Crime Survey (Tucson, Ajo: townhomes, neighborhood, elementary school)

[spaceturkey]

I have heard tucson is a scenic, liberal, bike friendly city and I have also heard that tucson is so dangerous people wouldn't walk around past dark and cyclists are hit by bad drivers on a regular basis.

I would like to conduct a survey of crimes residents have witnessed or experienced.

Anyone who wants to share please post how long you've lived in tucson, what part of town you lived in, what crimes you experienced and when they occured(approximate date and time of day)

[mdtoaz]

I've been here a year, and haven't witnessed any crime first-hand. I don't know that I'd call it bike-friendly. I think there are parts of town that are - specifically near UA. I always see a lot of bikers around Gates Pass too (for those biking masochists ).

Much of my travelling is on Ajo, Golf Links, Broadway, Speedway and other major streets like that. I have seen people riding bikes on those roads, but I wouldn't want to. There are some pretty bad drivers around.

I think the same can be said of where you want to walk around past dark... 4th Ave? University? Reid Park? Sure. Ajo and 12 Ave? Wouldn't recommend it.

[bellringer]

I've lived in Tucson(eastside) two different times dating back to Sept. '76. In the '90s, my mom had her truck stolen from the parking lot at The Arizona Inn in broad daylight. She was there for one hour at lunch. Her truck was parked within 50 yds. of the front door where a number of valets were standing. And yes it was locked! It probably wound up in Mexico.

Every so often, usually in the middle of the night, thieves make a run through my folks neighborhood(eastside also) stealing anything they can get their hands on. The last time they did this they took one neighbor's golf clubs, stereo speakers from another, and they cut open my convertible top(nothing inside worth stealing). On one of the other occasions, during the day, a neighbor came home and found someone in his garage. The thief didn't have enough time to get into the house. When I had a friend visiting from out of town, he had his speakers stolen one night. These examples are from one street. I don't know what they got from the residents in the rest of the neighborhood. The theives are probably coming from the ghetto townhomes to the north on Calle La Paz.

Also, my business(eastside-southeast of Calle La Paz) was broken into recently. One of the things that was stolen was a computer. Fortunately, the police caught the guy, who was all set up to make fake id's and start stealing identities. Guess where he lived. A couple of weeks ago, someone stole a concrete, three-piece bench from our front entry. I bet someone got a hernia picking that thing up. They even took the dirty doormat.

When I attended the U of A(central), people were constantly getting their bikes stolen, and not just the expensive ones.

[bellringer]

Speaking of bikes, I wouldn't call Tucson bike friendly either. It seems idiotic to be riding bikes on roads meant for automobiles. Just yesterday, I was sitting at the light at Speedway and Kolb waiting to turn left from the second left turn lane, and next to me was a guy on a bike, who was also waiting to make a left. That intersection is one of the most accident prone in Tucson. Seems to me that they should have to walk their bikes acroos the crosswalk and then press on.

[mdtoaz]

Originally Posted by bellringer

A couple of weeks ago, someone stole a concrete, three-piece bench from our front entry. I bet someone got a hernia picking that thing up. They even took the dirty doormat.

Hah! A hernia would totally serve them right. Makes you wonder about people... what do you think the street value is of that door mat?

[Marcy1210]

I don't know if it officially counts as crime, but when we spent several months at the Riverside Suites at Limberlost and Campbell, there was a "gap" in the fence by the MRI imaging center and Trader Joe's despite the facility being "gated" otherwise, many cars had their windows broken in, albeit nothing was taken. It was determined by management that it was kids cutting through going to the elementary school on Limberlost. Who knows? But, basically, that area seemed to be pretty safe. We'd walk over to St. Phillip's Plaza for dinner after dark, and routinely went to Trader Joe's after dark and never felt scared.

[RTCruiser]

Here's a good resource for you. It's a Web site that maps crime in major cities and is updated daily. It seems to be updated from police reports.

It's useful to compare Tucson with the city you live in or near to get a close comparison.

Here is the URL: Tucson Crime Map - Showing Crime in Tucson, AZ - Crime Statistics - Crime Alerts - Crime Stops Here