What is really going on in Wilkes Barre? (Wilkes-Barre: 2013, insurance)

[SteelCityRising]

I was in Downtown Wilkes-Barre on a daily basis from 2005-2009 while attending college and return to the city now and then while visiting relatives. The last time I was in the Diamond City was in June of this year for a wedding reception at Genetti's. We parked on South Main Street, near the movie theater, and walked there.

Some observations and experiences we had:

1.) When I parked at the meter it was just after 6 PM. I was looking all over for any indication of when the meter might have been enforced, and a passerby seemed to notice my confusion and kindly said "it's the weekend; you're okay, buddy!" Apparently Wilkes-Barre doesn't enforce meters on weekends. I thought it was nice of this random stranger to help a tourist since helpful signage is lacking in the city.

2.) As we passed Barnes & Noble we were approached by a guy trying to sell us stuff out of a briefcase. My partner isn't quite as "street smart" as I am and stopped to browse while I kept walking and motioned for him to continue on. I told him the stuff was probably stolen, and he said he didn't want to be "rude" and keep walking by him.

3.) We left the wedding reception about 9:30 PM and decided to take in a last-minute movie at the nearby theater. I was amazed by how lively and crowded Downtown Wilkes-Barre was at this time. There were dozens of people hanging outside of Rodano's and other nearby nightclubs chatting and having a good time. These weren't your stereotypical "scary city people", either. They were relatively well-dressed and middle-class-looking people, many of whom were probably from the suburbs.

4.) After the movies we felt uncomfortable a bit as we thought we were being stared down by some people loitering across the street, but we made it into our car and drove away unscathed.

Overall? Wilkes-Barre is heading in the right direction. The city has less than half of its heyday population of 90,000, when it was one of the most densely-populated cities in the state. Nevertheless the Downtown area has a growing scene of nightlife, dining, and retail, all of which are conducive to Downtown living, too. The city DOES have crime problems for a city of its size, but the VAST MAJORITY of violent crime in Wilkes-Barre isn't random. Should someone living in an Elevations Loft, Barney Farms, Parsons, or Mayflower feel "scared" because two bottom-feeding thugs gunned each other down in Sherman Hills over drug debts? Absolutely not.

[Magritte25]

I don't think people should be afraid of random crime. BUT I do think people should be smart and be aware of their surroundings and protect their homes accordingly. With the amount of drug addicts in this city, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to be robbed or mugged. That said, I certainly do not believe our city is as violent as outsiders like to believe.

Something needs to be done about Sherman Hills though. It is so unfair to the residents of that complex, as well the city at large, to have to deal with such crap.

[Freaklander]

What's really going on is beside the wonderful work the PSP is doing, the criminals are well aware that NEPA is full of the Sheriff Taylor and Barney Fife mentality law enforcement. It should be interesting to see the percent increase in the murder rate in WB alone this year. (Couple that with the fact a lot of crime never gets reported to keep the facade that the cops actually have a grip on the problem.) And it seems way too many people here just want to sweep it under the carpet and keep those rose colored glasses on.

[Freaklander]

I see two more were shot. (How ironic, I just mentioned this in my above post from 3 days ago) What do you think was the cause? 1) Drug deal 2) Mugging 3) Gang violence 4) Spill over from drunken bar room argument. Vote now.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by Freaklander

I see two more were shot. (How ironic, I just mentioned this in my above post from 3 days ago) What do you think was the cause? 1) Drug deal 2) Mugging 3) Gang violence 4) Spill over from drunken bar room argument. Vote now.

1. Drug Deal

3. Gang Violence


Same as usual....

[MeatPuppet]

The crime index for wilkes barre is 15.....Compton, CA is also a 15....Ideally a city would get a 100 score.....a 15 means 85% of the cities in the US are safer than Wilkes Barre

[Magritte25]

Where did you get your information from?

The FBI Crime Index uses a scale of 1-10. For violent crime, Compton rates at 9. Wilkes-Barre rates at 6. The national average is 4.

[Mr Yuk]

It is a scary thought that Wilkes-Barre is even in the same ballpark crime-wise as Compton!

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

It is a scary thought that Wilkes-Barre is even in the same ballpark crime-wise as Compton!

If the city would do something about Sherman Hills, I am positive that the crime rate would plummet. Again, 99.9% of the violent crime is stemming from this complex - either from residents or those who know the residents.

BTW, Scranton is rated at a 5 for violent crime.

[bloominscranton]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

If the city would do something about Sherman Hills, I am positive that the crime rate would plummet. Again, 99.9% of the violent crime is stemming from this complex - either from residents or those who know the residents.

BTW, Scranton is rated at a 5 for violent crime.

I agree with you and am happy to announce our new (hopefully keeping fingers and toes crossed) will not be in Scranton.