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I see a lot of post that start off with "i dont live there but"???
Ok.. so you have researched Maine and have come across much information on the recent demographic changes the L/A area has gone through..
1st let me say I live in Auburn and have lived in Lewiston and still own apartment buildings there and some are actually down town.. I have never had a reported crime at any of my properites in over a decade of me owning them.. though there were a couple of hit and runs with some of my tenants cars.. My wife grew up in Lewiston and ALL of her family still lives there along with her friends.. not to make it sound elitist but my wife is educated as is her family and most of her friends.. just to give you an idea of where I am coming from.. I was involved in Law enorcement at one time in Lewiston and my wife still works there along with her family who heavily invloved in education..
1st... the crime is no more worse then any of the other cities in Maine.. every city fluctuates from year to year statistically but I am telling you that they all have their problem areas.. Maine is a poor state and there are even quite a few towns that can be pretty depressing.. but most of this correlates to theft, drunking assault, domestic crimes.. there is very little hardcore violent crime in maine.. these demographic changes have been happening all around the country for years.
Most of our immigrant friends that are here are American citizens and have been so for many years prior to their migration to Maine.. Portland has more of them then Lewiston and now we are seeing not just somali's but nationalities from all over africa.. Its when a few thousand move to a basically all white city with in a year that it becomes big news.. And of course everyone wants to know... what happened.. hows it working...
now about the changes that have taken place I think you will get a mixed bag of opinions on the issues.. recently we heard reports of somali youth targeting and robbing people in downtown lewiston.. this is true.. but to the well informed this issue is also a very small one that started with a specific group of kids who comitted mulitple crimes with in a short period of time.. this is big news in Maine and in lewiston because why... well there isn't much crime here to begin with.. especially when it comes to this type of stuff..
But yes the police have been effected, the schools have been effected.... a lot of them do not speak english, have still not assimilated to OUR culture and our ways of doing things... they demand a lot from social services and there are many groups and organizations that are all to happy to show them how to take advantage of Maine's generous welfare system... I have not seen many go to work.. but whenever I have had to deal with them they are polite, and I would never be afraid to walk through their neighborhood at 2am... there are many american neighbords that I would NOT walk through at 2am with out a gun..
I dont know what the long term effects will be.. the truth is this a poor area of a poor state.. they didn't come here for work and employment opportunities... they came here to raise their families and to take advantage of our system.. Many teachers have seen the overload it has caused the school system yet those same teachers will give you examples of somali kids who are the brightest and hardest working in their class..
I do not believe this will be a long term demise of the L/A area... the cities will just have to learn to deal with it and maybe even this might be a catilyst to throw out our very easy welfare laws.. My best guess is other cities will follow over the next 10-20 years... agusta, Bangor ect.. will soon see diversity.. these changes have been happening for years around the rest of the country
I see a lot of post that start off with "i dont live there but"???
Ok.. so you have researched Maine and have come across much information on the recent demographic changes the L/A area has gone through..
1st let me say I live in Auburn and have lived in Lewiston and still own apartment buildings there and some are actually down town.. I have never had a reported crime at any of my properites in over a decade of me owning them.. though there were a couple of hit and runs with some of my tenants cars.. My wife grew up in Lewiston and ALL of her family still lives there along with her friends.. not to make it sound elitist but my wife is educated as is her family and most of her friends.. just to give you an idea of where I am coming from.. I was involved in Law enorcement at one time in Lewiston and my wife still works there along with her family who heavily invloved in education..
1st... the crime is no more worse then any of the other cities in Maine.. every city fluctuates from year to year statistically but I am telling you that they all have their problem areas.. Maine is a poor state and there are even quite a few towns that can be pretty depressing.. but most of this correlates to theft, drunking assault, domestic crimes.. there is very little hardcore violent crime in maine.. these demographic changes have been happening all around the country for years.
Most of our immigrant friends that are here are American citizens and have been so for many years prior to their migration to Maine.. Portland has more of them then Lewiston and now we are seeing not just somali's but nationalities from all over africa.. Its when a few thousand move to a basically all white city with in a year that it becomes big news.. And of course everyone wants to know... what happened.. hows it working...
now about the changes that have taken place I think you will get a mixed bag of opinions on the issues.. recently we heard reports of somali youth targeting and robbing people in downtown lewiston.. this is true.. but to the well informed this issue is also a very small one that started with a specific group of kids who comitted mulitple crimes with in a short period of time.. this is big news in Maine and in lewiston because why... well there isn't much crime here to begin with.. especially when it comes to this type of stuff..
But yes the police have been effected, the schools have been effected.... a lot of them do not speak english, have still not assimilated to OUR culture and our ways of doing things... they demand a lot from social services and there are many groups and organizations that are all to happy to show them how to take advantage of Maine's generous welfare system... I have not seen many go to work.. but whenever I have had to deal with them they are polite, and I would never be afraid to walk through their neighborhood at 2am... there are many american neighbords that I would NOT walk through at 2am with out a gun..
I dont know what the long term effects will be.. the truth is this a poor area of a poor state.. they didn't come here for work and employment opportunities... they came here to raise their families and to take advantage of our system.. Many teachers have seen the overload it has caused the school system yet those same teachers will give you examples of somali kids who are the brightest and hardest working in their class..
I do not believe this will be a long term demise of the L/A area... the cities will just have to learn to deal with it and maybe even this might be a catilyst to throw out our very easy welfare laws.. My best guess is other cities will follow over the next 10-20 years... agusta, Bangor ect.. will soon see diversity.. these changes have been happening for years around the rest of the country
Once that kind of thing starts, it only keeps getting worse.
One game I enjoyed playing with those who bash Lewiston is to ask them, "why?" it's such a bad place. Generally, you get bold claim (i.e. "Lewiston has terrible crime!") that's either inaccurate (Lewiston's crime rate is well below the national average AND it's lower than Portland's by quite a bit), or hearsay based on little to no substance... certainly without support.
The other common response was, "I just don't like it." That's a different bird altogether. There's no doubt Lewiston is not the prototypical "charming" Maine community so I can see someone preferring to live elsewhere. However, because YOU may not like it doesn't make it a "bad" place. Furthermore, it doesn't mean that it isn't perfect for someone else.
Lewiston is a tough place to find work even in good times. There's no question. It's more diverse than the rest of Maine and does struggle to support that immigrant population. Other than that, what's so bad about it? Assume someone is offered a job in Lewiston (thus covering the issue of finding work), why shouldn't they move to Lewiston and take it? What is it about Lewiston that's bad? I never saw what was so awful about it.
The population around here is old and homogenous.. set in their ways.. a drastic change like this is bound to have a effect on the local population who considered this to be "their town"..
But there is a part of me that says you get what you deserve.. the voting in this state since I moved here 15 years ago encourages the demographic changes that have taken place.. I have never lived anywhere where someone can get off a bus from another state and be eligible for welfare.. I am not going to put this solely on that.. but there is no doubt in my mind that it was a major factor.
Last edited by 7th generation; 01-09-2010 at 05:20 PM..
Reason: orphaned content
Lewiston's crime rate is well below the national average AND it's lower than Portland's by quite a bit.
I don't care for Portland, either.
As for Lewiston: theft, rape, and murder, are all higher than the national average.
And burglary is many times--many times--higher than in New York City.
See for yourselves:Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
But the really bad part is I wouldn't be surprised if Lewiston's crime rate continues to climb at an accelerating pace.
I may not have first hand experience of Lewiston, but I have first hand experience in my life of seeing once great places turn into zoos. It happens quicker than you think.
I wouldn't move anywhere near Portland or Lewiston.
i first worked in lewiston 24 years ago, the people i worked with- most were of french descent, very decent and proud workers,
i worked in auburn for many years also, again- very decent folks
lewiston gets a bad rap, mostly from folks that dont live there- it was once a powerhouse city- now it has and is transitioning like many mill towns in maine- it has some excellent neighborhoods, and some areas that need improvement
the sister city (auburn) also has some excellent neighborhoods)
As for Lewiston: theft, rape, and murder, are all higher than the national average.
And burglary is many times--many times--higher than in New York City.
See for yourselves: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
But the really bad part is I wouldn't be surprised if Lewiston's crime rate continues to climb at an accelerating pace.
I may not have first hand experience of Lewiston, but I have first hand experience in my life of seeing once great places turn into zoos. It happens quicker than you think.
I wouldn't move anywhere near Portland or Lewiston.
You use New York City as a measuring point, but are you aware that New York City is one of the safest cities in the U.S.? It's far and away the safest major city and like Lewiston, its overall crime rate is well below the national average. The full crime stats for New York City and for Lewistion (2008 is the most recent). The "rates" may appear scarier than they should because Lewiston is so very small. Lewiston has a population of 35,000 and the murder rate is "per 100,000 people" making it appear terrible (because you have to multiply the number of murders to get the rate). The reality is, since the year 2,000, there have been 12 murders in Lewiston. Sure, any murder is bad, but that's not very many for a poor urban area. For maybe a more fair comparison, in 2008 Old Orchard Beach (a much more similarly sized town than NYC) had a murder rate that's 15 (yes, you read that right) times higher than Lewiston (you can double check OOB's city-data crime graph for proof). In addition, murder in Lewsiton is anything but random. People don't walk around with guns blasting people on the streets. It's generally related to personal arguments or drug disputes. Despite what the "rate" tells you, murders in Lewiston aren't bad.
Lewiston's murder rate (and the other "rates" you mentioned) is above the national average because the "national average" includes every community in the nation from the tiniest little settlement to the largest city. It's unfair to judge Lewiston's crime in comparison to tiny little villages in the woods and the uber exclusive suburban communities throughout major metro areas nationwide. Using New York as a point of comparison was clever because people know New York's name and thing of it as this giant urban jungle, but it's not. It's a huge city, but it's the safest major city and one of the safest cities in general. It's more fair to compare Lewiston to similar urban areas (Portland for one)... and among those similar urban areas, it's VERY safe. Bangor, Augusta and Waterville ALL have much higher crime rates than Lewistion as does Portland (again, you can check the data by navigating around those links in the early part of this post). It's NOT a dangerous city, you just don't like it.
You don't care for urban areas, that's incredibly clear. That's more than O.K. too. But to paint Lewiston as a "zoo" is unfair and misguided. You fail to mention that its crime rate is at its lowest point in the past decade. Furthermore, it's steadily DECREASED since 2000. It's still WELL BELOW the national average (even with those "horrific" numbers you posted). Once again, aside from the fact that you don't like it, what makes it so bad. If you don't like urban areas, you won't like it, but assuming that not everyone feels the same way you do about cities, why should someone who doesn't mind urban areas avoid Lewiston?
Statistics never tell more than part of the story.
(What's the famous quote???............)
There are quantitative and qualitative aspects to every issue, including crime.
Sociology 101.
Many of Lewiston's ills are now deeply rooted (in other words, pathological)..........with more new ones taking root.
Example: (examples can be indicative).......young Somali gangs (VERY young) now attacking the vulnerable who happen to be out and about.
This isn't good.
Last edited by maineguy8888; 01-10-2010 at 01:35 PM..
You use New York City as a measuring point, but are you aware that New York City is one of the safest cities in the U.S.? It's far and away the safest major city and like Lewiston, its overall crime rate is well below the national average. The full crime stats for New York City and for Lewistion (2008 is the most recent). The "rates" may appear scarier than they should because Lewiston is so very small. Lewiston has a population of 35,000 and the murder rate is "per 100,000 people" making it appear terrible (because you have to multiply the number of murders to get the rate). The reality is, since the year 2,000, there have been 12 murders in Lewiston. Sure, any murder is bad, but that's not very many for a poor urban area. For maybe a more fair comparison, in 2008 Old Orchard Beach (a much more similarly sized town than NYC) had a murder rate that's 15 (yes, you read that right) times higher than Lewiston (you can double check OOB's city-data crime graph for proof). In addition, murder in Lewsiton is anything but random. People don't walk around with guns blasting people on the streets. It's generally related to personal arguments or drug disputes. Despite what the "rate" tells you, murders in Lewiston aren't bad.
Lewiston's murder rate (and the other "rates" you mentioned) is above the national average because the "national average" includes every community in the nation from the tiniest little settlement to the largest city. It's unfair to judge Lewiston's crime in comparison to tiny little villages in the woods and the uber exclusive suburban communities throughout major metro areas nationwide. Using New York as a point of comparison was clever because people know New York's name and thing of it as this giant urban jungle, but it's not. It's a huge city, but it's the safest major city and one of the safest cities in general. It's more fair to compare Lewiston to similar urban areas (Portland for one)... and among those similar urban areas, it's VERY safe. Bangor, Augusta and Waterville ALL have much higher crime rates than Lewistion as does Portland (again, you can check the data by navigating around those links in the early part of this post). It's NOT a dangerous city, you just don't like it.
You don't care for urban areas, that's incredibly clear. That's more than O.K. too. But to paint Lewiston as a "zoo" is unfair and misguided. You fail to mention that its crime rate is at its lowest point in the past decade. Furthermore, it's steadily DECREASED since 2000. It's still WELL BELOW the national average (even with those "horrific" numbers you posted). Once again, aside from the fact that you don't like it, what makes it so bad. If you don't like urban areas, you won't like it, but assuming that not everyone feels the same way you do about cities, why should someone who doesn't mind urban areas avoid Lewiston?
In New York City, Real estate appreciated so much in the past fifteen years, that the criminal element can no longer afford to live in NYC.
That's likely the biggest reason crime in NYC has dropped--but the politicians and police want us to think they did it.
As for Lewiston compared to the rest of America: the statistics speak for themselves, however one tries to rationalize them away.
Example: (examples can be indicative).......young Somali gangs (VERY young) now attacking the vulnerable who happen to be out and about.
This isn't good.
I've seen those news reports; such incidents are very disturbing.
Such crimes are crimes of sadism: the perps have gone feral and attack because they enjoy hurting people.
No thanks--I want to be far away from such places.
And in my experience, things will get much worse, and rarely get better once those kinds of things begin to happen.
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