oxnard, but it does nothing. In LA they did gang sweeps last week and arrested more than 100 of them. I hope NC can wake up to the potential of gang problems now, before they get to the point of no return. I hope they take it seriously. I hope that NC does not turn out the way CA is turning as far as the gang situation, I doubt if anyone is stupid enough to put up with a Governor like CA's. UGH!!

I think if the people of NC speak up and speak up loudly and NOW, the government will listen.

[NCgirl]

Originally Posted by JustChar

I live in Ventura County CA (right now and will be moving to Raleigh later this year) and here they used to keep talking about doing something about gangs, but it was mostly just talk. Now you hardly ever hear anything about gangs except when there is a shooting. There are two gang injunctions in Oxnard, but it does nothing. In LA they did gang sweeps last week and arrested more than 100 of them. I hope NC can wake up to the potential of gang problems now, before they get to the point of no return. I hope they take it seriously. I hope that NC does not turn out the way CA is turning as far as the gang situation, I doubt if anyone is stupid enough to put up with a Governor like CA's. UGH!!

I think if the people of NC speak up and speak up loudly and NOW, the government will listen.

I'm certainly no expert but I do know that there are many state and local anti-gang tasks forces already working in NC. Anti-gang legislation has been passed in recent years. Example: N.C. gang law takes effect across state

Last year Raleigh and Durham received an anti-gang grant. RALEIGH, DURHAM SHARE ANTI-GANG GRANT (http://www.ncwanted.com/ncwanted_home/story/2879482/ - broken link)

[Charlton Dude]

The worst areas for gangs in the Triangle would be southeast of the downtown area in Durham and southern & eastern parts of Raleigh. Everywhere else in the Triangle would have much less of a problem. Knightdale has had more of a problem over the last few years. Overall, even the worst areas here are nothing compared to real cities, but that is no excuse to feel alright about even one crime.