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Downtown Crime

bodsbods9090 said:
Lots of reasons why gang members move to suburban areas and outside the City too.

Slow response time by the police (EPS, RCMP, etc.) is one of the main reasons.
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Gang members also live in the suburban areas and have for years. They have not just moved there recently. What happens in a SFH area is not always as noticeable, but I feel slow response time is not just a suburban thing.

Some people have a perception that crime mostly happens downtown or comes from there, but that is very inaccurate. Increased crime in rural areas has been also a huge problem in Alberta in recent years.
 
David A said:
Gang members also live in the suburban areas and have for years. They have not just moved there recently. What happens in a SFH area is not always as noticeable, but I feel slow response time is not just a suburban thing.

Some people have a perception that crime mostly happens downtown or comes from there, but that is very inaccurate. Increased crime in rural areas has been also a huge problem in Alberta in recent years.
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EPS Crime Map from 2023 shows that central areas have the most crimes. So maybe the perception that some people have that crime mostly happens in central neighbourhoods is not "very inaccurate". https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/8e2c6c41933e48a79faa90048d9a459d
 
Whatup said:
EPS Crime Map from 2023 shows that central areas have the most crimes. So maybe the perception that some people have that crime mostly happens in central neighbourhoods is not "very inaccurate". https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/8e2c6c41933e48a79faa90048d9a459d
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If you factor in population density or foot traffic from retail/employment, certain central areas don’t look as bad (theft in Wihkwentowin will always looks high due to density). But yeah, central areas 100% have more crime due to concentration of services and locations of low income housing.
 
thommyjo said:
If you factor in population density or foot traffic from retail/employment, certain central areas don’t look as bad (theft in Wihkwentowin will always looks high due to density). But yeah, central areas 100% have more crime due to concentration of services and locations of low income housing.
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I've also heard the more walkable a neighbourhood is can relate to increased crime but I haven't actually seen any stats.
 
TAS said:
I've also heard the more walkable a neighbourhood is can relate to increased crime but I haven't actually seen any stats.
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There’s some truth to that. Back alleys and efficient grids vs winding, confusing suburb’s definitely helps a shopping cart opportunist.

But I also think some of that is correlation to walkable grid areas being central and suburbs being farther out in most cities. And types of crimes (thefts/break ins vs domestic violence, drug trafficking) are more and less tied to urban design.

Exceptions might be Millwoods has pretty high crime relative to population and density, and isn’t as walkable/grid like. And Forest Heights or glenora are pretty grid like, but lower crime.
 
Whatup said:
EPS Crime Map from 2023 shows that central areas have the most crimes. So maybe the perception that some people have that crime mostly happens in central neighbourhoods is not "very inaccurate". https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/8e2c6c41933e48a79faa90048d9a459d
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The inaccurate perception really is that crime does not happen elsewhere and only downtown and people seem so surprised when it happens in suburban area even though it is not unheard of. I recall it being said often in the past crime in the downtown area was very concentrated in a fairly small area, so really probably most of downtown is actually relatively safe.

I suppose it also matters how you categorize crime, things like broken store front windows are quite visible but you don't have store front windows in an area that is SFHs, but you can have grow ops and meth labs which nobody notices until something happens.
 
thommyjo said:
There’s some truth to that. Back alleys and efficient grids vs winding, confusing suburb’s definitely helps a shopping cart opportunist.

But I also think some of that is correlation to walkable grid areas being central and suburbs being farther out in most cities. And types of crimes (thefts/break ins vs domestic violence, drug trafficking) are more and less tied to urban design.

Exceptions might be Millwoods has pretty high crime relative to population and density, and isn’t as walkable/grid like. And Forest Heights or glenora are pretty grid like, but lower crime.
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I wouldn't say Glenora is that walkable though.

For what it's worth:

Screenshot_20240908_184908_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
TAS said:
I wouldn't say Glenora is that walkable though.

For what it's worth:

View attachment 594876
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Walk scores are about access to amenities and transit and retail.

I believe the context we are speaking to hear is more about the foundational street design. (Grid, alleys, straight streets vs cul de sacs and dead ends and winding).

Crime is “worse” in walkable communities cause it’s easier and efficient to walk down a straight back alley to steal from backyards vs walking in circles around a curvy suburb. Strathcona/Ritchie vs aspen gardens and bulges heights.
 
thommyjo said:
Walk scores are about access to amenities and transit and retail.

I believe the context we are speaking to hear is more about the foundational street design. (Grid, alleys, straight streets vs cul de sacs and dead ends and winding).

Crime is “worse” in walkable communities cause it’s easier and efficient to walk down a straight back alley to steal from backyards vs walking in circles around a curvy suburb. Strathcona/Ritchie vs aspen gardens and bulges heights.
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I was thinking crime is also worse in walkable communities in part because these are places people do have easier access to retail, amenities, public buildings as well as housing.

Yes, in Glenora there is a grid, but there's also fewer targets of crime such retail like convenience stores (the Circle K on Jasper Ave + 113 St just got robbed this morning) and public buildings/amenities.

Much of Glenora is just low density housing.
 
Well that's what you get when you have a judicial industry instead of a justice system...
But before you go all Charles Bronson, maybe the city should start building halfway houses in the neighborhoods where judges live?
And if that doesn't change things, give repeat offenders a one way ticket to Ottawa where the laws are written!
 
You secure the garbage, put additional lighting, add cameras and still have weekly events such as this... and we wonder why folks don't want to live in Downtown these days. This kind of shit MUST change in a very material way before it becomes attractive again and the fact that most seem to not care continues to be upsetting,
image_50437121.JPG
 
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^ that has been almost every day in my alley. The City is actually remarkably fast at cleaning it up albeit not sure if someone is calling 311 on it every morning or what.
 
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