Originally Posted by staple
I think things are maybe a little worse than they were, but what crime there is is almost all nuisance crime -- graffiti (a really big problem the last couple of years) and petty thefts of opportunity ...
There still isn't what I would call a lot of violent crime (I'm hopeful that recent state and city initiatives will keep it this way), and what there is seems to be gang/drug related -- if you're not involved, you're unlikely to be bothered. Also, aside from a few high-profile cases in recent months, violent crime is mostly limited to some very troubled neighborhoods on the north side. We're all hoping that what we've seen recently is not a trend.
I'll agree to that. I guess I pay more attention to the violent crime stories because that has an effect on how safe I feel (a hefty but non-aggressive guy) biking through any area, with an occasional (once a week after classes) ride in the dark. I really hate seeing how many times I pass fresh auto glass on the ground or graffiti that wasn't there the day before, but other than that I can't really say that I've been directly bothered along my route except for very very infrequent hassling that apparently other commuters on this forum seem to get a lot. As for where to live, that really is block by block, and I definitely agree with the "farther south..." rule of thumb that staple mentioned.
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