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Perhaps this is a mere symptom of some other problem. In Canada I dont personally recall witnessing crime in my adult life. If I saw someone doing something cr

Perhaps this is a mere symptom of some other problem. In Canada I dont personally recall witnessing crime in my adult life. If I saw someone doing something criminal today I would just you know... call the cops. Perhaps in the USA the lived experience is somewhat different? Maybe more crime? Maybe the police dont show up?

wearywanderer 5y ago
It depends on the city and it depends on the crime. If you see somebody vandalizing property in Seattle and call the cops, they probably won't show up (sample size of 3 for me.)
- bentcorner 5y ago
  +1. I live in a US suburb and have seen at a distance one violent crime in about 20 years. In Canada I've spent more time in the sketchier downtown areas and have personally experienced more crime, although it is still rare. Canadian suburbs are (in my experience) as equally dull as US ones. That is to say, I have not perceived a difference between the US and Canada wrt crime.
cratermoon 5y ago
Crime in the US is relatively low, except in a few urban areas, and even then it's restricted to just a few neighborhoods. Things like this are symptom of racism, classism, and xenophobia. https://www.npr.org/2016/07/28/487560886/is-trumps-call-for-law-and-order-a-coded-racial-message https://www.npr.org/2016/07/28/487560886/is-trumps-call-for-...
kinghajj 5y ago
While driving on Oak in SF last weekend, I saw a man get out of a car, run to an open parked Uhaul truck, grab something, then take off. Right as he left, the (presumed) owner of the stolen articles came out of the house, put his hands up, and made a "Fucking really?" expression. My first reaction was, "Welcome to the Bay Area! Watch your shit!"
- wearywanderer 5y ago
  Welcome to the Bay Area, don't dress provocatively.... It really annoys me that victim blaming isn't taboo for property crimes.
awal2 5y ago
I also don't think I witnessed much crime until I moved to Seattle. In the six years I've been here though I've witnessed: 1. Somebody broke into my Aunt's place while nobody was home and took some jewelry and a cell phone. Police came by, handed her a form, said nice things for five minutes then took off. Never heard anything about it again. 2. My car window smashed after being parked on the street overnight. I called the police. They pointed me to a website where I could report it so that they could keep track of statistics, but said they don't investigate individual cases. Never heard anything about it again. 3. I saw someone in a car pulling the key cylinder out and doing a thing that looked like what people do when they hot wire a car in movies (I know I'm surprised this is still a thing, it was an older car). Walked to a safe distance, called the cops. I never heard anything about it again. 4. I saw a person trying to use a screwdriver to pry the lock off a neighbor's garage as I was walking to the bus. Walked a safe distance, called the police. Never heard anything about it again. 5. People broke into the parking garage at my apartment complex and broke into cars several times. Neighbors called the police. Each time, somebody comes by, hands over a form, says there's nothing they can do. Never heard anything about it again. I hate that this app exists. Seems terrible for all the reasons. I'm also not a hard core law-and-order person, and I don't think the answer is beefing up local law enforcement. But I can also empathize with people who live here and feel unsafe, and are looking for someone who will actually provide some level of security, although I think it's misguided to turn to this kind of app/service.
- johncessna 5y ago
  Those may not actually be crimes in Seattle.
- BigW1lly 5y ago
  You live in Seattle, there's your main problem. The local government keeps the police department hogtied, cops can't do much outside of their narrow rules of engagement. On top of that, the city's residents don't seem too enthusiastic about the 2nd Amendment either. So who or what is going to protect the flock?? Nothing it seems.
  - hef19898 5y ago
jjk166 5y ago
Crime is a non-issue in the US. The problem here is a feeling of general helplessness: there are many disturbing trends and quality of life is clearly falling for many, but it's things like crappy infrastructure that never gets repaired, schools implementing dumb policies, growth in bureaucracy in nearly every facet in life, stagnant wages and declining employment in traditional fields, etc. The symptoms are obvious but the causes are complex and viable cures require cooperation on a scale most now consider unrealistic. But staying informed feels like it helps, even though it generally doesn't. And in the particular case of crime, that's a situation where the actions of individuals could at least in theory make a difference. The benefits to the community of identifying a stolen bike are trivial, and even then you're very unlikely to ever actually do it, but one can fantasize about heroically saving the day and helping your neighbor and that fantasy scratches the itch we all have to be part of something greater. And if you can find a whole bunch of people who all want to do their part and help, maybe there's hope that the bigger issues aren't so intractable after all. Unfortunately the problem will only get worse until the nation finds a healthy way to deal with the despair. God only knows when or if that'll happen though.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

wearywanderer 5y ago

It depends on the city and it depends on the crime. If you see somebody vandalizing property in Seattle and call the cops, they probably won't show up (sample size of 3 for me.)

bentcorner 5y ago
+1. I live in a US suburb and have seen at a distance one violent crime in about 20 years. In Canada I've spent more time in the sketchier downtown areas and have personally experienced more crime, although it is still rare. Canadian suburbs are (in my experience) as equally dull as US ones. That is to say, I have not perceived a difference between the US and Canada wrt crime.

cratermoon 5y ago

Crime in the US is relatively low, except in a few urban areas, and even then it's restricted to just a few neighborhoods. Things like this are symptom of racism, classism, and xenophobia. https://www.npr.org/2016/07/28/487560886/is-trumps-call-for-law-and-order-a-coded-racial-message https://www.npr.org/2016/07/28/487560886/is-trumps-call-for-...

kinghajj 5y ago

While driving on Oak in SF last weekend, I saw a man get out of a car, run to an open parked Uhaul truck, grab something, then take off. Right as he left, the (presumed) owner of the stolen articles came out of the house, put his hands up, and made a "Fucking really?" expression. My first reaction was, "Welcome to the Bay Area! Watch your shit!"

wearywanderer 5y ago
Welcome to the Bay Area, don't dress provocatively.... It really annoys me that victim blaming isn't taboo for property crimes.

awal2 5y ago

I also don't think I witnessed much crime until I moved to Seattle. In the six years I've been here though I've witnessed: 1. Somebody broke into my Aunt's place while nobody was home and took some jewelry and a cell phone. Police came by, handed her a form, said nice things for five minutes then took off. Never heard anything about it again. 2. My car window smashed after being parked on the street overnight. I called the police. They pointed me to a website where I could report it so that they could keep track of statistics, but said they don't investigate individual cases. Never heard anything about it again. 3. I saw someone in a car pulling the key cylinder out and doing a thing that looked like what people do when they hot wire a car in movies (I know I'm surprised this is still a thing, it was an older car). Walked to a safe distance, called the cops. I never heard anything about it again. 4. I saw a person trying to use a screwdriver to pry the lock off a neighbor's garage as I was walking to the bus. Walked a safe distance, called the police. Never heard anything about it again. 5. People broke into the parking garage at my apartment complex and broke into cars several times. Neighbors called the police. Each time, somebody comes by, hands over a form, says there's nothing they can do. Never heard anything about it again. I hate that this app exists. Seems terrible for all the reasons. I'm also not a hard core law-and-order person, and I don't think the answer is beefing up local law enforcement. But I can also empathize with people who live here and feel unsafe, and are looking for someone who will actually provide some level of security, although I think it's misguided to turn to this kind of app/service.

johncessna 5y ago
Those may not actually be crimes in Seattle.
BigW1lly 5y ago
You live in Seattle, there's your main problem. The local government keeps the police department hogtied, cops can't do much outside of their narrow rules of engagement. On top of that, the city's residents don't seem too enthusiastic about the 2nd Amendment either. So who or what is going to protect the flock?? Nothing it seems.
- hef19898 5y ago

jjk166 5y ago

Crime is a non-issue in the US. The problem here is a feeling of general helplessness: there are many disturbing trends and quality of life is clearly falling for many, but it's things like crappy infrastructure that never gets repaired, schools implementing dumb policies, growth in bureaucracy in nearly every facet in life, stagnant wages and declining employment in traditional fields, etc. The symptoms are obvious but the causes are complex and viable cures require cooperation on a scale most now consider unrealistic. But staying informed feels like it helps, even though it generally doesn't. And in the particular case of crime, that's a situation where the actions of individuals could at least in theory make a difference. The benefits to the community of identifying a stolen bike are trivial, and even then you're very unlikely to ever actually do it, but one can fantasize about heroically saving the day and helping your neighbor and that fantasy scratches the itch we all have to be part of something greater. And if you can find a whole bunch of people who all want to do their part and help, maybe there's hope that the bigger issues aren't so intractable after all. Unfortunately the problem will only get worse until the nation finds a healthy way to deal with the despair. God only knows when or if that'll happen though.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]