Just bar your windows and use airhorns

Well. Now that you posted this story I am rethinking all the data collected by the FBI over the last 33 years. I mean, who can dispute an anecdote?

 

Don't think anyone called it an illusion, but maybe someone did. It does depend on the framework & crime, e.g. per the article, Oakland saw a 14% drop in homicides last year, but a 41% increase in burglaries & 20% increase in robberies. But current rates are nearly half of what they were in the 1990s in Oakland and around the country.

 

According to this report below, most crime rates are down through June 2023 but with motor vehicle theft spiking dramatically. Doesn't mean the overall number is acceptable, but seemingly it has gone down. Of course, there are always going to be pockets (Oakland, in this thread) where there is a crime spree spiking, especially in lower income neighborhoods with significant income inequality and a large dose of hopelessness.

Ironically and anecdotally, one of my beach neighbors (from Memphis) just told me an hour ago how bad car theft is in Memphis today, centered around suburban office parks with no gates, decks, or fences. Just a wide open surface lot from which thieves can select which car to steal and get in and out quickly with no barriers to stop them.

Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2023 Update - Council on Criminal Justice

 

I was just picking at your conclusion that crime is historically rampant…or however you want to characterize crime today. It’s historically low regardless of anecdotes. Maybe use less sweeping hyperbole?

 

It is interesting crime rates are crashing so much with legal firearm purchases surging at the same time.

 

There isn't a specific-murderer look but that dude looks like he'd be one.


mass shootings also skyrocketing. Weird how these things move.

 

What's 1 + 1?

 

The media is irresponsible when it comes to crime reporting. They often uncritically report whatever police are telling them. And police obviously have an incentive to stoke fear.

 

To put it nicely Oakland is hell on earth

 

Yes.

 

I'm just waiting for the next thread on "How peaceful and crime-free Xtypical neighborhood is." That story will spark a compelling dialogue! We can then argue about whose neighborhood has the fewest break-ins and all of the progressive 21st C advances resulting in safer 'hoods. In summary, Thanks Biden!

 

There are other choices. Perhaps Oakland is having a little boom in crime which is out of the norm. There is data out there.

 

When I lived in Oakland decades ago, if you lived in an apartment with only one entrance, you could not bar every window. You had to have a second egress in case of fire.

 

ding ding ding