If Most Residents Feel Safe, Why Do We Discuss It? (Highland: crime, home)

[Manigault]

A new poll suggest that most residents of the city feel they live in a safe neighborhood. Other than for outsiders wondering if a particular area is 'safe' (and wanting low home prices, good schools and nearby affinities) the question of neighborhood safety seems to be repeated more on this forum than the public perception would call for its review.

Most voters seem to feel that their neighborhoods are safe. So are posters just dealing with areas other than where they reside?



http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/graphic/2011-02/59318102.jpg (broken link)

Poll: Most voters feel safe - chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/elections/ct-met-0210-mayor-issues-crime-gfx.ep20110209,0,2376447.graphic - broken link)

[ajolotl]

Yes, most people on this forum who comment on the unsafe neighborhoods in chicago don't live anywhere near them.

[Tinawina]

Heh. This is highly ironic considering the post I JUST made. LOL. You just answered my question. Thanks!

[nikitakolata]

It could just be me, but I don't think a poll of 708 residents comes close to getting an accurate scope of how this entire city feels. I also think their definitions are, for lack of a better word, weak. For example, had I been polled, I probably would have said I feel "somewhat" safe in my neighborhood (I'm in the eastern most part of Humboldt Park). But, I wouldn't go around saying I feel safe all the time; I feel as though I always have my guard up when I'm walking alone, regardless of the area, which is different from how I felt when I lived in the suburbs in the past. To me there's a big difference between feeling "somewhat" and "very" safe; "somewhat" indicates room for improvement, in my opinion.

I also think there's a difference between feeling safe and crime. There is a lot of tagging happening near my house. That's a crime and it really pisses me off, but it doesn't really make me feel unsafe. Maybe it should make me feel unsafe, but it mostly just makes me mad.

If I had responded to that poll I would have said, sure, transfer police from lower crime areas to higher crime ones, but I would have figured that my neighborhood would be one of the areas getting more police, not less. However, based on how I would have answered how safe I feel, that poll seems to indicate that I don't think that we need more police in my neighborhood. So, I guess that's my long-winded way of saying that I don't put much weight in that poll.

[viv_smi98]

Yes, people talk a lot about areas in which they don't reside. I live on the south side (which to most people here is a monolithic gang-infested slum), yet I personally felt quite unsafe when visiting Wicker Park, Rogers Park, and Uptown recently. Yet most people here wouldn't peg Wicker Park as an unsafe area, and would say "it's only certain parts of RP and Uptown that are unsafe." Yet someone who is unaccustomed to the area would deem it wholly unsafe outright based on whatever they saw on the few blocks they walked/drove through briefly. It's all a matter of what you are accustomed to seeing, and what you see in the little time that you spend in these different places.

I think most people feel somewhat safe in their neighborhoods most of the time. They know who to avoid, where, and when, and to them it is not such a big deal.

[OhAcid]

Originally Posted by viv_smi98

Yes, people talk a lot about areas in which they don't reside. I live on the south side (which to most people here is a monolithic gang-infested slum), yet I personally felt quite unsafe when visiting Wicker Park, Rogers Park, and Uptown recently. Yet most people here wouldn't peg Wicker Park as an unsafe area, and would say "it's only certain parts of RP and Uptown that are unsafe." Yet someone who is unaccustomed to the area would deem it wholly unsafe outright based on whatever they saw on the few blocks they walked/drove through briefly. It's all a matter of what you are accustomed to seeing, and what you see in the little time that you spend in these different places.

I think most people feel somewhat safe in their neighborhoods most of the time. They know who to avoid, where, and when, and to them it is not such a big deal.

I think it's a little more complex than a matter of what you're accustomed to. Compared to multiple south side neighborhoods, Wicker Park, Uptown and Rogers Park are on a much different level. Both in public opinion and in terms of actual crime and type of crime.

[viv_smi98]

^^ Indeed. But as the polls show, personal perception of safety can be quite different than what numbers show.

[Tinawina]

Originally Posted by viv_smi98

Yes, people talk a lot about areas in which they don't reside. I live on the south side (which to most people here is a monolithic gang-infested slum), yet I personally felt quite unsafe when visiting Wicker Park, Rogers Park, and Uptown recently.

Where in the South side do you live? Where are the safe parts of the South side, in your opinion?

I'm trying to learn the area and that would be very helpful information. Looking at the maps are confusing as hell... y'all have too many neighborhoods!

[viv_smi98]

Originally Posted by Tinawina

Where in the South side do you live? Where are the safe parts of the South side, in your opinion?

I'm trying to learn the area and that would be very helpful information. Looking at the maps are confusing as hell... y'all have too many neighborhoods!

I'm sure someone will follow me with scary numbers and stories, but in my humble opinion: Kenwood, Hyde Park, Brainerd, Beverly, Morgan Park, Calumet Heights. Those are generally safe. Certain areas of the following are also: Bronzeville, Douglas, Jackson Park Highlands, Pullman. In much of these areas things are pretty quiet and no one will bother you. I currently live near Morgan Park.

The worst areas where the majority of the crime happens are Englewood, South Shore, and Roseland. Those are just creepy, depressing, dangerous places to be, period.

[ajolotl]

Originally Posted by viv_smi98

I'm sure someone will follow me with scary numbers and stories, but in my humble opinion: Kenwood, Hyde Park, Brainerd, Beverly, Morgan Park, Calumet Heights. Those are generally safe. Certain areas of the following are also: Bronzeville, Douglas, Jackson Park Highlands, Pullman. In much of these areas things are pretty quiet and no one will bother you. I currently live near Morgan Park.

The worst areas where the majority of the crime happens are Englewood, South Shore, and Roseland. Those are just creepy, depressing, dangerous places to be, period.

Jackson Park Highlands is actually part of South Shore, so it's not all creepy.