How well do you know where you live?

Miscellaneous
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The area I live in was always safe. You could leave your doors unlocked, you could let your kids play outside all day and never have to worry.
In the last 2 years we’ve had 3 murders, two were drug related one I’m tempted to say is mental health related but I can’t in good conscience say that, yes the guy was disturbed but where do you draw the line between mental health and just plain evil?

Working Security where I do I literally have found myself on the front lines of trying to keep drugs out of my community. The company I work for employs more people than any other in the region.
People that I knew growing up are going to jail for dealing narcotics. In one month I’ve detained a dozen people trying to deal meth, cocaine and heroin out of my place of work.
I didn’t realize how bad it had become here. The real eye opener for me was when envelopes started showing up in the mail addressed to different members of my team (self included) containing death threats and random bodily fluids, presumably contaminated, from different prisons in the state.
I don’t live in a huge area, most people know me, if not in person directly they at least know my name and face.
I realized two nights ago that we’ve only been getting the test dealers. Someone wants to get people positioned in my building so they can expand their drug business.
I never would have thought my area would end up like this. How well do you know where you live?

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I had a conversation last night talking about certain suburbs in my area that I didn’t realize were so bad. Heroin, cocaine, meth - and human trafficking. This is spread out across SE Wisconsin more than I’d realized. We all like to think our area is safe, but I don’t think there is anywhere truly safe from crime.

Stay aware, stay prepared, stay safe!

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I think the only place safe would be living out in the middle of Montana where your neighbors are 50+ miles away and motion detectors setup around the perimeter with cameras. I know where I live is not safe by a long shot with all the drugs, home invasion, car jacking, murders, ect…

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I live in a fairly safe, farm community. Very little violent crime. Usually, violent crime is domestic disputes, without any weapons involved. We have the occasional stabbing over drugs, and almost never a shooting. Petty theft, and low rent meth heads are most of what fills our jails. I guess our most unnerving crimes are those involving sex offenders. In my exact neighborhood, it’s not bad. Having the police department 2 blocks away discourages some of that. I will say, that the 1300 bucks I spent years ago building privacy fence is the best money I’ve ever spent.

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Yes, drugs and crime are everywhere these days. I live in New Jersey. My second apartment that I lived in had a vacant house next door and dealers would stand there all day and sell drugs out of the house and cars would line up down the road like it was a Fast Food Drive Through. No joke! The cops in the town called my neighborhood the Twighlight Zone! So I started working with the detectives and wrote down plate numbers and called in information when I had it. I got tired of living there even though that neighborhood got better so we moved back into what was a very nice town. After living there for a few months I started to realize a pattern with the neighbor next door. They were distributing drugs every month around the first when everyone got their government support check. I started working with the detectives in this town (they called our neighbors the Frequent Fliers - Many arrests). When they finally got enough information on them they busted them finding drugs, cash and guns… RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US!!

Drugs have become such a problem that almost everyone in the US either knows someone who is or has been an addict and/or they have a family member would is or was an addict.

The only way to survive these days is to be prepared.

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Yes why do you think I carry a gun?

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You can never assume that your city is safe. I live in Thousand Oaks, Ca. It was on the top ten safest cities with more than 100,000 people many years in a row. Then we had the Mass shooting at Borderline last year. (safe to say we won’t be on that list this year). Anniversary of the Borderline mass shooting is coming up Nov 7. Both of my boys were at Borderline when it happened. I still get teary eyed when I think about their friends lost and Officer Ron Helus who lost his life saving countless of these young adults. Our community will never be the same. I and my kids will never be the same. I am very blessed to still have my boys and I look at life differently. I am a huge believer in the 2nd amendment. I never thought it would happen here. I never thought it would happen to my family. I will not trust statistics that say "it won’t happen here "

Always carry if you have a license.!!!

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I’m quite familiar with the city overall. We do live in an area now that neither my wife or myself are familiar with. As far as the neighborhood, seems to be cool. I am surprised every 4th of July & New Year’s (sounds like a battlefield).
(I DON’T PARTICIPATE) :innocent:
:v:t5:

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We moved into our house a little over eight years ago. We know our immediate neighbors. Sort of. The turnover in our neighborhood of 52 homes has been such that ours was the 13th home built and we think there may only be one or two other families in the neighborhood who have been here longer than us.

For the larger community, I would say that I know my way around, but I don’t know my community. It’s a shame, really. But it’s be nature of suburban living these days, at least in this part of Florida.

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I know the city I live in now very well. My neighborhood is relatively safe but I moved here from a not so safe place before I retired. I know where not to go and when not to go there.

However I am leaving the state of my birth and heading for Texas. I checked the statistics on our new community but it will take time to learn my way around.

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The little town we live in is a few miles outside the county seat and technically isn’t even a town anymore. The grocery and post office had shut down before we moved here over 30 years ago, and the elementary school closed about 15 years back. The county seat is a vast metropolis of around 20,000 people (including the lawyers).

The majority of crime around here is fairly mundane, mostly drugs and small time trafficking along with the property crimes and domestic violence which always accompanies it. It pays to keep your good stuff locked up, but that seems to be sufficient to keep the thieves away, the locals being more of the “crimes of opportunity” sort rather than career criminals. Assaults, while not rare, are almost always of the domestic violence variety. Shootings, fortunately, are rare, including LEO involved. There are a few neighborhoods in town that are pretty sketchy, but not tremendously violent.

Every once in a while we have what, around here, qualifies as a spectacular crime. Last week there was a high speed chase on the edge of town which ended, as most do around here, with the perp ditching his car (literally) and trying to run for it through a field. That trick never works.

Now, back in the late 80’s we had a spate of serious crime, including some rather grisly murders (turned out to be crazy ex’s and/or drug related) and some serious drug trafficking. There is a major north/south corridor running through our county which, for a time, the bad guys thought was safer than the interstates. Several task forces were formed and proved to be very effective in shutting that down. At least, the bad guys don’t stop here anymore.

I have an app on my phone which accesses the Sheriff’s Department public information site and includes the daily updated arrest and jail intake records. The overwhelming majority of arrests are for DUI, drug possession, failure to appear, failure to pay fines/fees, public intoxication, domestic violence, shoplifting, cold checks, out of county warrants, and the like. looking it over, you’re in far more danger from the people you live with than from strangers.

All in all the region is fairly safe. Staying alert alert can keep you out of 98% of the random dangers. Some lights and loud dogs are usually sufficient protection for home and property unless you are known to have really good stuff for easy resale, in which case some extra measures may be necessary. This is a large part of the reasoning which has kept us here for decades, despite the more limited economic opportunities and some other inconveniences. Quality of life wins out over quantity of life.

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Nowhere is safe. I live in a rural NC community, about 6 miles outside of a sleepy town of 15,000. Two drug dealers were murdered on a road next to my neighborhood last year. Our neighborhood has been “cased” several times. The local methodone clinic 8 miles away can’t keep up with business. We live in a mobile society, one where problems are no longer geographically constrained. We live in a society where responsibility and right versus wrong are no longer taught. That’s why I’m proficient with my weapon. That’s why I carry. My loved ones rely on me.

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A few years ago, I would have said extremely safe. Even though we are a suburb to a major city. Now, not so much. Remember they started that big Rx plan where your medications can be mailed to you. That lasted 2 months, my across street neighbors / friendly neighborhood dealers stole them (thanks GoPro :camera:).

One day out of nowhere, local psychiatric facility lost funding, so all it’s patients are declared " cured" and put out on streets or back with families. That night 2 houses down one of those “cured patients” starts cutting himself and slashes several family members. I can hear all the screaming,sirens , and other crazy ■■■■ going on. So I step outside with pistol, and the nut case is trying to sneak through my bushes.

For me, the madder I get the more monotone my voice gets. I can see butcher knife but he is well and thoroughly stuck in my bushes, so I light him up with light and laser and tell him wrong house, wrong yard. Hit the 911 button and he takes off. Except I am following him from inside the house, he goes around back and he’s trying to climb into my back yard. This time I let my dogs loose on him. They get him spread eagled pretty quick and the police come get him. Yes, I have all of the appropriate signage and warnings posted for both pool and dogs to satisfy both state, city, county and insurance company.

Round of treats for all my good boys and girls. The guy gets collected, says he just wanted to clean up in my pool.

Guess why, he went all lawnmower on his family? They didn’t give him his meds.

That doesn’t take into account the freaking apartment complex that is literally sex offender ground zero and less than 2 miles from my house. 128 of our states greatest rapists, and pedophiles. That’s all that lives in that complex. Yes I know they gotta live somewhere and where they are is about as remote as it’s going to get for our major metropolitan area. But still 2 miles and 128 of them.

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That’s some seriously sobering stuff… very glad they walked away. :flushed: Have they managed to come to terms with it in a useful way?

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@Zee my boys seem to be handling it really well actually. My sons fiancé was there too. I think she struggles a little more.
I never thought it would happen here. Especially at Borderline.
What really gets to me is people who want to use the shooting as an excuse for gun control.

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Glad your boys are handling it @Laura. If it helps, there are folks on here, including me, that are happy to have a conversation with your sons fiance if you ever think it would be useful to her.

And yes, it always makes me angry when the anti-gun politicians rush out to use these tragedies for their own reasons. When the shooting in El Paso happened they were on it within hours… some before even expressing concern for the families and the victims.

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@Zee. Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.

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I joined the USCCA a month after my daughter got caught between 3 random guys started shooting across the street at each other.

I’m retired military if you think it might help I would be glad to help . @zee can even moderate

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Thanks Zavier. Appreciate it and thank you for your service. My dad was 20 year navy.

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I like the method some other countries use. Treat the user, execute the dealers.

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