weill 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 Roanoke ranked second-most dangerous city in Virgina Roanoke assualt rate was the highest in Virginia Roanoke violent rate has climbed faster than Richmond and Norfolk combined Roanoke murder rate is low but steadly rising How dangerous or safe do you think Roanoke is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jerseyman4 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 Roanoke does not compare to Richmond, i dont care what the statistics say. Statistics cant account for all unreported incidents. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weill 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 and i hope roanoke will never compare to richmond. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cadeho 10 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 Excuse me? I wouldn't expect Roanoke to have that much crime. I'm not sure how the city was run and how people were oriented and grouped in the city to try to compare at all. I dfon't know if you guys went through the same things as Richmond that didn't help it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevenRocks 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 Don't get offended, Cadeho. I don't think Weil was trying to be insulting. Roanoke is not a danegrous city. There are parts of town I wouldn't hang out in, but overall it's fairly safe for a city its size. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weill 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2006 chill cadeho i didnt mean it the way you took it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mclawsdrive 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 Roanoke ranked second-most dangerous city in Virgina Roanoke assualt rate was the highest in Virginia Roanoke violent rate has climbed faster than Richmond and Norfolk combined Roanoke murder rate is low but steadly rising How dangerous or safe do you think Roanoke is? I heard that virginia cities reflected higher crime than comparable cities in other states in this study. This is because only in Virginia, cities are completely independent from the county that surrounds them. If roanoke were in Maryland for example, The crime statistics for roanoke would be include everything within Roanoke County..salem, roanoke, vinton. Because Urban centers generally house the poor (because suburbs don't allow people to live there through zoning and exclusionary policies), and the poor are more associated with crime, Virginia cities crime rates were high. One thing that shocks me, however is that D.C wasn't worse than Richmond. D.C isn't within a county at all because its not in a state. It seems to have a lot more violent crime. It does have 2.5 times the population though, meaning that it could have twice as many murders a year and still have a lower murder rate. Also bigger cities tend to have a lower rate of crimes reported, (mistrust of police, corruption etc.) That could explain Roanoke's high assault rate; people are more likely to report being raped or assaulted than in a bigger city. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wrldcoupe4 274 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 Roanoke is not a danegrous city. There are parts of town I wouldn't hang out in, but overall it's fairly safe for a city its size. I haven't ever felt unsafe in Richmond... every town has its bad parts. Violent crime fell across the board last year as well... The Virginia independent city crap makes things appear worse than in other places. I don't think of Roanoke as a dangerous place... hope it doesn't become one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoanokeFound 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2006 well.. maybe a little violent. If you consider kicking puppies violent... otherwise, not at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electricmonk 1 Report post Posted April 19, 2006 Can I move to your neighborhood? I forgot about this thread but Saturday before last I was sitting here watching SNL and heard 4 loud explosions that shook the house and about gave me a heart attack and scared my cats so bad they didn't come out of hiding for an hour. Someone decided that they didn't like my front door I guess and plugged it with 2 rounds from a 45. Another round went in the wall between my unit and my neighbor's and the 4th went into the porch. Since I'm a night owl it's not unusual for me to take some trash out or head out to the store that late. I'm just damn glad I didn't decide to head to the front door right about then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BGW 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2006 Yikes! What neighborhood is this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mclawsdrive 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2006 Did you call the cops. Maybe they could go CSI on his ass by examing the marks on the bullets. I guess they'd have to have the gun too though, to prove the connection, oh well. That is terrifying. I still think Richmond is more dangerous though. There have been two shootings within a few blocks of me in the last 6 months. Neither person died but still... ps. electricmonk, in the first picture, is that hole in the wall to the left a point of entry of a bullet that went through the door and then went into the wall? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electricmonk 1 Report post Posted April 19, 2006 The cops came and took some photos and took the bullets. He said it left some pretty distinctive markings so if they do catch someone with a .45 on them they should be able to match it up pretty easy. Yeah that's the path the round took. Luckily it didn't go all the way through into the next unit and hitting the girl that lives there. I ended up getting wounded anyway. A couple days after I was closing the door and the jagged edge ripped my finger open. I've since pounded it down. Richmond is definitely over all more dangerous than Roanoke and Baltimore is more dangerous than Richmond. I've lived in all 3.I don't think it's fair to compare cities of different sizes like that the way the original article did. Even using the per capita figures there are too many other variables involved. I would be more interested in seeing how Roanoke compares to other cities nationwide in the 75,000 to 125,000 range. Oh, BGW I'm in the Old Southwest area but there's a good part(south of Elm Ave roughly) and a bad part(north of Elm) and I'm in the bad part. Although there was a homicide in February in the good part of Old Southwest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jerseyman4 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2006 Richmond is definitely over all more dangerous than Roanoke and Baltimore is more dangerous than Richmond. And Camden, New Jersey is more dangerous than Baltimore Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
burt 16 Report post Posted April 20, 2006 Monk, I don't suppose the gunman was ever apprehended. Wonder where he was aiming and who was his target? I hope the RPD locates him and puts him away for life without parole. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rusthebuss 1 Report post Posted April 20, 2006 Stuff like that happens all the time in Norfolk and Newport News aka Bad News. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electricmonk 1 Report post Posted April 20, 2006 The cops theory was that someone just pulled up to the stop sign and decided to pop off a few rounds and for whatever reason used my door for the target. Because of the angle he said they were either in a car or a midget. I doubt anyone will ever be arrested for it. If I think about I might call and ask though. Unfortunately I didn't think to get the investigating officer's card or name so I can't contact him directly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mclawsdrive 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2006 The cops theory was that someone just pulled up to the stop sign and decided to pop off a few rounds and for whatever reason used my door for the target. Thats what I was thinking too. It was an urban version of the shotgun blast to the streetsign technique I sometimes see out on country roads. The difference is there are people behind those doors in the city. I'm glad you're alright and we can all hope that this guy will get nabbed eventually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmedguy 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2006 Holy Crap! Dude, I am glad you are OK. I know I'm joining this late, but that is scary as hell. Especially considering it is apparently so close to where I live. I am also in Old Southwest. Granted we are on the "good side" (as you put it electricmonk) and it does feel significantly different than the other side of Elm, but that is just wrong to have that kind of crap happening in our neighborhood! I really hope they find who did this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevenRocks 0 Report post Posted April 22, 2006 The Roanoke police tend to stay on top of things pretty well when they're not writing parking tickets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weill 0 Report post Posted June 4, 2006 With the recent violence and the controversial topic of gangs, I ask again, is Roanoke really dangerous city? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevenRocks 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2006 Overall, no, but there is some gang activity going on that's disturbing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mclawsdrive 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2006 Do you guys remember when Javier Cruz was busted. He owned a restaurant on 419 (can't remember its name), and also a large used car/car parts lot. He was indicted by the feds for cocaine trafficking and cut a deal to rat out members of the Cali cartel. (or it might have been the Medellin cartel). Anyway, the feds were saying that the Roanoke area was a distribution point for a large percentage of the cocaine to Chicago and new york. Javier Cruz jumped bail, flew to Colombia, and was gunned down a few weeks later. I'm sure that that particular operation was effectively shut down, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is still a hotbed for drug trafficking. I don't think Roanoke police ever tried to strongly link that activity with violence in the city though. Most Roanoke violence is either domestic or possibly tied to local turf wars for local drug dealing or other 'gang' activity. It seems the best way to avoid violence is to avoid violent people and bad relationships and not hang out with people with an unusually strong affinity for combining firearms and intoxication (via alcohol, cocaine or otherwise). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rusthebuss 1 Report post Posted June 5, 2006 Roanoke isn't dangerous at all to me. I don't think anywhere in VA is that dangerous. There are some bad spots but overall its fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mclawsdrive 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2006 Dangerous for city council members roanoke times - 'council members threatened?' As angry as I imagine he was, its pretty stupid to announce violent intentions, whether they are serious or not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
