How "dangerous"is your city, neighborhood, etc.?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was at my parents’ house yesterday, and for about the 97000th time I heard my father comment how you can’t go out anywhere in L.A. at night, because it’s “just too dangerous.” “You’ll be killed” is is favorite way to sum up the situation. Meanwhile, I moved to what I perceive as a fairly average, heavily urbanized (by L.A. standards) neighborhood about 11 years ago, and I’ve never had any problems going out. I walk to the grocery store any time of the evening; my wife and I walk to nearby restaurants, the video store, and so on. The neighborhood seems to have a wide variety of income levels, so it’s not like we’re talking about Beverly Hills. I/We’ve never been threatened,
assaulted, or in any way bothered, while out walking at night.

So exactly how dangerous is urban life really, in your neck of the woods? Do you feel that there’s a climate of unjustified paranoia fueled by the media? Or do you really feel frightened if you go out at night?

2

I live in Detroit and I am not scared. Given that I work in a hospital and regularly see gunshot victims, I am either crazy or really, really calm.

Seriously, I know that random attacks occur, but IMHO a lot of crime that occurs happens when people are at the wrong place doing the wrong thing. Few of my patients were just walking down the street; most of them were buying or selling drugs, drinking and fighting, etc.

3

I have no cites to back this up, but it has long been my suspicion that, in the vast majority of violent crime, the victim knows the perpetrator and why it’s occurring. Random attacks happen, to be sure, and they’re more likely in a city simply because of population density, but all in all you’re fairly safe as long as you keep generally alert and don’t hang out with thugs.

4

This is IMHO, not GD, so citeless wisdom is welcome, isn’t it?

I know that on the average, my city is polite and safe. Most people who are injured or killed by violence either put themselves in danger or were proximate to generally violent people.

It’s enough to make me a HCI advocate, though, the shocking random “handgun” violence that has been happening around here lately. Yes, I’ll call it “handgun violence” because it just would never have happened without a handgun (premeditated acts don’t qualify in my book).

A fellow was shot in the head while driving late at night up I-5 near Tacoma two weeks ago. Police assume “road rage”, but no witnesses and no suspects.

A Navy sailor was shot in the head while driving late at night on a road near Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. The teenagers who shot him were just shooting at cars at random off an overpass to see if they could kill somebody. On the same road last year, another enterprising death-voyeur shot a man in the face with a shotgun from a parallel car.

A man heard a woman screaming from the trailer home next door and went to investigate. The man fighting with the screaming woman shot the Samaritan dead… and they both left the scene without calling for help.

A visitor from Minnesota was shot and killed while driving down the street in the Chinatown district last night. No provocation, no fight, just gunfire.

So, WHAT THE HELL? Is there some kind of “I think I’ll shoot somebody in the head tonight” idea-virus just floating around this state? I thought that only infected madmen in California who get nifty nicknames and sensational trials.

Now, I carry a handgun when traveling in public. I’m big, strong, and don’t invite trouble. But that wouldn’t have helped me one bit if I’d occupied the same space as these poor fellows.

So, do I live in a dangerous town? Yeah, I do. Not on average, with the teeming masses on hand to soak up the statistics, but still, it’s a dangerous town.

5

I feel that my city(Atlanta) is safe. But, I have a coworker who won’t live inside the city limits, who won’t ride a subway train, and who just about shakes if he has to go out after dark.

But, I do realize that there are places I don’t need to be after dark, especially alone. I do have moments that I get creeped out, and I immediately change where I am when that occurs.

Atlanta, like any city, is safe, but only when you are careful. Even then, things will happen. I, however, think it is much less safe to be driving on the highways around here than walking around some downtown streets.

6

Well, naturally,I I’m careful as well. This includes generally keeping my eyes open and not going into totally unfamiliar areas. I also avoid walking too closely by a blind corner or alley, where I could conceivably be jumped before I realize there’s someone there. Maybe that’s a little excessive, but I think it’s just being practical. What I don’t think is practical is when you think you have to cower indoors.

7

How dangerous is my neighborhood? Well, I saw some freaking enormous groundhogs in the yard this morning. So I guess I could potentially be mugged by giant mutant woodchucks. But that’s probably the worst of the terrors that the night holds here in suburban/rural Mass.

8

I live in Claremont, east of LA. It feels perfectly safe out here. Walk around, by yourself, outside, at 2:00 in the morning. Sure, why not. There’s no danger at all. Our college’s security blotter never contains anything more serious than a stolen skateboard or something of that magnitude. People leave their doors unlocked during the day, they leave bicycles unlocked, etc…
My grandparents live in Pacific Palisades. The area is very low-crime, but people still worry. All houses and apartment complexes have expensive security systems and it just expected that you’ll lock the door whenever you leave the house. Walking around at night is still ok, though.

9

I live in a semi-rural area. It’s not as rural as it used to be but still, it’s 5 miles outside the city limits, and there is a golf course behind our property.

We are on 10 acres so our neighbors aren’t really close either. But even in our “city”-if you can call our hick town a city, the only violence one hears of in the one known crack neighborhood. It is really only a few blocks and one busy corner. There are shootings and a few robberies but I’d estimate it is 99% drug related. I don’t think I have ever heard of a mugging in our town.

10

I’m in a very mixed “bedroom” community just south of L A. The “poop” is—(about 1 1/2 yrs ago) one of the Latino gang banger leaders moved his Mom into a place next door. He then walked the whole area and let various and sundry peeps know that, “if ANYTHING happens in this area;(he) would personally ‘take care of’ whoever started it”. Sounds scary but it’s kinda like living on the same block with AL CAPONE.

11

I live in Dublin and, for the most part, I consider it much safer than any American city I’ve ever lived in. But there are definitely parts of town I don’t like walking through in the daytime much less at night. Also, the particular part of the city I live in is bordered by a fairly dodgy area; there are a lot of prostitutes on the main road near me, which isn’t really dangerous so much as annoying, but it keeps me from walking down that street at night anyway.

12

& moved to Alaska. I don’t lock the house, I leave the keys in the car (very helpful if you’re having one of those ‘senior moments’… I still misplace my wallet, but I know where the frickin car keys are.

We do have violent crime - every decade or so, like clockwork, so no place is totally safe - but really, from in here, it looks like the rest of ya are in the asylum.

I’m contemplating moving back - to the woods of northern Minnesota - but there’s a lotta downside here. Half of it is your rather tacky commercial culture, but the other half of it is…you.

Satre was right. Hell is other people.

13

I live in a ridiculously secure area, not far from Beijing Airport.

There are police and army everywhere, especially around the houses.
I’ve never even had a second thought about walking through downtown Beijing in the middle of the night either, there is a strong police presence everywhere.

Of course that only means that good upstanding citizens like myself are safe, I’d hate to be personally responsible for any kind of trouble around here :smiley:

— G. Raven

14

I only have to worry about wacked out teenagers and coyotes.

About 18 months ago I was walking home and passed a group of teens drugged out on something… I think meth, judging from the guy’s breath. Kid jumped me, but was too out of it to inflict any damage on someone sober.
Later that night he was bit by a police dog, so I consider that my sweet revenge. I also found out he was 13, and had to wonder why any parent would let a 13 year old out past 1 a.m. on a weeknight.

But the coyotes, those you gotta watch out for, especially if you walk your dog without a leash. Usually a good yell is all you need to frighten them off, though.

Used to live in Montreal, which is very safe. My wife used to stumble home drunk after the bars closed at 3 am, and never had any trouble at all…

15

If there were mad 13yo methheads and coyotes going after me I’d want the right to bear arms too. :smiley:

To hijack slightly, do those of you who live in dangerous areas take any special precautions, like having a gun in the house?

— G. Raven

16

Apparently, the area I live in is FAR too safe. I’ve been wondering what it’s like to get shot for a long time… I’m beginning to think it just ain’t gonna happen!

Damn drive-by shooters… where are they when you need them?

17

pretty safe. really safe compared to America at large. Never worry at all, since I’m 6’5".

18

I’m in Houston right now. Weird place. Sinister. It’s safe or dangerous depending on one thing- if you’re in a car or not. Might as well be two entirely different and unrelated cities, based on how you are moving around in it. You have a car, it seems safe enough. I think a lot of US cities are like this, but Houston seems to… take to it.

Walking here is like being a kid wandering around school telling teachers a monster is about to kill you and none of them believe you. “A monster?” they say, as the monsters gibber at you from the shadows. “At school? On a sunny day like this? Don’t be silly!”

And the kids who don’t die grow up to be highway engineers or cashiers at Best Buy.

-fh

19

Very rural Colorado here.

Some violence here. The mayor got drunk the other night and got into fist fight with the Chief of Police and the deputy was hiding out because he was afraid no matter which side he took, he would lose his job.

Some dangers on the road. Twice in the last three weeks Pete Forwood let his cattle get out and some body ran into them. One person was sent to intensive care.

As for gun violence…well there was that one incident. Juanita McCafferty was driving her husbands pickup and she hit one of those drainage dips in the street (huge, deep things) and the revolver Sam (her husband) had in the glove compartment bounced out of the glove box and went off and shot her in the leg.

She had to drive herself to the hospital 22 miles away and had some trouble explaining it to the people in charge of the emergency room.

Sam has promised to keep one cylinder empty in the pistol to eliminate any chance of this happening again. He also promised to take Juanita to Las Vegas as a form of an apology (Sam really hates to travel and spend money - so this could hurt Sam more than Juanita). There are some people around town that suggest that Juanita shot herself just to finally get a trip out of Sam.

Other than that not much happening here.

20

Midwestern city of 110,000+change checking in here.

Our city’s newpaper has a daily Police Beat column, which lists a sampling of various police reports gathered from the previous day.

90% of the crimes, and almost all of the violent ones, reported in that column occur in one part of town. The other 10% are scaterred throughout the city, but those are genrally car burglaries or domestic disputes.

Out in the country, we’ve got likkered-up good-old-boys in abundance, and meth production is becoming big business around here. Of course, I’m not likely to cross paths with a meth dealer, so I’d say I’m pretty safe.

Still, I lock my doors every night. And I fully intend on buying a gun when I save up the money. Ya never know…