Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I also might have seen and heard of more incidences because I have lived in my house for 21 years<< We've been in our house for 14 years and in this community for 19. I know a few cops. The only problem we have in our town are meth labs that pop up. Fortunately it isn't a big problem here, as the local police have made it their top priority to stamp them out. Even our shopping centers on I-25 are safe. Some years ago we had some friends visit from SoCal and they went to one of the freeway shopping centers. Their preteen daughter misplaced her purse while shopping and they gave it up for lost. So I took them to the shopping center's main office and lo and behold, it was in the lost and found box, intact, with every penny still in it. They were blown away, they couldn't believe it.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <<That is living in fear. And I wouldn't tolerate it. I would refuse to live in such a place.>> And many people would agree with you. In my case, I work for a major company that relocated my employment to midtown Atlanta. My commute has gone from a 10-15 minute drive, from when I worked in the burbs where I live, to a 30-60 minute commute depending on traffic. I'm one of only two individuals that use public transportation to commute despite the fact that my employeers tower sits above the busiest MARTA train station in Atlanta. On the rare ocassions when I drive to/from work I have found ample parking spaces as the first two decks in my employeers parking garages are dedicated to compact cars ( I drive a Honda ). Meanwhile, everyone else apparently drives SUVs. My co-workers are terrified to go outside the building at lunch and breaks. The limited security at my building are predomantely women. Whom, I would have to protect if something happened. People work in my building 7 days a week, on weekends by a small crew. And recently we made headlines when a homeless man was found living on the 9th floor all weekend, eating and drinking any food he could find left behind in employee fridges on the various floors. My point is, sometimes you don't get to pick where your going to work, or where your going to live, your commute, or work place circumstances.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Apparently crime is so normal here, the first two times with I purchased my MARTA breeze card and reloaded it, my credit card company called me immediately to see if my credit card was stolen. I did not get the same response when I used it shopping during a recent trip this past November in Downtown Disney while at WDW.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>My co-workers are terrified to go outside the building at lunch and breaks.<< That was mighty nice of your employer (not). Unless you are being held back by a pension you would lose if you left (and those have become as rare as a Republican willing to cut the defense budget) I would say that it's time to get a new job, and maybe relocate while you're at it.
Originally Posted By tashajilek "I would refuse to live in such a nightmarish place and would move away, rather that cower in constant fear, clutching a gun." I never understood this either. I dont understand how people can live in area's where there are frequent natural disasters too. I understand some people are living in poverty and cant afford to move, but why anyone else would stay is beyond me.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Many people live in very nice suburban areas that are very safe, yet have to work in downtown areas that aren't safe. That is just the way it is in major metro areas. I think maybe Atlanta collects more than it's share of low-lifes because of the extremely low cost of living there.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I'm not sure everyone abandoning Atlanta will solve Atlanta's crime problem. And judging from the growing number of empty store fronts, office towers and plumeting property values, I would say many have already left. What Atlanta and many other major cities need is a comprehensive approach to actually fighting crime, that actually focuses on putting more police on the streets and less dependent on placing cameras everywhere that record things while a crime is being committed. Cameras don't stop criminals, they just record their violent acts. I would suggest that WDW do the same. Placing warnings about leaving valueables in cars doesn't absolve the Disney Company from taking comprehensive steps to actually putting a stop to crime going on in various parts of the WDW property. A frequent visual reminder that security is at hand, can go a long way.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Interesting because between the security towers now in the parking lots and the fact that I usually see security driving around the parking lots, I always feel very safe about leaving my car in the parking lots. Would I leave valuables out in the open? No, but I don't do that even at my house and we live in a fairly safe neighborhood.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom sjhm333, you may be correct. I haven't parked in a WDW park parking lot in years since I normally use on property transportation. Althought, on a recent trip to WDW this past November I found the security in Downtown Disney area overall to be very lax. There were many people walking around, even cutting across DTD's expansive parking lots. Anyone could just as easily have broken into any car. Even I was placing purchased items in the trunk of my car. I drove over to the Wilderness Lodge and parked, there was no apparent security present, well except at the security checkpoint to get into the resort. I don't view WDW as a high crime area. But, at the Wilderness Lodge there was more effort put into bike rentals and picking up towels lying around the pool area than there was patroling the parking lots.
Originally Posted By schnebs I've never been all that impressed by Disney security in general. I'd always joke about the gate guards at the resorts who were apparently able to spot and visually verify our parking pass from a distance of 50 or so feet in a matter of about three seconds. Sometimes we were waved through without the guard even looking up from the book they were reading.
