Crime in Northpark/Hillcrest/Uni Heights

[barnaby33]

Last night, for the second time in a month someone broke a window on my 4Runner to steal from me. A year ago in Nov, my old 4Runner was stolen off of polk street. I have now been the victim of theft twice in a year period. Seems to me that crime is getting really bad in this area.

On TV I keep hearing about lots of assualts as well. I wonder how much of it are symptoms of an economic slowdown, or maybe just less policing because of budget problems. Any ideas from the peanut gallery?
Josh

[blahblahblah]

That’s one reason I sold my condo in that neighborhood. We had a “secure” parking garage and almost all of us had our windows broken in at least once while parked there. We had some tweaker types renting one of the units, and it was a pretty nice building. This was back in 2003-2004.

[Irish]

My friend was recently held up at knifepoint by two young hispanic males last week on 30th Street and Landis. It was around 10pm and she had just enjoyed a fun dinner and desert at Heaven-Sent Deserts. Fortunately she had the presence of mind to swing her (very large) handbag at the guy and scare them off. She was pretty shaken up but happy not to have been cut or robbed.
Josh, you’re right, this neighborhood is not safe. I know about this incident and a string of other home break-ins/robberies in the last few months.
To make matters worse, I hear they have even closed down the Community Police Store-Front on 30th Street. I don’t know why we are seeing this surge in crime right now but a lower police profile is certainly not helpful.

Irish

[ybbor]

The SD-PD has a cool website that will show you all crime in your area… you can even subscribe to get an e-mail that tells you everything that has happened in the past week within like 1 mile from your house.

here is a like to the side

http://apps.sandiego.gov/ewatch/map/scripts/esrimap.dll

-Robby

My Blog
http://rvlife.mrwhipper.com/

[BuyerWillEPB]

I have thoughts like you describe every day as I drive to work. Some fool will cut me off, or act crazy, whatever, and I think to myself “Yep, that guy must’ve lost $100,000 on his house this week.”

It gets me through the day. 🙂

[vcguy_10]

“Fortunately she had the presence of mind to swing her (very large) handbag at the guy (…)”

Irish, I would say “unfortunately”. Your friend was very lucky that she was confronted by novice muggers. Had they been hardened criminals, they would have hurt your friend. I think that no amount of money in your purse is worth an ugly scar, or worse.

[bub]

barnaby33 have no fear.

“Citizens on beat to deter criminals”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20061227-9999-7m27stone.html

Heard about this on Roger’s show yesterday. Will they be called vigilantes like the Minutemen?

(For the soft hearted Libs, that was a rhetorical question.)

[Critter]

I agree with VCGuy. I recently read that it is better to toss the purse or wallet and then run in the opposite direction – most thieves will grab for the booty while you escape with your life.

[PerryChase]

No matter the amount of crime, I certainly would never vote for more police in the City of San Diego. The city is certainly so mismanaged that only a bankruptcy will save our finances. Sorry, but I think that the beast needs to be put on a crash diet. The pension deficit alone is $12k+ per household. Who’s going to foot the bill?

My brother has a business in San Diego and he moved out of the city limits in anticipation of higher taxes and fees.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the link, Robby; very informative.

The good news is that in the depths of the upcoming recession/depression, the libs in Sacramento will give in and allow us to carry concealed weapons, as is done in Texas and many other places. Then, thugs will think twice before trying to rob folks; see “More Guns, Less Crime,” by Professor John Lott for the full story.

Until then, sheeple, be quiet, fall in line, and turn over that purse/wallet/car when ‘asked.’

[barnaby33]

Thats just a fantasy JG and not a particularly helpful one. Afghanistan has more guns per person than anywhere else on the planet and its not safe. I am a gun owner and I don’t believe that line. Guns don’t make people safe, a responsible citizenry does. Guns are just a tool.

Josh

[mixxalot]

The problem is that criminals are not effectively punished in America. That and many gang bangers under 18 who murder are let go with a slap on the wrist.

I think that if the city was able to deal with the endemic corruption and financial mismanagement then more police and other services would be addressed. More cops on street beats walking around these high crime areas would do a lot to intimidate criminals IF real punishment was meted out to these punks.

San Diego has a very bad drug and gang problem that is has not dealth with in an effective manner yet. I would never buy downtown or in Hillcrest/Northpark with the massive amount of gang activity and theft. Same counts for places in North County like Oceanside and Vista.

[Diego Mamani]

Well said, Barnaby. I grew up in a home with guns and I know what you mean. If you have a gun, that’s fine, but are you ready to use it? Some believe that pointing a gun to a bad guy and saying “hands up” is going to work magically as it does on TV. Truth is, before you get to the “S” in “hands up” you may be dead. My point is, if you have a gun, and you intend to use it, then you have to be ready to shoot the mugger before he even knows that you have a gun.

Killing a thug, aside from the traumatic experience that it may be for some, can be very costly (time and money) in legal proceedings. Much easier and cheaper to surrender a few hundred bucks in your purse or wallet; after all, these people are so stupid to begin with, that they will end up in jail, or dead, sooner or later. Think of the money gone as a “random tax” for living in a large metro area… No need to risk your health or life over this.

The above is real life, which of course is different from what we see on TV, or from what some joker with a cowboy complex may tell us in cocktail parties.

[Diego Mamani]

Mixxalot, I’d recommend you take a look at the Freakanomics book. It makes the point that compared to the 1970s, we are doing a better job at jailing criminals, which is one of the reasons cited for the enormous decline in crime rates we saw in the 1990s (another reason is the legalization of induced abortion). Also, if you compare the USA with other industrialized countries, you’ll see that a larger proportion of the population is jailed here.

Unfortunately, there’s a limit to how much crime can be reduced (in a large metro area) without turning our country into a police state. As an example, the Saddam-era Iraq was very safe crime-wise, because the dictator’s cops were in every corner watching everything and everybody. Sure, they had no muggers or rapists, but no freedom either.

[PerryChase]

I agree with you Diego.

I believe the big reason with have crime is the failed war on drugs. 1/2 of the population does drugs but we pretend drungs don’t exist. We should just legalize drugs and prostitution and get them out of criminals’ control. If not, we should start to punish the middle and upper class consumers of drugs rather making half-assed attempts at arresting the petty criminals.

Plus what do you expect when you move into a gentrifying neighboorhood? The poor people who were there to begin with are squeezed even more by the escalating cost of living and turn to petty crime. Poor people don’t just disappear because the yuppies move in.

[Author]

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