Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 11:01     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
In the 90s, DC was super cheap. Now the quality of life - safety and basic city services like 911 answering and sending help to correct address is worse and prices are very high.

I don't see downtown rebounding despite all the rhetoric.

Metro was safe in the 90s, now there are shootings and stabbings in stations during rush hour.

I'm not sure I believe in gentrification anymore. Seeing the upward arc of areas like U/Shaw, Chinatown and Columbia Heights and now the backsliding and increasing violence, it's both concerning and quite sad.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:56     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:In the early 90s, things were kind of predictable. SE, east of 14th, Shaw, Logan Circle, Malcolm X Park were basically no go zones. But NW was always very safe. And then for twenty years everything improved. Almost all of DC was accessible and interesting.

But something snapped in the past five years. Our murder rate has doubled. Carjackings are out of control. The police don't even respond to most robberies. Our real crime rate is a lot higher than official statistics. And it seems to happen everywhere. It's unpredictable.

A lot of the violent crime seems to be driven by teenage boys. Back in the day it was crack and gangs. There was at least a logic to it. Now it seems like anarchy. It feels less safe now than before.


Increasingly teen girls too.

Crime is far more random now, at all times of day, in front of witnesses, near LE. The 67% no paper rate in DC began ticking up in 2017 and has increased under 3 different presidential administrations/appointees. Outlier in the entire country. Consequences are far less certain and crime has soared in every category.

The Council has weakened so many laws that juveniles feel they have impunity. Sadly, more and more of them are ending up shot or dead, 2 teens died last night, just in DC. A generation of kids was out of school for years and now has high truancy rates and is spending formative years preying on people and acting as foot soldiers for criminal enterprises, boosting cases of Tide just after delivery to CVS. In videos, some kids have visible ankle monitors. Kids attacking people with clubs in broad daylight or holding guns to people in broad daylight to steal dogs. What future do these kids have?

In the 90s, normies were not as likely to encounter crime west of 14th during the day, now parents with kids are carjacked, there can be a flash mob in CVS, etc. The manager of my local CVS had his jaw broken by a thief. In the 90s the tax base was somewhat insulated from crime, now literally thousands of people likely to have mental illness, SA disorders, histories or incarceration and antisocial behaviors are literally being moved in and dispersed in those areas, with tax dollars. Visible drug dealing has greatly increased.

So much for the "Emergency" crime bill putting a floor in the situation. In the past, didn't Tony Williams call the Council back from their extensive summer holiday to address crime? Bowser is mired in scandals re: her staff and the huge and life threatening (people and dogs) issues at 911 and has gone pretty silent re: crime. Her MPD chief pick is weak and inexperienced.

In the 90s there were "rules' to crime, now it is random and driven through the entire region with the stolen/jacked cars, no enforcement re: tags, license plate blockers, etc. MoCo wants to ban almost all traffic stops. Despite the examples of Portland, SF, etc and some pull back in those places, the DMV seems to have their foot on the gas.

In another difference, in the 90s, moving to NoVA or MC was much safer, now they are becoming increasingly unsafe as well with shootings and carjackings in N. Arlington at early hours. Despite all the issues with RJ in DC, MoCo and elsewhere, Arlington is just rolling it out now. Doesn't seem like there will be a course correction anytime soon.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:27     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:50 shots fired in Shaw last night and two women dead.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/02/shooting-shaw-dc/


The teen girl has also died. A teen boy was also shot to death overnight.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:26     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:“Things in DC were definitely worse in the early 90s. That said post-pandemic the social fabric is fraying a bit.“

Not true. I’ve lived in DC since ‘91. There are more areas in the city that have become gentrified and not as sketchy. But the areas of the city that used to be safe are now now full of sketchy drug addled homeless. Much worse than ever.


3,000 of 5,000 PSH vouchers are in Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenue corridors.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:14     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:
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.


More people feel safe now.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/25/police-poll-violence-dc/


And yet, more people feel safe now.


They polled 904 people and claim an error of +/- 4 points. I think it's safe to call that statistical wankery.


I think it's safe to say that you don't know much about statistics.


Maybe. The margin of error is about twice the standard deviation. So the standard deviation is 2%. The standard error in the sample is the standard deviation / sqrt of the samples size. That gives a standard error of about .2% That's 2 people. It feels suspiciously low given how the results were fairly mixed.

I didn't see anything about the poll methodology. Hopefully, it's not some phone poll of the Post readers.


The murder and carjacking victims can take solace in knowing a bunch of idiots the Post polled think the vibes are ok.


Exactly !
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:13     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
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


This. And WMATA has gotten MUCH more dangerous, even during peak fare hours.

Between crime and the serious and repeated issues at the 911 call center it all feels riskier than 90s.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:10     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
50 shots fired in Shaw last night and two women dead.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/02/shooting-shaw-dc/
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 22:43     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:55-year DC resident.

In the 70s-80s-early 90s, the idea that DC would ever build new parks, libraries, schools, repair roads, or any kind of infrastructure was inconceivable. Large parts of the center of the District looked bombed out after the '68 riots and stayed that way for 25 years.

The current uptick in crime is nothing compared to the long-term improvements.

The major change I see is that people in DC's nicest suburbs can't stop whining about how bad they have it.
because I see how Montgomery county has declined. I’m from here. I was born here. It’s a lot worse than it was


It really isn't much worse in Moco. There has been so much growth in the area that naturally more crime will occur.

If you feel unsafe driving around Moco you have a problem and need psychiatric help.

With the rise of social media crime is becoming more apparent. 40 years ago you found out about crime via your nightly news or the post...no via twitter or DCUM



Do you feel better? Such a prissy post.

People feel more unsafe for very legitimate reasons. Driving into Wheaton or Silver Spring isn't what it used to be five years ago. Pretty sure that's not a psychological disorder. Just situational awareness.

Folks that normalize the crime and sense of menace these days are a huge problem. Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome. They should probably seek some psychiatric help
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 21:25     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:55-year DC resident.

In the 70s-80s-early 90s, the idea that DC would ever build new parks, libraries, schools, repair roads, or any kind of infrastructure was inconceivable. Large parts of the center of the District looked bombed out after the '68 riots and stayed that way for 25 years.

The current uptick in crime is nothing compared to the long-term improvements.

The major change I see is that people in DC's nicest suburbs can't stop whining about how bad they have it.
because I see how Montgomery county has declined. I’m from here. I was born here. It’s a lot worse than it was


It really isn't much worse in Moco. There has been so much growth in the area that naturally more crime will occur.

Growth,growth Oh yeah that purple line and all those businesses coming to MoCo right lmao

If you feel unsafe driving around Moco you have a problem and need psychiatric help.

With the rise of social media crime is becoming more apparent. 40 years ago you found out about crime via your nightly news or the post...no via twitter or DCUM
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 20:34     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
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.


More people feel safe now.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/25/police-poll-violence-dc/


And yet, more people feel safe now.


They polled 904 people and claim an error of +/- 4 points. I think it's safe to call that statistical wankery.


I think it's safe to say that you don't know much about statistics.


Maybe. The margin of error is about twice the standard deviation. So the standard deviation is 2%. The standard error in the sample is the standard deviation / sqrt of the samples size. That gives a standard error of about .2% That's 2 people. It feels suspiciously low given how the results were fairly mixed.

I didn't see anything about the poll methodology. Hopefully, it's not some phone poll of the Post readers.


The murder and carjacking victims can take solace in knowing a bunch of idiots the Post polled think the vibes are ok.
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 20:17     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
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.


More people feel safe now.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/25/police-poll-violence-dc/


And yet, more people feel safe now.


They polled 904 people and claim an error of +/- 4 points. I think it's safe to call that statistical wankery.


I think it's safe to say that you don't know much about statistics.


Maybe. The margin of error is about twice the standard deviation. So the standard deviation is 2%. The standard error in the sample is the standard deviation / sqrt of the samples size. That gives a standard error of about .2% That's 2 people. It feels suspiciously low given how the results were fairly mixed.

I didn't see anything about the poll methodology. Hopefully, it's not some phone poll of the Post readers.
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 13:04     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:55-year DC resident.

In the 70s-80s-early 90s, the idea that DC would ever build new parks, libraries, schools, repair roads, or any kind of infrastructure was inconceivable. Large parts of the center of the District looked bombed out after the '68 riots and stayed that way for 25 years.

The current uptick in crime is nothing compared to the long-term improvements.

The major change I see is that people in DC's nicest suburbs can't stop whining about how bad they have it.
because I see how Montgomery county has declined. I’m from here. I was born here. It’s a lot worse than it was


It really isn't much worse in Moco. There has been so much growth in the area that naturally more crime will occur.

If you feel unsafe driving around Moco you have a problem and need psychiatric help.

With the rise of social media crime is becoming more apparent. 40 years ago you found out about crime via your nightly news or the post...no via twitter or DCUM
carjackings happen even in Bethesda. Bethesda!
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 12:37     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:55-year DC resident.

In the 70s-80s-early 90s, the idea that DC would ever build new parks, libraries, schools, repair roads, or any kind of infrastructure was inconceivable. Large parts of the center of the District looked bombed out after the '68 riots and stayed that way for 25 years.

The current uptick in crime is nothing compared to the long-term improvements.

The major change I see is that people in DC's nicest suburbs can't stop whining about how bad they have it.
because I see how Montgomery county has declined. I’m from here. I was born here. It’s a lot worse than it was


It really isn't much worse in Moco. There has been so much growth in the area that naturally more crime will occur.

If you feel unsafe driving around Moco you have a problem and need psychiatric help.

With the rise of social media crime is becoming more apparent. 40 years ago you found out about crime via your nightly news or the post...no via twitter or DCUM


There's such a disconnect with so many who comment on this because I find out about crime from talking to my neighbors who have been victims, seeing police tape following shootings at my metro twice this summer, getting an alert from my building manager about a neighbor stabbed in our parking lot, etc.
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 12:32     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:55-year DC resident.

In the 70s-80s-early 90s, the idea that DC would ever build new parks, libraries, schools, repair roads, or any kind of infrastructure was inconceivable. Large parts of the center of the District looked bombed out after the '68 riots and stayed that way for 25 years.

The current uptick in crime is nothing compared to the long-term improvements.

The major change I see is that people in DC's nicest suburbs can't stop whining about how bad they have it.
because I see how Montgomery county has declined. I’m from here. I was born here. It’s a lot worse than it was


It really isn't much worse in Moco. There has been so much growth in the area that naturally more crime will occur.

If you feel unsafe driving around Moco you have a problem and need psychiatric help.

With the rise of social media crime is becoming more apparent. 40 years ago you found out about crime via your nightly news or the post...no via twitter or DCUM
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2023 11:49     Subject: Longterm dc area residents, have you noticed decline ?
Anonymous wrote:For people who moved here in the 2008 to 2016 time frame, crime is getting worse. It's really about expectations and feelings. Those people were not here when Hains Point was an open air drug market or when 14th Street was a no-go zone unless you were looking for a streetwalker.

Those same people - who moved to DC when they were young and reckless - probably now have some assets, have kids, are more cognizant of safety issues, etc.

Perceptions matter. Irrational feelings drive a lot of voting behavior.


2008 to 2019 things got a little better each year. Now we are in a period where things have been getting worse each year. It's natural for people to notice this and react.