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Rochester: 30th Most Dangerous City

A new, roundly-criticized report says Rochester is the 30th most dangerous city in America.  Is it really fair to lump all cities together and then parse a metric like this?

By Tommy Belknap

Owner, developer, editor of DragonFlyEye.Net, Tom Belknap is also a freelance journalist for The 585 lifestyle magazine. He lives in the Rochester area with his wife and son.

5 replies on “Rochester: 30th Most Dangerous City”

Well Tom, I’m not sure if it’s fair or not but anyway you slice the onion it still makes me wanna cry.

My Friend Aaron watched a guy get shot in the face this summer on Monroe Ave the first night of the Naples Fest. He never made it out till the next morning because he was held for questioning by the police for hours.

Everyday for a while there it was like “Murder in the city last night,” “Another murder happened in Rochester…,” “A man was found shot tonight at the corner of…”

It makes me so pissed because above all other things about it there is to be mad about, I can’t think of one damn thing to do that would stop it.

American society needs to get it’s shit together real quick or things are going to get really scary out there. It’s hearing shit like this all the time that gives the NRA power to push the pro-gun thing on a protection angle.

…And I hope it’s not out of line, but if it was white people getting shot all the time you bet your ass there’d be a whole lot more being done about it.

Right now it’s easy for people to rationalize it away with their racism. (You know the talks you’ve had with older people about “how nice the City used to be back before all the blacks moved in and ruined it.”)

What’s worse is the paranoia that thrives on this shit. Talk to some younger people – even guys in their late 20’s or early to mid 30’s down in the southern tier and they won’t even cross into the city limits without packing a piece.

Well, I appreciate what you’re saying, but my point is this: we also just got voted one of the friendliest places in the country to live, now we’re being told that we’re also one of the most violent.

That doesn’t seem to add up. My point is that such arbitrary ratings systems don’t take a lot of things into account. I could understand a “top 10,” in either category, since in this case, you might make a genuine argument that such numbers are important. But if you’re number 30, is there really any statistical value in such a number? All it does is provide fodder for those who already don’t like the city to hate it more, and that means more getting screwed by the County, which means (you guessed it) more problems for a city already identified as having problems.

The benefits do not come close to equaling the costs.

Agreed, none of us want to dog the city. I think that rating is just another example of the press just running out there and scaring the shit out of the public with raw news like that. You have to report things like that through a special lens – and that applies to the people who came up with that report first.

Now it's a new story because Duffy disagrees and people are pissed about the report. They got two stories for the price of one! It's the whole thing with ratings though and bad news sells and all that which feeds this crap.

Anyone who's mad over that report is totally right to be. It is a pointless report that does more bad than good in the way it's used.

Sad part about it is though that I can't really make a huge argument for how amazingly safe I feel walking around alone after gigs – and I don't even play in so called "bad spots."

Maybe I'm just as bad or as freaked out sometimes as the people who feel like they need a gun on them to go downtown.

Honest truth is, if you told me Rochester was one of the worst cities in the country for crime I'd probably just shrug it off and believe you – for I like many other people around here, have nothing else to compare it to.

We've been conditioned to think that way because all we keep seeing is more violence on the news.

…don't go outside! It's scary out there…

I love my city! however, it is extremely violent. I’m not from the “Roc” originally but it is where I call home. in the past few months there have been 3 homicides less than a block away from where i live. (which is the so called nice area) also I run a youth center that has recently been over run by gangs. I’ve had a 15 yr.old boy pull an ice pick on me and have had 14 and 15 yr. olds bring guns to the center. Being a musician as well it is very difficult to book a gig in the city because you never know what you will incur and you really do have to pay attention to what neighbor hood you are entering. i recently drove down hudson and I noticed on a side street there was a bunch of stuffed animals and a picture of a young girl who’s life had been taken at that location. I took a minuate and moved on, one street over I noticed a few abandon houses I turned down that street and saw on an old dilapidated house in blue spray paint these words. “This House Did Not Destroy Itself WWJD.” again I took a moment to collect my thoughts, later I heard the police chief on the news saying (when zero tolerance first started) “were not just going to arrest ourselves out of this problem.” I really was pissed when I heard this but now it kinds of makes sense (although arrests will help put fear into people about to commit a crime may bee) to all those racists out there, The problem is not a color the problem is a culture! of not having a good male role model in the home. these young kids see that being a man is being as hard or tuff as possible or carrying a glock to show who’s boss. The solution, simple: Remember these words, THIS HOUSE DID NOT DESTROY ITSELF if we come together and admit we don’t have all the answers but we are willing to try willing to go into the uncomfortable places and lend a hand if this city would unite against violence and turn from its selfish ways we might have a chance. I will do my part will you?

@bobt ~ Well, for however you’ve been in Rochester, welcome! And welcome to DragonFlyEye.Net.

Those words, “this house did not destroy itself,” yes, they really do give you a lot to think about, don’t they? Personally, the only benefit I see from the heavy crack-down is temporary: it keeps people off the streets and therefore should reduce violence.

But as we’ve seen, it doesn’t stop the violence. Moreover, such plans tend to be short-sited and temporary. As expensive as it is, the only real solution is a larger police force on a more permanent basis. And a more personal presence, too. Otherwise, people living in certain neighborhoods get the impression they’re being locked up in their own homes.

It’s a holistic problem: education matters, lead poisoning (which leads to learning disabilities) matters, day-to-day crime prevention matters, economic assistance matters. Unfortunately, it is so many moving components, I fear there is no coalition of political types that can keep an eye on the ball over all the turnover of leadership.

Thank goodness there are people like you willing to work in these youth centers! We are all of us fortunate to have people who can reach out and maybe be a friend to some troubled kid out there! Thank you.

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