# Crime rates around prisons **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2014, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808 "2014-05-20T09:30:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/21 "2014-05-20T20:16:35Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > One sees these signs every few miles on I-80 from one end of Nevada to the other. Nevada has lots of prisons hidden in them thar barren wastelands. There’s also one such sign on U. S. 101 in California, somewhere near Camp Roberts (near southern end of Monterey County or northern San Luis Obispo County). I’ve never been aware of any prison in that area. That would be [Soledad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soledad,_California). _The city has two separate correctional facilities in the northernmost part of the city. The first and oldest prison is Soledad CTF (Correctional Training Facility) built in 1946. It was also one of the first 12 prisons of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The other one is Salinas Valley State Prison, which opened in 1996._ Of note from the Wiki article: _In a 2013 Safe Cities report, Soledad was rated California’s 11th Safest City. Soledad was highly regarded for its sense of community and high amount of volunteerism._ ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/22 "2014-05-20T20:23:45Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > That would be [Soledad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soledad,_California). I don’t think so. The particular “Don’t pick up hitchhikers” sign I saw is way farther south than that, in the vicinity of Camp Roberts, at the far south end of Monterey County, well south of King City. That’s really nowhere near Soledad, which is north of King City. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/23 "2014-05-20T20:29:31Z")
Not a prison, but the Arlington County (VA) jail is smack-dab in the downtown core, and isn’t an eyesore at all - looks like an office building, by design.[http://sheriff.arlingtonva.us/detention-facility/](http://sheriff.arlingtonva.us/detention-facility/). And this neighborhood is considered pretty desirable - good Metro access, good restaurants and bars nearby, trendy apartments, etc. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/24 "2014-05-20T20:39:26Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I don’t think so. The particular “Don’t pick up hitchhikers” sign I saw is way farther south than that, in the vicinity of Camp Roberts, at the far south end of Monterey County, well south of King City. That’s really nowhere near Soledad, which is north of King City. Yah, that is probably not Soledad. Maybe Camp Roberts uses some of the prisoners from time to time as labor. Related to the OP - I mentioned Folsom Prison earlier. In Wikipedia it states this about crime in Folsom: _Folsom experiences a very low crime rate, a majority of which are property crimes. The FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report consistently shows Folsom as one of the lowest crime rates in the State of California._ Also related to the OP, wasn’t is also Carlin that said we should build housing for deaf people near airports, and housing for blind people near cemetaries? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/25 "2014-05-20T20:55:23Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > if just occurred to me that–since the escaped criminal doesn’t want to hang around-- he’s going to need a car. Right now. > And if your car happens to be the one he spots… We lived one town over from MCI Concord, a medium security prison in Concord MA. There were a handful of escapes who did exactly that, but they came to our town on foot and stole the cars there rather than attempt to steal a car right next to the prison. But I haven’t heard of any escapes from there in recent years, although prisoners may have walked away from “the Farm”, a lower security unit next door. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/26 "2014-05-20T21:11:49Z")
In Milwaukee the jail and the prison (QtM can provide the technical names for them) are right next door to each other. They’re right in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. If you didn’t know what they were or see the small sign out front, you wouldn’t even know that’s what they were. They just look like office buildings (with really small windows). There’s no reason to feel unsafe around them. There’s another correctional facility on the outskirts of town, and again, no reason to feel unsafe near it either. The ‘bad part of town’ starts a few miles away from the downtown facilities, but it has nothing to do with them. In the jail/prison neighborhood, I’d be more worried for my safety walking around near the courthouse. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/27 "2014-05-20T21:28:40Z")
What I’ve heard from people living in prison towns is it’s not the prisoners (escapes are relatively rare things, and they just want to get out of town when they do escape - usually with an outside accomplice rather than via carjacking), it’s not even families of prisoners relocating to live there (most don’t). It’s the families and friends as _visitors_. Your physical safety is probably OK in these towns, but petty crime rates go up, so shoplifting, burglary etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/28 "2014-05-20T22:40:36Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Living near a prison might be unpleasant, but you’ll be thankful when the zombies come. Just don’t piss off anyone with access to a tank. > [@kayaker](#): > > Driving to visit my brother near Ann Arbor, Michigan I saw signs warning me not to pick up hitch hikers due to the prison nearby. We lol’d. This is even a problem [after nuclear apocalypse](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110222212406/fallout/images/thumb/3/3c/Hitchikers.png/185px-Hitchikers.png). Thanks for the replies and links to specific sites. I thought about the carjacking issue, but then it would be trivially easy to get someone on the outside to pick you up and GTFO ASAP rather than risk recapture trying to steal a car ad-hoc. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/29 "2014-05-20T23:30:05Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > What I’ve heard from people living in prison towns is it’s not the prisoners (escapes are relatively rare things, and they just want to get out of town when they do escape - usually with an outside accomplice rather than via carjacking), it’s not even families of prisoners relocating to live there (most don’t). It’s the families and friends as _visitors_. Your physical safety is probably OK in these towns, but petty crime rates go up, so shoplifting, burglary etc. I suppose that would make sense. Your friends come to see you and they stop steal a couple of packs of cigarettes from the gas station when they leave or snatch a purse from an old lady in the parking garage at the mall on their way out of town. I had some friends in a neighboring town that lived right outside a prison. No problems, but they really didn’t like that the watchtower could practically see right into their bedroom window. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/30 "2014-05-21T00:23:31Z")
Leavenworth Kansas is home to 5 prisons. 3 federal and 2 Kansas. its actually a quiet little midwestern town. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/31 "2014-05-21T04:05:40Z")
I’d expect prisons to be out in the boondocks, if for no other reason than for the cheapo real estate prices. It surprises me that prisons are in cities, and especially in areas that would seem to be prime choice real estate (see: [San Quentin discussion, above](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17391106#post17391106)), for this reason alone. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/32 "2014-05-21T04:21:52Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I have not heard of Folsom’s crime rate being any worse or better than any of the neighboring towns, but I hear is it a good place to live with good schools, housing, and open spaces. Indeed; I grew up within a mile of Folsom State Prison (just across the American River). Close enough to hear the lunch siren. Perfectly ordinary upscale suburb. Generally better than the surrounding areas, in fact; probably helped by the lake and the Intel campus. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/33 "2014-05-21T04:25:24Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’d expect prisons to be out in the boondocks, if for no other reason than for the cheapo real estate prices. It surprises me that prisons are in cities, and especially in areas that would seem to be prime choice real estate (see: [San Quentin discussion, above](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17391106#post17391106)), for this reason alone. Like so many other things (airports, etc.), the prison comes first and the people later. Folsom State Prison opened in 1880. I don’t know what the population of Folsom was then, but obviously it was nowhere close to the 70k it is today. It _was_ the boondocks then. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/34 "2014-05-21T04:57:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’d expect prisons to be out in the boondocks, if for no other reason than for the cheapo real estate prices. It surprises me that prisons are in cities, and especially in areas that would seem to be prime choice real estate (see: [San Quentin discussion, above](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17391106#post17391106)), for this reason alone. As I understand many real estate agents in San Fransisco would love to take over Alcatrez Island. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/35 "2014-05-21T05:00:45Z")
In Jefferson City Missouri they closed the old prison about 5 years ago which did sit right in the city. One interesting thing - when they used to execute someone by gas. They would close the street around the prison and downwind so the gas wouldnt kill any bystanders. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/36 "2014-05-21T11:58:15Z")
Somewhat related: I remember reading about 18th century public hangings in England which drew large crowds and also attracted pickpockets. This despite the fact that at the time, pickpocketing was punishable by death. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/37 "2014-05-21T13:52:01Z")
My office is across the street from the County justice center which includes a long-term prison. The kind of place for lifers and such. It’s never been a problem as far as I know. Good security I guess. Also, people are surprised if I tell them it’s a prison. They just don’t expect it and there’s no barbed wire fencing or anything. Just no large windows on the prison part. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/38 "2014-05-21T14:06:41Z")
My parents lived 70 years in a town with a large prison. It was always a very quiet and peaceful town, up until about the 1990s. Then they started having problems with people arriving for visiting day. There were an increasing number of daytime B&E type crimes, from visitors who saw an opportunity while they were in town for a few hours. In addition, there were a few families that moved into town just to be close to their convicted husband for visiting day, and they sometimes turned out t be of rather uneven morals. My parents got the point they actually started having to lock their house and take the keys out of the ignition of their parked cars, which they had never had to do before. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/39 "2014-05-21T14:18:08Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Indeed; I grew up within a mile of Folsom State Prison (just across the American River). Close enough to hear the **lunch siren**. Why? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808/40 "2014-05-21T14:36:02Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > Somewhat related: I remember reading about 18th century public hangings in England which drew large crowds and also attracted pickpockets. This despite the fact that at the time, pickpocketing was punishable by death. Pepys description: He doesn’t mention pickpockets, but with such a diverse and thick crowd, they would surely have been busy. > [@](#): > > Leadenhall Street, at the end of Lyme Street, near where > the robbery was done: and to St. Mary Axe, where he > lived. And there I got for a shilling to stand upon the > wheel of a cart, in great pain, above an hour before the execution > was done; he delaying the time by long discourses > and prayers, one after another, in hopes of a reprieve; but > none come, and at last he was flung off the ladder in his > cloak. A comely-looked man he was, and kept his counte- > nance to the end ; I was sorry to see him. It was believed > there were at least 12 or 14,000 people in the street. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-rates-around-prisons/688808.md?page=3)