Crime in Maine (Portland, Auburn, Gray: apartment, violent crime, high school)

[Siobjuan]

There's nothing here about bear on bear crime.

[221B]

Originally Posted by Siobjuan

There's nothing here about bear on bear crime.

However, we did spot a couple moose grappling this past February…
Oh wait, that was in L.L. Bean!

[Revi]

They got the perp, and he turned himself in. It's good to see that things like this get resolved quickly around here.

While the violent crime rate is low in Maine, the property crime rate is above the national average in my town.

[Mark S.]

A rise in property crime usually results from two things:

--) An influx of drug use in the area. Users steal to finance the habit.

--) Hard economic times. When faced with a possibility of their kid going hungry or swiping a neighbor's TV, sometimes even good people get desperate enough to steal.

In Maine, the latter certainly happens and has probably increased over the past couple of years, but I suspect that most property crime is due to rising drug use.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Revi

This weekend a very rare event happened ...

It is sad anytime that anyone dies a violent death.

One thing to remember is that as you said this was a very rare event.

It does not happen daily in Maine, it does not happen weekly in Maine, it is a very rare event.

To anyone out there who may have known the victim, being effected directly by crime makes 'crime' seem much worse. We have lived in areas where violent crime takes place hourly. By comparison Maine enjoys an extremely low crime rate.

Being directly effected by crime makes it feel much worse, however here in Maine this is a very rare incident. Unlike in high-crime areas.

... I think some kind of neighborhood policing is needed, or some kind of a model that puts cops on the streets more, and out of their cars in the downtown areas.

Hiring more LEOs means raising taxes.

So long as real crime does remain low, perhaps raising taxes to combat non-existent crime is not the right direction to go with this.

...It is not just the cops problem, however. It is our problem.

If we want to continue to live here in peace we need to figure out real solutions to the rising crime problem.

If you post here, please no racism and if your solution is to shoot them all, we have already heard that now. Real solutions only, please.

Overall our modern society praises violence and gang activity.

'We' have allowed this to happen, and now it has become entrenched into our society.

It is common to see teenagers who are bored, who want to be gang-members, even though no gang exists. Because they perceive it to be cool.

Because we have allowed such to be seen as cool.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Revi

They got the perp, and he turned himself in. It's good to see that things like this get resolved quickly around here.

While the violent crime rate is low in Maine, the property crime rate is above the national average in my town.

I thought you said it was three guys.

???

[msina]

I don't know,.... I'm kind of "freaked out" today. Less than a year ago there was a double homicide just down the road from me. Today there was another a few miles away. There hasn't been much info released on this recent case as of yet but, in a place with such a small population, it does seem scary to me.

[la_cavalière]

The perp was with two friends, but they are cooperating with police and will not face charges. There was only one punch thrown. The victim was knocked unconscious and fell and hit his head on the brick plaza in Monument Square. A similar thing happened about 10 years ago on New Year's Eve, also in Monument Square.

Gray man, 20, charged in deadly assault | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

[AliceT]

Rule #1
If you live in a safe - or nearly crime free - area, do not broadcast the location or name the town in such places as internet forums. Bad guys read forums, too and they just love personal testimonies about keys left cars and doors left unlocked.

Rule #2
Loose lips sink ships. In other words, see rule #1

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by AliceT

Rule #1
If you live in a safe - or nearly crime free - area, do not broadcast the location or name the town in such places as internet forums. Bad guys read forums, too and they just love personal testimonies about keys left cars and doors left unlocked.

Rule #2
Loose lips sink ships. In other words, see rule #1

Irrespective of what we want to "call" them, there are mobs of unruly snots needing a swift kick to the hind quarters around most cities - Maine included. They should be taken a little more seriously here than they appear to be taken now as far as I'm concerned.

Overall, Maine is a very safe place; however, I don't believe this website's number of assaults in my area because it is too low. Other sites I have seen are too high. I know this from personal experience (which is what one should go by - NOT statistics generated from some far-flung crime website IMHO).

Yes, we do need to pay attention to what's going on in the underbelly of our communities, but when one assesses the rate of crime in the area they are intending to move, they should visit and speak to the locals for an accurate picture IMO.

Mark S.'s point should also be noted.