Is Anywhere Safe Anymore?

[Dustin Chromers]

.

I live in the Northeast and I have some pretty good ideas why our violent and property crimes are low compared to other parts of the country.

I live in a county in SE PA that has a population of 600,000+ people, 500,000 of which (myself included) live in the metropolitan area of our county’s largest city. I’ve lived here for over 50 years (but I have traveled throughout the US and other parts of the world.) I‘ve also spent 20+ summers in SW MT, and my best friend there is a WA resident.

I‘ve never had my home or vehicle broken into, and I’d have to do a lot of thinking to remember anyone that I know personally that lives near me that has either. I also often park my vehicle in rural and semi-urban areas throughout other parts of PA and NY state while fishing, camping, etc. without undue concern about them being broken into.

I can only remember seeing 3 people who were homeless living in my town. They were living in their cars at the time, but never left trash around their cars or on the street. All three were offered shelters to live in. Two accepted, and the other (who had some mental issues) declined. They never robbed or threatened anyone from what I knew. Two of them regularly came into the local YMCA where I was a member, they showered there, and used of the Y’s microwave to cook food.

We do have problems with crime and drugs around here. They’re everywhere. But, we deal with them.

I go to a large local fitness center most mornings where I often see and talk with 3 guys who are in law enforcement. Two of them are PA state police officers and the 3rd guy was a former state policeman who worked in drug enforcement there, and he now heads up the drug enforcement task force that‘s part of the county District Attorney’s office. I believe that anyone who sees and talks to those 3 guys would have the utmost respect for them, as I do. They each have great personalities, they are very physically fit, and are well trained (from what I can tell). We respect and support all of our local law enforcement officers. If they’re not performing up to our community standards, I expect we’d get rid of them.

Several weeks ago, I asked one of those guys what the PA law was regarding pursuit, i.e., when were police officers permitted to chase a speeding vehicle. He said each municipality In PA sets their own policy, but each state police officer can use their own discretion as to whether to pursue or not, depending on the circumstances, the public‘s safety, etc. He told me if he decides to chase a vehicle he’s going to catch it and, knowing him, I believe him. He works the night shift and his territory covers our entire county, and he said he knows every road in our county very well, better than most. I certainly wouldn’t want to try getting away from him.

Last week, our local television station (that covers the entire south central part of PA) showed pictures and talked about a homeless camp in Harrisburg, our state capital. There were a number of people that had been living in tents under a highway overpass. It was an eyesore with trash scattered everywhere, with also lots of rats around It. The city cleaned up, and they showed bulldozers and front end loaders doing the cleanup on TV. They wouldn’t specifically say on TV where the residents of that tent city went, “to protect their privacy”, but I suspect they were offered shelters to live in, or else told to go elsewhere (far away, I suspect).

There are at least 3 or 4 drug and alcohol halfway houses in my neighborhood. During covid, when I wasn’t going to the gym daily, I parked my car near one of these homes most mornings and walked a couple miles on a public trail that passed that house. I always left my car unlocked with the keys under the floor mat, and often saw one or more of the residents of that house who were also outside walking. As far as I know, all of these halfway houses are funded by local private individuals, businesses, and/or churches. I‘m not aware of any that receive government funding.

There always have been and always will be many people that are smarter than me, wealthier than me, and harder working than me, as well as some who are dumber, poorer or lazier than me. Nothing in life is equal, and I reject the thinking that our problems are the result of this inequality. I believe that the lord helps those that help themselves. Many of the wealthiest, smartest, and hardest working people, and corporations that I know are ones who contribute the most time, money, and energy solving our problems.

I believe that any person, or government, that tries to artificially equalize life’s natural inequities (through government taxation or otherwise) will invariably create more inequities and problems. (I will willingly lend a hand to those that truly need and want to use my hand, but don’t try to forcibly take a hand from me. You wouldn't be happy with the consequences. I promise.)

Sounds like Washington a couple decades ago before the coup.

 

[krusty]

I would gladly pay more tax dollars for additional penal institutions if they would get tougher on this rampantly growing crime.

Many years ago I sat on a federal jury involving a defendant with a heavy duty record of serious felony offenses. He'd been arrested after threatening some people, and in his impounded vehicle the police found a handgun loaded with 'cop-killer' Teflon coated body armor piercing cartridges (along with a box of the same ammunition). There was testimony from police officers, ATF, and FBI. After we found him guilty (an obvious no-brainer but we had to spend an entire day convincing two moron jurors that the circumstances of the arrest, witness testimony, and firearm possession were quite irrefutable) of the crime the federal judge came back to the deliberation chamber and congratulated us on a justly rendered verdict since the defendant was a serious menace to society (that was actually the point at which we learned about his previous criminal history, beyond the fact he was a felon found in possession of a firearm...itself a felony).

Imagine my surprise seeing him and his family shopping in the local grocery market about 6 months later. I absolutely know it was him because I spent about two weeks looking at him during the trial, and his attorney had artfully placed his sobbing wife (and small children) not very far from the jury during our group's lunch in a cafeteria.

Don't know why he was out and about instead of prison, where he belonged....but it didn't give me much confidence in the criminal justice system. Very much doubt the situation has since improved.

 

[mark wlker]

I have plenty of confidence, CC and a greater supply of ammunition. USMC 1969-78.
Home protection by "FAAFO" (F#*k around and find out!)

 

[charles sullivan]

I live in the Northeast and I have some pretty good ideas why our violent and property crimes are low compared to other parts of the country.

I live in a county in SE PA that has a population of 600,000+ people, 500,000 of which (myself included) live in the metropolitan area of our county’s largest city. I’ve lived here for over 50 years (but I have traveled throughout the US and other parts of the world.) I‘ve also spent 20+ summers in SW MT, and my best friend there is a WA resident.

I‘ve never had my home or vehicle broken into, and I’d have to do a lot of thinking to remember anyone that I know personally that lives near me that has either. I also often park my vehicle in rural and semi-urban areas throughout other parts of PA and NY state while fishing, camping, etc. without undue concern about them being broken into.

I can only remember seeing 3 people who were homeless living in my town. They were living in their cars at the time, but never left trash around their cars or on the street. All three were offered shelters to live in. Two accepted, and the other (who had some mental issues) declined. They never robbed or threatened anyone from what I knew. Two of them regularly came into the local YMCA where I was a member, they showered there, and used of the Y’s microwave to cook food.

We do have problems with crime and drugs around here. They’re everywhere. But, we deal with them.

I go to a large local fitness center most mornings where I often see and talk with 3 guys who are in law enforcement. Two of them are PA state police officers and the 3rd guy was a former state policeman who worked in drug enforcement there, and he now heads up the drug enforcement task force that‘s part of the county District Attorney’s office. I believe that anyone who sees and talks to those 3 guys would have the utmost respect for them, as I do. They each have great personalities, they are very physically fit, and are well trained (from what I can tell). We respect and support all of our local law enforcement officers. If they’re not performing up to our community standards, I expect we’d get rid of them.

Several weeks ago, I asked one of those guys what the PA law was regarding pursuit, i.e., when were police officers permitted to chase a speeding vehicle. He said each municipality In PA sets their own policy, but each state police officer can use their own discretion as to whether to pursue or not, depending on the circumstances, the public‘s safety, etc. He told me if he decides to chase a vehicle he’s going to catch it and, knowing him, I believe him. He works the night shift and his territory covers our entire county, and he said he knows every road in our county very well, better than most. I certainly wouldn’t want to try getting away from him.

Last week, our local television station (that covers the entire south central part of PA) showed pictures and talked about a homeless camp in Harrisburg, our state capital. There were a number of people that had been living in tents under a highway overpass. It was an eyesore with trash scattered everywhere, with also lots of rats around It. The city cleaned up, and they showed bulldozers and front end loaders doing the cleanup on TV. They wouldn’t specifically say on TV where the residents of that tent city went, “to protect their privacy”, but I suspect they were offered shelters to live in, or else told to go elsewhere (far away, I suspect).

There are at least 3 or 4 drug and alcohol halfway houses in my neighborhood. During covid, when I wasn’t going to the gym daily, I parked my car near one of these homes most mornings and walked a couple miles on a public trail that passed that house. I always left my car unlocked with the keys under the floor mat, and often saw one or more of the residents of that house who were also outside walking. As far as I know, all of these halfway houses are funded by local private individuals, businesses, and/or churches. I‘m not aware of any that receive government funding.

There always have been and always will be many people that are smarter than me, wealthier than me, and harder working than me, as well as some who are dumber, poorer or lazier than me. Nothing in life is equal, and I reject the thinking that our problems are the result of this inequality. I believe that the lord helps those that help themselves. Many of the wealthiest, smartest, and hardest working people, and corporations that I know are ones who contribute the most time, money, and energy solving our problems.

I believe that any person, or government, that tries to artificially equalize life’s natural inequities (through government taxation or otherwise) will invariably create more inequities and problems. (I will willingly lend a hand to those that truly need and want to use my hand, but don’t try to forcibly take a hand from me. You wouldn't be happy with the consequences. I promise.)

Do you feel physically safer in PA than WA?

I have not been in your part of PA in a long time. I have been to New Jersey and to New York, Mass and NH recently, but not greater Bucks county/Philly. I always feel pretty darned safe in NYC. In fact, when I brought my daughter to see a rock and roll show at Radio City we both chuckled at the difference that you see as far as how any homeless behave vs. WA state. Some of those NY "bums" will really hustle.

I find the crime data to be super fascinating. If you look at Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New Jersey and Idaho their stats are so remarkable that they appear to be outliers except that with the exception of Idaho they are pretty close together. PA is actually pretty much the average state when it comes to crime. I think that you could make the case that it is a pretty average state overall, meaning that it is a solid snapshot of America. You have all types there and all sorts of environments. It's a huge state.

In my opinion, the crime rates don't have a lot to do with taxation. I mean if you look at the best 5 they are all over the board when it comes to taxes and social services. NH and Idaho are far different from RI and NJ. They may all share a common set of policies dealing with homeless. I don't know. When I was in NH, the policy was that if you were homeless you either found a place inside or died in the winter. You may be able to say the same when it comes to income inequality. I have never seen income inequality like in New Jersey. They have low crime rates.

If you further dive in and look at violent crime vs. property crime the picture becomes even more odd. WA and OR. have pretty low violent crime rates. We have our shit stolen left and right but don't assault or kill each other. In much of the south that is reversed.

Overall, crime rates are down from the 80's although there has been an uptick recently. Why? Gladwell speaks to it in one of his books. I think that it may have been "Tipping Point" and if I remember correctly he could not really correlate it with much. Why is it that crime is down everywhere over a 30 year span and we speak like it's higher than it has ever been?

I have some ideas regarding all of these things. I believe that they would be hard to prove.

 

[krusty]

As everyone probably knows, NYC once had a very high crime rate (with a bit of an uptick lately). The main factor reducing that historically high crime rate was much better police funding (in the 1970's NYC was completely broke, losing officers in droves, and even tried to pay them with IOUs), officers walking a beat, and precinct brass being held responsible for crime control in their territory.

I wish SpotCrime provided more specifics: there's tons of theft reports, and suspect much of that involves mostly vehicle prowling and package porch piracy. There's some assaults...but how many are domestic violence related versus violent encounters with strangers?

I'm in my 70's and outside of military service (USMC) and travel, have lived in Spokane all my life. It was really never a place where you left your doors unlocked, and there were plenty of assholes about...I knew several people who were murdered, including a beloved old barber that had a shop across the street from our house. Went to a very large public high school that included several students that went onto distinguished criminal careers...and most have been dead for many years due to their poor life choices.

But I remember very little problem with car prowling. There just wasn't much left in vehicles of high value. That began to change with the advent of 8-tracks, CD players, powerful aftermarket sound systems, to the present cornucopia of what can often be found in vehicles....smartphones, guns, laptops...all sorts of pricey stuff.

I'm definitely not blaming the victims...you should be able to safely leave stuff in a vehicle, but you just can't. Dirtbags go where the loot is, whether it's your vehicle, carport, unlocked garage/house, or front porch.

And being criminals they are, like all the dirt bags I've ever known, not big on considering the potential consequences associated with their actions. In fact they tend to be outrageously arrogant and over-confident as they proceed with their shitty lives...wreaking havoc for the rest of us in the meantime.

 

[jaredoconnor]

For every action is a reaction. Make crime hurt and not be profitable and it slows way down

I'm all for the greater Seattle area having a better supported police force. I lived downtown for 3 years and the lack of law and order was mind blowing. However, I doubt that would move the needle on the crimes in question.

Drug addicts are, basically, insane. I think a lot of folks here forget that they are not normal people. You wouldn't expect policing to meaningfully impact the behavior of someone having a psychotic break. Dealing with drug addicts is very similar. Any kind of reactive measure is likely to be expensive and have limited impact. Proactive solutions are far cheaper and more effective.

As everyone probably knows, NYC once had a very high crime rate (with a bit of an uptick lately). The main factor reducing that historically high crime rate was much better police funding (in the 1970's NYC was completely broke, losing officers in droves, and even tried to pay them with IOUs), officers walking a beat, and precinct brass being held responsible for crime control in their territory.

NYC is a special case, due to the population density. The amount of money required to have equivalent policing, in the greater Seattle area, is pretty much a non-starter.

I believe that any person, or government, that tries to artificially equalize life’s natural inequities (through government taxation or otherwise) will invariably create more inequities and problems. (I will willingly lend a hand to those that truly need and want to use my hand, but don’t try to forcibly take a hand from me. You wouldn't be happy with the consequences. I promise.)

Literally every solution requires funding. The problem won't solve itself. One way or another, including greater police funding, a transfer of wealth will occur. That's why it is futile to argue that this issue is about anything other than wealth inequality.

 

[Shad]

Crime Check did respond yesterday morning. I spoke with a nice lady that emailed me a link to file a report.
Just one hitch though...you have to have and pay for Microsoft Word, which I don't need, to open the link.

Ask them to send you a PDF copy (or try saving the file they sent you as a PDF if you can).

 

[cdnred]

Sorry again @Old406Kid, for your experience. The police and the judicial system has gone to CRAP. Even should they get convicted, it will only amount to slap on the wrist. Victims don't receive any justice any longer. Read the article below as a prime example of the direction this country is headed..

Anger as teens who battered Fox weatherman are let go without charges

Three teenagers who beat Fox News weatherman Adam Klotz have been released without charges. The handling of the New York subway attack on Sunday morning has attracted criticism.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I had bought a home in Canada 2 years ago that only had a side drive. Parking my car outside, it was broken into and rifled for what they could get. Everyone in the neighborhood knows who's doing this yet the police don't do a thing. Last spring I had a 24' x 24' double car garage built to park my car inside. I had motion activated lights install at both doors. Just before Christmas, my wife gets up to get ready for work and noticed that the motion lights were on. She turned the porch light on to see someone getting into their car at the end of our driveway, I never could sleep after that. A couple of weeks ago I had a 4 camera security system installed on the house directed towards the garage. I sleep somewhat better since that was installed but I still have the feeling that my life has been violated. That feeling is the hard part that will remain with me a long time to come..

I don't feel the police do anything anymore then just write reports. It would be cheaper to just hire stenographers then police. Last summer I went several times to see our family doctor and I noticed a police car pull into the business across the street from my doctor's office. He drove to the very back of the property and just parked there so he wouldn't be disturbed when he took his nap. I sent an email to the mayor about this but they just ignore it. Crime is getting out of control nation wide and it seems no one will take any responsibility for it, just brush it aside..

 

[Dustin Chromers]

I'm all for the greater Seattle area having a better supported police force. I lived downtown for 3 years and the lack of law and order was mind blowing. However, I doubt that would move the needle on the crimes in question.

Drug addicts are, basically, insane. I think a lot of folks here forget that they are not normal people. You wouldn't expect policing to meaningfully impact the behavior of someone having a psychotic break. Dealing with drug addicts is very similar. Any kind of reactive measure is likely to be expensive and have limited impact. Proactive solutions are far cheaper and more effective.



NYC is a special case, due to the population density. The amount of money required to have equivalent policing, in the greater Seattle area, is pretty much a non-starter.



Literally every solution requires funding. The problem won't solve itself. One way or another, including greater police funding, a transfer of wealth will occur. That's why it is futile to argue that this issue is about anything other than wealth inequality.

I grew up poor in an inequitable situation. I don't recall stealing a single thing in my life. I know others that are in the same boat. Yet I know rich kids and poor kids that are drug addicted thieves of the lowest order. How is it about inequity? And really at the end of the day who cares? I only care about the stealing. I don't care about the complex interpersonal lifetime movie drama that got a person there. Let's not make accountability a fifties concept.

 

[krusty]

I have plenty of confidence, CC and a greater supply of ammunition. USMC 1969-78.
Home protection by "FAAFO" (F#*k around and find out!)

While I fully agree with your sentiment, shooting some dirtbag for theft will result in serious legal harm to yourself (at a very minimum defending yourself against a civil suit lodged against you by his surviving family for the loss of this illustrious citizen's company).

In short, you have much more to lose than the dirtbag.

Semper Fi, Bro!

 

[Old406Kid]

Sorry but this 'inequity thing' has been blown way out of proportion.
When a person starts out in T Ball equal playing time is great but goes to the wayside when they advance to high school, etc.
Life should be the same...you get out of it what you put into it.

 

[krusty]

Sorry but this 'inequality thing' has been blown way out of proportion.
When a person starts out in T Ball equal playing time is great but goes to the wayside when they advance to high school, etc.
Life should be the same...you get out of it what you put into it.

Anecdotal, but I've known a very decent neighborhood family for 30 years. One kid turned out to be a solid citizen, and the other a complete shitbag. In and out of jail and prison, constantly in court for domestic violence, and non-payment of child support for several women. And he sincerely thinks his very successful law-abiding brother is the stupid one.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

Anecdotal, but I've known a very decent neighborhood family for 30 years. One kid turned out to be a solid citizen, and the other a complete shitbag. In and out of jail and prison, constantly in court for domestic violence, and non-payment of child support for several women. And he sincerely thinks his very successful law-abiding brother is the stupid one.

My drug addict lowlife former friend thinks he's the smartest guy in the room whatever room he's in. Just ask him and he'll tell you. Talk about a life squandered. He is a smart guy but now a lowlife thief. He's always feeling sorry for himself and citing inequity as the real root of his problems.

 

[MT_Flyfisher]

Do you feel physically safer in PA than WA?

I have not been in your part of PA in a long time. I have been to New Jersey and to New York, Mass and NH recently, but not greater Bucks county/Philly. I always feel pretty darned safe in NYC. In fact, when I brought my daughter to see a rock and roll show at Radio City we both chuckled at the difference that you see as far as how any homeless behave vs. WA state. Some of those NY "bums" will really hustle.

I find the crime data to be super fascinating. If you look at Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New Jersey and Idaho their stats are so remarkable that they appear to be outliers except that with the exception of Idaho they are pretty close together. PA is actually pretty much the average state when it comes to crime. I think that you could make the case that it is a pretty average state overall, meaning that it is a solid snapshot of America. You have all types there and all sorts of environments. It's a huge state.

In my opinion, the crime rates don't have a lot to do with taxation. I mean if you look at the best 5 they are all over the board when it comes to taxes and social services. NH and Idaho are far different from RI and NJ. They may all share a common set of policies dealing with homeless. I don't know. When I was in NH, the policy was that if you were homeless you either found a place inside or died in the winter. You may be able to say the same when it comes to income inequality. I have never seen income inequality like in New Jersey. They have low crime rates.

If you further dive in and look at violent crime vs. property crime the picture becomes even more odd. WA and OR. have pretty low violent crime rates. We have our shit stolen left and right but don't assault or kill each other. In much of the south that is reversed.

Overall, crime rates are down from the 80's although there has been an uptick recently. Why? Gladwell speaks to it in one of his books. I think that it may have been "Tipping Point" and if I remember correctly he could not really correlate it with much. Why is it that crime is down everywhere over a 30 year span and we speak like it's higher than it has ever been?

I have some ideas regarding all of these things. I believe that they would be hard to prove.

I can’t say if I feel safer in PA than in WA since I haven’t been in WA for the past 15-20 years or so. Before then, I spent quite a bit of time working, traveling, camping and fishing in a number of places in WA, OR, BC, etc. and never remember feeling unsafe. I‘ve never felt unsafe in PA. I do, however, try to be alert and aware of my surroundings, no matter where I’m at, and steer clear of places that might look troublesome.

I live in Lancaster County, PA, an area that is known as having a relatively low crime rate, especially when compared to the Philadelphia metropolitan area which is 60 miles southeast of where I live, or other counties and cities north, northeast or west of us, which is probably why the PA crime stats overall that you’re seeing are closer to the national averages. We also get a lot of people who move to this area to work or retire because of our lower crime rates, which is just fine with me.

Before I retired I used to spend quite a lot of time in NYC, and in NJ, just across the George Washington Bridge from NYC, and often drove there from my home in PA right into the heart of downtown Manhattan, parked the car, and went to our corporate offices on 5th Ave. You understood there was crime all over the city, but I never felt unsafe when I was there (except when riding with a New York taxi driver a time or two. )

Of course I once had a meeting in NYC with our company President and CEO and he told me to let him know if anyone ever gave me any problems to let him know. “I’ll kill them”, he said. To this day, I’m unsure if he meant it literally, or he simply meant he’d handle the problem for me. But you can’t be entirely sure exactly what he meant, because some New Yorker’s have a pretty direct way of handling crime and related issues. (Or so I’m told. )

 

[JayB]

Completely share in all of the resentment, despair, and frustration these sorts of threads bring out. Perhaps particularly so having come of age during the previous peak of crime, violence, and murder and savored the decline of all of the above that persisted through most of my early adulthood, and knowing that the permissive approach to encampments on public land is of relatively recent vintage.

Having said that - I don't know that closely following the increasing crime, disorder, and blight that's consuming and degrading most of the places I care about has done much other than raise my baseline cortisol level, and I'm increasingly convinced that the only thing that'll turn it around is a profound, widespread cultural shift in favor of an approach law enforcement like the one that materialized in the 90's. When and if that ever happens is obviously something that completely out of my control, and I'm not optimistic that if such a change ever does occur, that it'll do so in my lifetime. Even such a shift happened on a nationwide basis in the 20-and-change years that I can reasonably conclude I've got left, the odds of anything of the kind happening in WA/OR/CA while I'm still alive are especially remote.

The net result is that I'll use the limited tools that I have at my disposal to try to reduce the probability that my family is victimized by violence, take the reasonable precautions that are available to minimize the amount of property that gets stolen, and purchase enough insurance to minimize the financial impact that theft has on us - and otherwise focus on enjoying the many blessings that come along with living in an area that's the envy of the world in many regards.

 

[Zak]

When I used to fish streams in rural New mexico, the protocol was to leave a six-pack of beer easily accessible in the bed of the truck or on the hood. A "locals tax" if you will. Only once was the six-pack gone when I returned, but I never got broken into. That was 20+ years ago, though, and times have probably changed.

 

[charles sullivan]

As everyone probably knows, NYC once had a very high crime rate (with a bit of an uptick lately). The main factor reducing that historically high crime rate was much better police funding (in the 1970's NYC was completely broke, losing officers in droves, and even tried to pay them with IOUs), officers walking a beat, and precinct brass being held responsible for crime control in their territory.

I wish SpotCrime provided more specifics: there's tons of theft reports, and suspect much of that involves mostly vehicle prowling and package porch piracy. There's some assaults...but how many are domestic violence related versus violent encounters with strangers?

I'm in my 70's and outside of military service (USMC) and travel, have lived in Spokane all my life. It was really never a place where you left your doors unlocked, and there were plenty of assholes about...I knew several people who were murdered, including a beloved old barber that had a shop across the street from our house. Went to a very large public high school that included several students that went onto distinguished criminal careers...and most have been dead for many years due to their poor life choices.

But I remember very little problem with car prowling. There just wasn't much left in vehicles of high value. That began to change with the advent of 8-tracks, CD players, powerful aftermarket sound systems, to the present cornucopia of what can often be found in vehicles....smartphones, guns, laptops...all sorts of pricey stuff.

I'm definitely not blaming the victims...you should be able to safely leave stuff in a vehicle, but you just can't. Dirtbags go where the loot is, whether it's your vehicle, carport, unlocked garage/house, or front porch.

And being criminals they are, like all the dirt bags I've ever known, not big on considering the potential consequences associated with their actions. In fact they tend to be outrageously arrogant and over-confident as they proceed with their shitty lives...wreaking havoc for the rest of us in the meantime.

I don't think that it's an easy case to make that increased police funding led to a decrease in crime in NYC. Crime rates are down everywhere since the 70's. NY is no exception.

There seems to be so much more to the story of crime than the simple "It's what we allow" framework. I think that a lot of it really comes down to the extent that people in an area feel connected to each other and the community. I may be in the minority here but I don't really think that an increase in policing would reduce violent crime at all. In fact, the opposite may actually be more probable. Harsher sentences seem to be even more counter to decreased violent crime from what I have seen.

Property crimes are a completely different story. I do see a scenario where decreases in policing can and do allow for an increase in property crimes. I still think that there are other factors at play but certainly policing could help reduce property crimes.

We also mix up homelessness and theft. They are related but not always. I have had a few things jacked at my home. I have no doubt that the thieves were likely to be addicts. I can tell you though that they were unlikely to be homeless. I saw one thief and I have seen others on neighbors cameras etc. At least in my neighborhood, the thieves that I have seen appeared to be far to clean and well dressed to be homeless. They clearly weren't sleeping outside. One person who smashed my cars steering column and a neighbors house with a cinder block looked downright well off.

We all hate getting stuff stolen. I have had everything from a weedwhacker to a car stolen in places urban and rural, in the Eastern US and on the West Coast. I am fairly certain that my dog was stabbed this year protecting my property. That was some good work from an otherwise mediocre dog! I would love to have better answers. I often think that our entrenched feelings of moral superiority regarding all these issues keep us from really looking at things that will affect change. If we took the morality and emotional aspect out what would the discussion look like?

 

[Merle]

Problem number one facing this entire region is the opioid crisis.

Building more housing for addicts who don't want to move into housing is not the answer.

Absolutely. Any effective problem solving activity requires identifying the ROOT cause. While countermeasures (e.g. building tiny houses) may be appropriate or helpful in some cases, they are NOT solving the underlying problem.

 

[jaredoconnor]

Low-barrier tiny homes were the most moronic idea so far. I lived across the road from the first project. It took 3 years for them to realize how much of an epic failure it was. I recall a former addict going on Kiro and saying it was a stupid idea, from the get-go.

I'm all for tiny homes that come with conditions, though. They actually work and are much cheaper than many of the alternatives.

 

[Old Man]

I moved to Montana about 15, 16 years ago. I park my P/U in front of where I live. When I actually go fishing I rig up the fly rods to use. I leave my gear in my P/U for the summer. I feel safe here in Butte. Same thing when I lived in Dillon. Where I would stop and fish skinny water I would leave my P/U unlocked. I still don't even lock up my residence when I go shopping., Everything is not bothered. I have 3 dogs the will protect my house when I am not home. The 2 small dogs will attack your ankles but the bigger dog will eat your nuts.

I don't know what or how bad it is here in Montana for crime. But it has never hit me.

When I lived in Washington State I never felt safe. I always used to leave my vehicle unlocked, Go fishing and wander back to my vehicle several hours later, with everything still attached in my rig. But after they stole my stuff I started to lock t up.