The Observation Deck

Grace O'Malley wrote:Rick, (Mr Pete Zahutt, and Kareem Sickle) is all over the message boards, at least 3 that I'm aware of, complaining about crime, vandalism, thugs, and slovenly neighbors. His initial complaint was the unkempt double with multiple cars, but he's expanded on to thugs, juveniles, yellow hummers, and more.

He is relentless and getting more so.

I don't share your concern for him at this point. He has his home up for sale, which he advertised on the boards, and he's made a choice to leave.

He's not a happy camper and we all know that unhappy people tend to be much more vocal than those who are satisfied.

Therefore, I take what he posts with a grain of salt and look for FACTS.

I'll ask yet again:

Demro says crime is up.

The police chief says its down.

Someone is either lying or misleading.

Who is it?

I think we're clear that what you're after is a who not a what. Crime can be up by virtue of the fact that it has changed. If I swap out car jacking and assault for jaywalking and littering - then crime is up whether the numbers say so or not.

So, politics aside, how do we address crime in Lakewood?

What you are attempting to do is continue on a conversation about the supposed increase in crime in Lakewood without ever backing up your assertion.

All I am asking is for verification or confirmation that what you are saying is true.

According to the Chief of Police, who I assume I can trust, crime HAS NOT INCREASED.

Do you dispute his comment, Suzanne or do you have access to some facts that prove him wrong?

What I am trying to do is acknowlege the feellings and expressions of people around Lakewood, like Rick, who are unhappy with the current conditions in their neighborhood.

What I'm trying to do is participate in an open discussion on the subject of crime in Lakewood. Personal comments and attacks aren't relative nor are they productive.

I say again - if the nature of crime has changed, then regardless of the statistic, crime is up.

I agree, Suzanne.

I'd like to know if crime has increased or if it is merely a perception.

I don't think its productive to talk about an increase in crime and how to handle it if there has been, in fact, no increase in crime after all.

I truly do not understand why there are no statistics to either prove or disprove what seems to be a perception of an increase in crime. Has carjacking replaced jaywalking?


How can we attack a problem without facts? If there has been no increase, then let's place our efforts elsewhere, perhaps to change perceptions.

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Has anyone bothered to actually ask the City whether there are public records available regarding Lakewood crime statistics?

If so, we might be better able to match perceptions with reality.

Of course, we need to recognize the legitimate concerns of the citizens in our community, whether they be for improved youth facilities and services, or in being able to walk around our neighborhoods.

The more information made available, the better an informed citizenry can respond.

Communication and information availability are always important components in the problem-solving paradigm, at least in my opinion.

Now, I suggest that you all take a peek at the following link. It will tell you quite a bit about our town, including crime stats for a number of years.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Lakewood-Ohio.html

It would seem that, overall at least, the sky is not falling.

Gary,

I appreciate your link.

Just an FYI, just at a quick glance I noticed that the sex offender numbers were way off, they say we have 13 but the site it references shows 88 and the county show 81.

If the numbers for that category were that off I am wondering about the rest.

You mentioned asking the city for figures, did you call yet, if not I will.

Ryan,

No I have not called about the recent crime stats. I'll leave that to you, or others to do.

In fairness I note that the link's crime stats table only goes through 2005, so I would be interested about any significant changes in the last two years.

Crime in Lakewood?

Anyone hear anything about a guy that was punching holes in the walls at McCarthy's on Thursday.

Seems the police came and arrested him 4 cars, and found out he has more warrants.

Enquiring minds want to know.


.

I did not see a category for "walls punched out" on the "crime stats" link.

Gary -

At the end of the council meeting Monday evening, I did in fact ask if the city (or police) maintain records and/or statistics on crime. I was informed that Judge Carroll keeps records that reflect court activity on a yearly basis, and Chief Malley offered to provide me with police statistics on crime. I would like to follow through with obtaining records so that this very important discussion can be based on available facts, as well as personal experiences.
Speaking of personal experiences, I seem to remember that the woman who spoke of problems on her street was from Lincoln Avenue, near Athens. Any thoughts?

Dan,

I fully concur that the more we know, the more we can discuss on the basis of facts, rather than feelings.

As to the incident you cite? If you are asking me about that personally, I don't recall hearing about that.

My deepest sympathies would go out to anyone touched by any kind of crime, disturbance or unrest in their neighborhoods.

I would not doubt for a moment that now that the windows are open, we are all much more aware of activities around us. It seems to me that we all need to realize that we live close together. Patience and understanding are still good virtues, at least in my opinion. Sometimes first impressions can be mis-leading. We may discover new friends among those of whom, we did not at first, expect.

Some of my own family's dearest long-term friends started out as Lakewood neighbors.

Gary, the citi-stats page is outdated ('05) and loaded with estimates, which are invalid for issues where change does not take a linear and predictable course--this is why census and other national/general estimates, etc, are irrelevant for lakewood right now, which is changing exponentially. the only relevant numbers are those that come straight from the LPD.

I was at a meeting recently with an LPD officer who stated that weekly crime reports are drafted and are public info for all who request this, though it appears this availability is a protected secret of sorts.

Dan,

I find it interesting that the "crime is growing" types of people aren't posting whatever alarming crime numbers that may indeed exist since 2005; in order to justify their position, particularly if they are in possession of data to support their point of view.

Want to convince people of a need, particularly in an election year?

Facts help.

Not just whether people are hanging out on street corners, or that they might wear radical styles, or are in some way different from whatever the "norm" currently is.

How many crimes? What kind? Compared to the past? That's non-fudgeable info. No "estimates" or skews there.

As far as " protected secrets" are concerned? My experience on the Community Development Block Grant Committee leads me to believe that our local government is indeed, fairly transparent. First however, you have to get involved and ask questions- as you have done.

I would never doubt that we have difficulties from time to time with crime here. I simply wonder why people will not support their arguments about a supposed crime increase with hard data? Just as there are differences between "weather" and "climate", there are differences between incidents and trending data.

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