Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things are far worse now in urban areas across America than they were in 2005, which was probably the high water mark of urban revitalization. Progressive policies without any check from republicans in cities and places like MoCo have led to soaring taxes to fund pensions, reduced services, and tolerance of and embrace of bad behavior. The whole “victimless crime” decriminalization of marijuana has been the latest thing that blows my mind. In the late 90s you couldn’t go out to a bar without smelling like an ashtray. We applauded when smoking bans were passed. Now we are assaulted by marijuana smoke outside, everywhere, and no one bats an eye. Young men are unemployed and shiftless—but again, we are told that it’s due to structural something or something. At some point, the tide will turn back towards sanity, but there are still enough clueless progressive voters to keep writing blank checks to liberal municipalities. When Chicago finally goes bankrupt (hard to fund a $45k pp debt with 8% interest rates) maybe some rationality will return.

You can't smoke weed in restaurants. Dumb comparison.

Legalizing weed and banning smoking indoors is not apples to apples.

Would you rather smell weed or cigarettes? I'll take weed 10 out of 10 times. Plus, I don't mind if people are walking around stoned. Who cares..they are relaxed. Not a bother what so ever. Way better than the crack epidemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been here since the late 70s. Nature and location of the crimes has changed. 80s crime was more violent and contained in areas where drug turf wars were happening. So really bad if you lived in those areas. No real issues if you didn’t. Now it is becoming increasingly violent again, but can and does happen anywhere anytime.

+1

What in earth are you talking about? What violent crime? Assaults are down across the region.

Violent crime up 39% in DC - https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance

Fairfax County crime statistics - https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/sites/police/files/assets/images/helpfulinfo/crime%20in%20our%20county/crime%20statistics/fcpd%202022%20group%20a%20offenses.pdf

Perhaps in your gated community all is well.

Your DC link is not describing what you think it does. That is preliminary data and measuring YTD rather than year end totals. If you look at the year end total for violent crime in 2022 you will see 3,830 and we are only at 3,585 in 2023 so you are throwing around misleading statistics. Crime is on track for being worse this year compared to last years historic low. Yes there is a problem but you are blowing it way out proportion.

Huh? You always compare YTD data mid year. Jan-August v Jan-August. Makes zero sense to compare Jan-Aug with Jan-December.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there was more acts of crime in DC in the 80s and 90s. However, the difference between then and now is that many more areas of the city and the suburbs are less safe.

You're joking, right? There is no way you were here in the 80s and 90s if you actually believe that.

Literally the entire city east of Rock Creek Park is significantly safer now. Columbia Heights, Petworth, Brightwood, Fort Totten, Brookland, Hill East, Logan Circle, Shaw, Bloomingdale, Edgewood, Eckington, NoMa, (which absolutely wasn't called NoMa) Trinidad, H St., Michigan Park, Ivy City were all wastelands full of boarded up and burned out houses, open air drug markets, lacking any sort of retail or restaurants that didn't serve you through bulletproof glass. There is literally no comparison between now and then.

Meanwhile none of the neighborhoods that were safe back then are less safe in any meaningful way.

To say that any of the city and suburbs, much less "many more areas" are less safe than the 80s and 90s is patently and laughably absurd. To write that you would have to have absolutely zero knowledge or awareness of what the area was like back then.

Ok. I’ll try to be more specific. Criminals now come to Upper NW to rob and attack. That never used to happen with such regularity. They also now hang out in Arlington and other close-in burbs. This is all new, since 2020, I think.

There have been 93 robberies and 58 assaults in 2D (WOTP) this year to date. There are around 175,000 residents in that same area. Do you not understand how incredibly insignificant that is?

Even if there were 0 robberies and assaults in the 80s and 90s (there definitely weren't) the increase in your actual chances of being robbed would be so miniscule as to not even be worth thinking about.

Stop being hysterical, you're working yourself into a frenzy for absolutely no benefit. You were safe back then, you're safe now.

Murder rates up and carjacking up by 100+ percent, but their victims take solace knowing it was worse 30 years ago.

Oh no, 100%! That's a big number!

You know what's not a big number? The actual numbers of murders and carjackings compared to the amount of people in the city, and your chances of being one of those victims.

Wow, an extra 100 people a year got killed, almost entirely gangbangers with long criminal records and mostly EOTR where DCUMers have never even set foot. Real scary stuff for those stay at home moms in the Palisades who "don't feel safe anymore" despite the chances of being one of those victims going from approximately 0% to approximately 0%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there was more acts of crime in DC in the 80s and 90s. However, the difference between then and now is that many more areas of the city and the suburbs are less safe.

You're joking, right? There is no way you were here in the 80s and 90s if you actually believe that.

Literally the entire city east of Rock Creek Park is significantly safer now. Columbia Heights, Petworth, Brightwood, Fort Totten, Brookland, Hill East, Logan Circle, Shaw, Bloomingdale, Edgewood, Eckington, NoMa, (which absolutely wasn't called NoMa) Trinidad, H St., Michigan Park, Ivy City were all wastelands full of boarded up and burned out houses, open air drug markets, lacking any sort of retail or restaurants that didn't serve you through bulletproof glass. There is literally no comparison between now and then.

Meanwhile none of the neighborhoods that were safe back then are less safe in any meaningful way.

To say that any of the city and suburbs, much less "many more areas" are less safe than the 80s and 90s is patently and laughably absurd. To write that you would have to have absolutely zero knowledge or awareness of what the area was like back then.

Ok. I’ll try to be more specific. Criminals now come to Upper NW to rob and attack. That never used to happen with such regularity. They also now hang out in Arlington and other close-in burbs. This is all new, since 2020, I think.

There have been 93 robberies and 58 assaults in 2D (WOTP) this year to date. There are around 175,000 residents in that same area. Do you not understand how incredibly insignificant that is?

Even if there were 0 robberies and assaults in the 80s and 90s (there definitely weren't) the increase in your actual chances of being robbed would be so miniscule as to not even be worth thinking about.

Stop being hysterical, you're working yourself into a frenzy for absolutely no benefit. You were safe back then, you're safe now.

Murder rates up and carjacking up by 100+ percent, but their victims take solace knowing it was worse 30 years ago.

Oh no, 100%! That's a big number!

You know what's not a big number? The actual numbers of murders and carjackings compared to the amount of people in the city, and your chances of being one of those victims.

Wow, an extra 100 people a year got killed, almost entirely gangbangers with long criminal records and mostly EOTR where DCUMers have never even set foot. Real scary stuff for those stay at home moms in the Palisades who "don't feel safe anymore" despite the chances of being one of those victims going from approximately 0% to approximately 0%.

You are so out of touch with those of us who live in those neighborhoods and have experienced the murders, carjackings and break ins. I don't know what you think you're accomplishing but downplaying what we deal with.

[Anonymous]

I’m 48 and grew up in Moco but live in Arlington now. When I was in HS, we called shady grove shaky grave so I think it must’ve been bad back then too. I didn’t come to Arlington too much before I moved here, but I used to think it was kind of run down. I think it’s much much better than it was in the 1990s, and North Arlington is now comparable to Bethesda. Bethesda and Chevy chase and Kensington are the same (except that Einstein’s demographics have changed, but still working class/lower middle class). Silver spring is worse and the rest of the county has always been dumpy with the exception of Potomac. It used to be new money, now it’s just cheaper than Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

[Anonymous]

Here's another example:

https://wtop.com/dc/2023/08/dc-man-walking-dog-videos-frightening-carjacking-involving-golf-club/

[Anonymous]

We feel unsafe. I have never felt unsafe since moving here in 2007. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

For those that don’t believe crime has increased, I wonder if you have spent much time in the downtown area recently. I’m no NIMBY. I’ve been living within a block of several homeless shelters for 20 years. And we can debate whether it was worse 20 years ago when this was all empty lots and construction sites, but I have seen nothing like this since 2005 at the latest. It is terrifying. And the police won’t even accept crime reports. The numbers are fully skewed.

[Anonymous]

Stuff like this didn’t use the happen in Rockville. Kids would get killed driving drunk but there wouldn’t be stabbings https://www.fox5dc.com/news/teen-stabbed-several-times-after-multiple-juveniles-involved-fight-in-rockville.amp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's another example:

https://wtop.com/dc/2023/08/dc-man-walking-dog-videos-frightening-carjacking-involving-golf-club/

Motor vehicle thefts up 114% with violence all too common. Downplaying this makes sure the victims of crimes do not matter to those safely tucked away in upper NW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there was more acts of crime in DC in the 80s and 90s. However, the difference between then and now is that many more areas of the city and the suburbs are less safe.

You're joking, right? There is no way you were here in the 80s and 90s if you actually believe that.

Literally the entire city east of Rock Creek Park is significantly safer now. Columbia Heights, Petworth, Brightwood, Fort Totten, Brookland, Hill East, Logan Circle, Shaw, Bloomingdale, Edgewood, Eckington, NoMa, (which absolutely wasn't called NoMa) Trinidad, H St., Michigan Park, Ivy City were all wastelands full of boarded up and burned out houses, open air drug markets, lacking any sort of retail or restaurants that didn't serve you through bulletproof glass. There is literally no comparison between now and then.

Meanwhile none of the neighborhoods that were safe back then are less safe in any meaningful way.

To say that any of the city and suburbs, much less "many more areas" are less safe than the 80s and 90s is patently and laughably absurd. To write that you would have to have absolutely zero knowledge or awareness of what the area was like back then.

Ok. I’ll try to be more specific. Criminals now come to Upper NW to rob and attack. That never used to happen with such regularity. They also now hang out in Arlington and other close-in burbs. This is all new, since 2020, I think.

There have been 93 robberies and 58 assaults in 2D (WOTP) this year to date. There are around 175,000 residents in that same area. Do you not understand how incredibly insignificant that is?

Even if there were 0 robberies and assaults in the 80s and 90s (there definitely weren't) the increase in your actual chances of being robbed would be so miniscule as to not even be worth thinking about.

Stop being hysterical, you're working yourself into a frenzy for absolutely no benefit. You were safe back then, you're safe now.

Murder rates up and carjacking up by 100+ percent, but their victims take solace knowing it was worse 30 years ago.

Oh no, 100%! That's a big number!

You know what's not a big number? The actual numbers of murders and carjackings compared to the amount of people in the city, and your chances of being one of those victims.

Wow, an extra 100 people a year got killed, almost entirely gangbangers with long criminal records and mostly EOTR where DCUMers have never even set foot. Real scary stuff for those stay at home moms in the Palisades who "don't feel safe anymore" despite the chances of being one of those victims going from approximately 0% to approximately 0%.

That's funny. Because libs like you will cite murder rates in red cities that are much smaller as evidence 'crime is bad everywhere!', yet when DC's crime rates and relative increases in crime suck, now you go back to cherry picking absolute numbers. Can't have it both ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 48 and grew up in Moco but live in Arlington now. When I was in HS, we called shady grove shaky grave so I think it must’ve been bad back then too. I didn’t come to Arlington too much before I moved here, but I used to think it was kind of run down. I think it’s much much better than it was in the 1990s, and North Arlington is now comparable to Bethesda. Bethesda and Chevy chase and Kensington are the same (except that Einstein’s demographics have changed, but still working class/lower middle class). Silver spring is worse and the rest of the county has always been dumpy with the exception of Potomac. It used to be new money, now it’s just cheaper than Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

I grew up around shady grove metro. It opened when I was 8. There were concerns metro woyld being crime but then there wasn’t anything near the station but now there are condos and apartments and you got vagrants now trying to rape people like at the Daley. There was once a rape near the red mill center but other than that and the homocide at jj muldouns there wasn’t much crime in the shady grove area other than drunk driving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been here since the late 70s. Nature and location of the crimes has changed. 80s crime was more violent and contained in areas where drug turf wars were happening. So really bad if you lived in those areas. No real issues if you didn’t. Now it is becoming increasingly violent again, but can and does happen anywhere anytime.

+1

What in earth are you talking about? What violent crime? Assaults are down across the region.

Violent crime up 39% in DC - https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance

Fairfax County crime statistics - https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/sites/police/files/assets/images/helpfulinfo/crime%20in%20our%20county/crime%20statistics/fcpd%202022%20group%20a%20offenses.pdf

Perhaps in your gated community all is well.

Your DC link is not describing what you think it does. That is preliminary data and measuring YTD rather than year end totals. If you look at the year end total for violent crime in 2022 you will see 3,830 and we are only at 3,585 in 2023 so you are throwing around misleading statistics. Crime is on track for being worse this year compared to last years historic low. Yes there is a problem but you are blowing it way out proportion.

Not really blowing it out of proportion, crime in DC and its suburbs is getting worse. Police outmanned and not effectively recording crime.

Glad you feel safe. Personally spend as little time as possible in DC, so do many others. Afraid no, just see no need to visit the east coast version of San Francisco.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are far worse now in urban areas across America than they were in 2005, which was probably the high water mark of urban revitalization. Progressive policies without any check from republicans in cities and places like MoCo have led to soaring taxes to fund pensions, reduced services, and tolerance of and embrace of bad behavior. The whole “victimless crime” decriminalization of marijuana has been the latest thing that blows my mind. In the late 90s you couldn’t go out to a bar without smelling like an ashtray. We applauded when smoking bans were passed. Now we are assaulted by marijuana smoke outside, everywhere, and no one bats an eye. Young men are unemployed and shiftless—but again, we are told that it’s due to structural something or something. At some point, the tide will turn back towards sanity, but there are still enough clueless progressive voters to keep writing blank checks to liberal municipalities. When Chicago finally goes bankrupt (hard to fund a $45k pp debt with 8% interest rates) maybe some rationality will return.

You can't smoke weed in restaurants. Dumb comparison.

Legalizing weed and banning smoking indoors is not apples to apples.

Would you rather smell weed or cigarettes? I'll take weed 10 out of 10 times. Plus, I don't mind if people are walking around stoned. Who cares..they are relaxed. Not a bother what so ever. Way better than the crack epidemic.

I'd take cigarettes. Or neither, how about that? It's called "politeness"

[Anonymous]

What is the thing where people who have made a bad choice do anything to defend it to make themselves feel better? Lots of that going on here. We all live in urban areas; some of us acknowledge the issues and want to fix them. The ones that continually say “weed is great, shoplifting NBD, who needs tires, crime is actually down,” etc etc are just prolonging the problem. You can love the city and want it to be safe and livable. Go to Copenhagen; it’s got both. Stop apologizing for the stuff that’s making DC suck.