NO CRIME

I am providing a forum for voicing your opinions.  I claim no 
responsibility for any opinions expressed here.


THERE IS NO CRIME IN CERTAIN CITIES

I hear this all the time.  "Certain cities" or "certain neighborhoods" have no crime or "I'm only
going to the store.  I won't be gone long. There's no reason to take my gun.  I'll be right back."

I am not telling you to carry a gun all the time.  From a personal standpoint, I couldn't care less what
you do.  My peeve here is stupid people and/or people who have their head up their butt and refuse to 
believe the truth about the world they live in, regardless of whether that person is going to carry a 
gun or anything else.

It irks me to no end to hear things like "We don't have crime in Germantown" (or any other city).  Get 
a clue.  In no particular order, here are just a few examples of crime in "safe" areas:


On October 18, 2008, some friends of mine had their vehicle vandalized and property stolen while 
attending a little league football game in "nice quiet area" of Southaven, MS.



On October 3, 2008, Jeannie Williams, Krystle Robinson, and Abraham Arnau robbed a woman at
gunpoint in Southaven, MS by blocking her car in the street on Greenbrook Parkway.  After
the robbery was over, Arnau fired at the woman's vehicle as she was driving away.  NOTE: 
People like to surmise that the assailants were from Memphis, however all three are 
Mississippi residents, and regardless, it doesn't really matter where they live.  
The robbery still occurred in Southaven.



On March 09, 2008, a teenager shot and killed another teenager at a church event in the parking lot of the 
Southaven Performing Arts center.  Neighbors were quoted as saying, "This is a quiet neighborhood. It's 
always been a quite neighborhood until this and I'm scared now to let my kids come out at night. This is
right across the street from me."



On May 5, 2008, two people were murdered and a third seriously injured in a fight at the Oak Ridge Apartments
in Southaven.  Neighbors were quoted as saying they did not expect this in a "nice quiet neighborhood."



On November 5, 1997, at 5:00 AM, after complying with the robbers' demands, Delma Ramsey was 
murdered in the McDonald's in Germantown.



Around that same time, early one morning a man was walking down Germantown Parkway, in 
Germantown, and two men pulled up in a car and tried to kidnap him.  The only reason they
weren't successful is because he was walking his dog, and one of the men in the car was
afraid of the dog and wouldn't get out of the car.



About the same time as these incidents, there was an article in the paper about a home 
invasion in Germantown.  The article made mention of the fact it was the third home
invasion in the last month in Germantown.  In several of these home invasions, the occupants
were injured.  In particular, one elderly man and his wife almost died from their injuries. 
FYI, a home invasion is breaking and entering of an occupied house (you're home when it happens).
I also personally heard a GPD official say he used to feel safe in Germantown, but lately, he
felt like there was nothing the police could do to protect people.



In October, 2004, 4-5 men burst into a Collierville home shouting "Police!  FBI!"  After they 
gained access, they took money and other items, bound and gagged the couple who lived there,
locked them in the bathroom, then stole their SUV and left.



In February 2004, there was an article on "germantownnews.com" about series of home invasions
where the suspect has not been caught.  The articles mentions that this particular suspect is
wanted in connection with a long string of invasions, starting in September 2002.  At least
one of these involved an assault, and at least one involved the rape of a woman who was at home.



April 1, 2004, there was an article on the WMC-TV 5 news about a home invasion in Germantown.  
This was a daytime home invasion, where three men forced their way into a home where there were
several people at home at the time.



In April 2004, I also received a automated update from the Germantown Crime-Stoppers Unit
regarding a sudden increase in burglary of vehicles left parked outside walking trails.



You can also go to the Germantown, Collierville, and other cities' police departments' web 
sites and view charts of crime statistics.  Yes, of course, small cities don't have as much
crime and larger cities, but small cities still have crime. 



April 15, 2004, Rebecca Glahn was robbed, raped, and murdered in her apartment in downtown 
Memphis.  While downtown Memphis is generally considered by many to be a high crime area, 
this particular apartment building is "card access" only and has a security guard at the 
entrance, so it is considered "safe."



This is one somewhat vague, but a few years ago (can't find an exact date) there was a raid
in Germantown of an illegal escort service being run out of a home in the city.



On July 1, 2004, there was an article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal regarding a string of 
home invasions in Collierville.  The article stated that the Collierville police believe the
same person has committed at least 37 other home invasions over the last 2 years.



On August 10, 2004, NBC bank in Collierville Kroger was robbed.



On December 26, 1996 Angela Kyle was murdered in the parking garage of the Oak Court Mall.  At 
the time, the Oak Court Mall, in East Memphis, was considered to be the "place to shop" and East
Memphis was considered a "safe" neighborhood.



September 8, 2001, Willie Pearl Carter (an elderly lady) was shot and killed at People's Bank
in the Cordova/Lakeland area during a bank robbery.  According to the reports, she became 
confused, and when she didn't follow the robbers' exact orders, they shot her.



In November 2003, an insurance agent's office in that same area was robbed (robbed = at 
gunpoint).  The robbers terrorized the staff, took their personal items, and stole some
office computers.



January 2001, a Shelby County Sheriff's deputy stopped to help what he thought was a 
stranded motorist in the Cordova area, near the corner of Houston Levee and Macon Road,
and was shot (he was wearing a vest) when he approached the vehicle. 



In September 2003, a bank in that same area of Cordova was robbed.
In October 2004, the same bank was robbed again.



On June 15, 1999, a lady named Mrs. Lee was abducted from Sonic in Collierville and 
taken into Mississippi and beaten to death.  Yes, this did happen in Collierville.  
I have personal knowledge of this incident.  I have had several people argue with me 
that this couldn't have happened in Collierville, but I know of this incident personally,
plus it was on the news for several weeks.  I have also had someone argue that it didn't
really count as a Colliverville crime because the assailant took her to Mississippi
before they killed her.  That retarded-assed argument doesn't even warrant a reply.



On December 8, 2003, four disgruntled students fire-bombed an administrative office at 
Cordova High School.  Luckily, in this incident, no one was injured.  Even though his
mother stated that he was a good boy and had never been in trouble before, one of the
students had been arrested several times previously for similar incidents.



On December 10, 2003, Kroger at Winchester and Hacks Cross was robbed, and the guard 
(off-duty policeman, in uniform) was shot.



According to OSHA, the most common cause of death in the workplace  for women is murder. 
For men, murder is second most common, second only to traffic accidents.



You can decide in your mind that you're safe in certain places, but that does not change reality.
If you are the only person killed in a certain place, you are still dead, regardless.





MISC Crime Stats from 2003



These stats come from Shelby County Attorney General Bill Gibbons.
This is the number of certain crimes THAT WERE PROSECUTED in Shelby county,
and this particular set of stats is GUN CRIME ONLY.  It does not include crime committed with 
other weapons.  That means, many, many, many more were actually committed.  Some estimates
say only 2-15 percent of criminals are actually prosecuted.  Do the math.



2003 Gun Crime Stats (keep in mind GUN CRIME ONLY)

Armed Carjacking - 342

Armed Robberies - 2467

Aggravated Assaults - 1978

Rape - 543



Some estimates place rape at only 1 in 6 even reported.



The Attorney Generals gang unit gives the following info:
 
10,000-15,000 active gang members estimated in Shelby County with about 5000 considered to be "Hard 
Core Gang Members" Violent crimes involving 3 or more suspects:  728 Burglary, 16,807.  A
new record.






You can decide in your mind that you're safe in certain places,
but that does not change reality.  The reality is, there is crime
everywhere.  Unfortunately, you cannot get away from it.  If you
are the only person killed in a certain place, you are still dead.

Again, I couldn't care less if you carry a gun or take any other
steps for self defense.  I just get tired of hearing "no crime."