Does Indianapolis have a crime problem? (Lafayette, Fishers: renting, hotel, homes)

[ColdAilment]

Is crime in the city of Indianapolis actually that serious or something the common person should worry about? Through the news media and pop culture most people, myself included, would be inclined to say no. We're all familiar with cities like Detroit, Camden, Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans as associated with big city gangs and lots of violence/murders.

According to this list that the FBI released for 2012 Indianapolis ranks as the 22nd most dangerous city in the country, right behind Washington D.C., the city with the former name of "The Murder Capital".

So what's your take, is Indianapolis really that bad?

[missik999]

Last week Indy made national news for being one of the cities with a high burglary rate, in the top ten.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by missik999

Last week Indy made national news for being one of the cities with a high burglary rate, in the top ten.

crime is in every city.
However the types of crime that would worry me the most would be homicides/rape and battery/assault.
Those kinds of crimes are down.
However the point on burglary should be asked.
Are the homes that are being burglarized on the east and northeast sides near the malls or is it scattered across the city?
Plus you have to wonder do people leave valuables in plain sight. cause that is just ASKING to get broken into and have them taken away.
Dont leave valuables in your car or in sight from a window! Thats Anti-Crime common sense.

[missik999]

There were 110 homicides in Indy in 2012.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

crime is in every city.
However the types of crime that would worry me the most would be homicides/rape and battery/assault.
Those kinds of crimes are down.
However the point on burglary should be asked.
Are the homes that are being burglarized on the east and northeast sides near the malls or is it scattered across the city?
Plus you have to wonder do people leave valuables in plain sight. cause that is just ASKING to get broken into and have them taken away.
Dont leave valuables in your car or in sight from a window! Thats Anti-Crime common sense.

It's scattered across the city. Even the "untouchable" places like Fishers and Carmel have had a rash of break-ins and robberies at some point in the past year, both cars and homes.

I think the troubling thing this year has been the shooting at Lafayette Square and the shots fired downtown outside Circle Centre. And a coupld days or week before the downtown shots fired wasn't there a big fight inside Circle Centre between some teens and police? These are very public places, and all three incidents happened on weekend nights when mall and downtown would have been busy.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

crime is in every city.
However the types of crime that would worry me the most would be homicides/rape and battery/assault.
Those kinds of crimes are down.

Homicide is very rarely a random crime. I don't worry about homicide, because I am not a drug dealer or involved in criminal activities or other activities that tend to lead to homicide.

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

However the point on burglary should be asked.
Are the homes that are being burglarized on the east and northeast sides near the malls or is it scattered across the city?
Plus you have to wonder do people leave valuables in plain sight. cause that is just ASKING to get broken into and have them taken away.
Dont leave valuables in your car or in sight from a window!

Homes are burglarized city wide. Why does it matter if they are on the east side or the north east side? It happens all over the city. North, South, East, West......doesn't matter which side of town. I know people who live in South Broad Ripple, Watson-McCord, 38th and Kessler, 86th and Michigan, Fountain Square, and my own neighborhood that have been burglarized. Most of them had their windows closed and doors locked

[missik999]

Originally Posted by ischyros

It's scattered across the city. Even the "untouchable" places like Fishers and Carmel have had a rash of break-ins and robberies at some point in the past year, both cars and homes.

I think the troubling thing this year has been the shooting at Lafayette Square and the shots fired downtown outside Circle Centre. And a coupld days or week before the downtown shots fired wasn't there a big fight inside Circle Centre between some teens and police? These are very public places, and all three incidents happened on weekend nights when mall and downtown would have been busy.

I think the incidents in Circle Centre are troubling as well. It doesn't take long before those kinds of issues start keeping people away from shopping and dining. And it doesn't give a good impression to downtown visitors when they see and hear about fights and shots being fired.

[bertrandandjules]

Originally Posted by missik999

I think the incidents in Circle Centre are troubling as well. It doesn't take long before those kinds of issues start keeping people away from shopping and dining. And it doesn't give a good impression to downtown visitors when they see and hear about fights and shots being fired.

It seems like crime in Marion County is like a whack-a-mole. They lick the problem at one location and, in a matter of days, it pops up somewhere else. Last summer, the problems around the Canal seemed quite significant after several crimes committed in the spring. As a result, IPD ramped up surveillance around there. Within weeks, the big hot spot was Broad Ripple, resulting in calls for better lighting and security on BR Avenue and the surrounding residential streets. Now it seems to be Circle Centre and the heart of downtown. In a few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if that subsides because of the growing police presence in and around the mall--as a result, the next hot spot will probably be Fountain Square, or Mass Ave, or something like that.

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by missik999

I think the incidents in Circle Centre are troubling as well. It doesn't take long before those kinds of issues start keeping people away from shopping and dining. And it doesn't give a good impression to downtown visitors when they see and hear about fights and shots being fired.

Violence downtown is nothing new. It was happening many years ago and still happens today. There were numerous shootings (as in one or two per month, not ten or twenty per month) that usually happened near the clubs that catered to the gangster crowd. In one case, a guy was cut with a box cutter and died. In another incident, a guy was shot and killed in his car, then another shooting at the gas station on N. Delaware, then a rolling gun battle down Michigan St. that resulted in a crash near the canal. These three incidents all a result of disagreements between groups and their mayhem was spread all over downtown that night. There was also the "shots fired" at the teen dance party at the Tyndall Armory. The thing is, many of these incidents didn't get much media attention. It seemed to be out of the news come Monday morning. Plus the incidents were happening at 2-3:30AM, when most tourist and residents are safe at home or in their hotel.

The one thing most of these incidents had in common is that they happened after midnight, and as Toxic Toast pointed out, involved groups whose members are involved in black market dealings who were from opposing gangs. Now, about four or five years ago, we had what may have been the first shooting before midnight. One year, around 9PM some idiot fired a round(s) near the mall entry. A co-worker was eating outside at Buca when that happened. Then you had two Black Expo shootings with multiple victims. The first one only four or five were shot, then two or three years later, eleven people were shot. Somehow no one died. Then you had an incident during some downtown fireworks show, where there was three were shots fired and at least one juvenile was shot near the canal.

These incidents can't be covered up anymore. Too many people downtown during these incidents. Lots of folks have Facebook, and they will start posting to those pages of major news networks. Plus you have everyone with a good cell phone camera and video recorder, so these brawls get posted to YouTube, Facebook pages, and WorldStarHipHop. The only thing we do now is turn these areas into police states, with armed cops deployed all over the place. Unfortunately, it costs a lot of money, and the kids have already shown to move to Broad Ripple or Castleton Sq. Mall.

The root of the problem is lack of parenting, the embracing of the gangster culture, and/or drug dealing as a way to secure funds. I don't know if we can even save a 14 or 15 year old from this lifestyle by removing them until they are 18 and putting them in some kind of confined schooling detention facility after they are arrested for their first few serious crimes. Plus, we likely don't even have the money for this. So what we are seeing is law-abiding people flock to guns and/or home alarm systems. People will buy an alarm system as soon as burglaries start taking off in their neighborhood. They will learn quickly to not leave valuable items in their vehicles in plain sight. They will stay away from Circle Centre and the canal if these incidents continue. They will secure firearms for defense of themselves and their loved ones.

[empiress]

Indy is just all-around bad in our book. That's why we moved to Houston 1 year ago.