Calgary-5 shootings in 1 Weekend

[Flames_Gimp]

Calgary is fine.

[SarichFan]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

Calgary is fine.

That's not the point really.

There are alot better places to live now that Calgary has caught up with other cities problems. Why not live in a city with more to do? With Better weather? and a more affordable housing market?

For my i'm targetting a Phoenix Arizona suburb. Home prices at learly 50% less then what you'd get in Calgary for the money.

I've been there and love the heat, the proximity to Los Angeles, Mexico, Vegas, Colorado, ect.

They have sports up the ass... why not?

for me. I already have citizenship. Golf in January? I'm down. I take it you're in a chair? so I understand why you'd be content with Calgary, it CAN be accessible pretty well depending where you are in the city.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

That's not the point really.

There are alot better places to live now that Calgary has caught up with other cities problems. Why not live in a city with more to do? With Better weather?

For my i'm targetting a Phoenix Arizona suburb. Home prices at learly 50% less then what you'd get in Calgary for the money.

I've been there and love the heat, the proximity to Los Angeles, Mexico, Vegas, Colorado, ect.

They have sports up the ass... why not?

hmmm I guess Phoenix has wiped out their gang problem and have outlawed guns in Arizona now?

hahahaha. I never thought I'd see the day that people are leaving Canada to live in the US because of violence here.

Buy your Coyotes season tix early. I hear they sell out fast. hehe

[kermitology]

The question I have is what is Calgary's murder/major crime rate per capita?

With more people in the city I'd expect to hear about more crime. Living right beside Crack Macs (for just one more week and a bit!!!) I still don't feel unsafe walking around outside my apartment.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

That's actually good news to me, because I'd be far more afraid of random acts of violence. Just stay the hell away from gang life in this city and you're at least half safe.

I don't think that is the case in Calgary.
IMO, the sad part about Calgary is that so much of the violence isn't gang related.
When I was in Calgary, there was just way too many middle class thugs who would go around stabbing people at parties, clubs etc.
In Vancouver, I actually feel much safer, because the young adults that would always wanna start something in Calgary don't seem to be here as much. The criminal are real criminals, and you can mostly avoid them and be ok.
In Calgary, the criminals are your classmates, neighbours and teamates who have nothing better to do on the weekends but pick fights and carry weapons.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

In Calgary, the criminals are your classmates, neighbours and teamates who have nothing better to do on the weekends but pick fights and carry weapons.

Thinking about it, that is definitely true. Calgary is the kind of place where if you accidently flash your wallet around, someone is probably thinking about jumping you. I never had that feeling anywhere else I've lived or been to, just somehow I always feel it here. I've been robbed before, so I wouldn't put it past myself to have it happen again. I guess street smarts are what you need, especially for a bigger city.

Still, petty theft is one thing, but violence is another. I would say alot of violent crimes is gang-related here, but not all. Then again, most violence occurs when two or more people know each other. So I guess it's just a matter of who you choose to deal with in life.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by Dion

The huge gang problem can also be associated with all the violence.

Most of the crime going on in the city has to do with gang violence. These aren't isolated incidents so there really is no reason to start freaking out. We're not living in a city gone to chaos. Reading most of the comments here would make anyone think that Calgary is a terrible place to live. The sky isn't falling yet. Regardless of what most people think, I still find Calgary to be a safe city to live in. Obviously, with growth comes more problems, but as long as you're not getting yourself into anything you shouldn't be getting into in the first place I don't think you'll have much to worry about...well, except for paying your mortgage and ridiculous prices for gas.

[Sparks]

Originally Posted by return to the red

I blame it all on the legal system...shoot a person we'll give you 5 years plus time served don't worry you'll only have to serve 1/3 of your sentence

You might be right, but I'm a little skeptical about that argument. Do we have any good data that suggest that harsher punishment actually deters serious, violent crime? Personally, I doubt it.

It seems like common sense, but I think it's one of those cases where common sense doesn't fit with reality.

For example, here's a paper that looks at the issue of capital punishment and deterrence. The conclusions reached in the studies quoted suggest that capital punishment does not have a significant effect on deterrence. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/tea...es/JLpaper.pdf

[J pold]

Yikes! I live in McKenzie…my girlfriend was driving along the main drag last night and said she saw a bunch of cop cars and the CTV news…McKenzie for the most part is a pretty upscale suburban neighborhood… strange

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Sparks

You might be right, but I'm a little skeptical about that argument. Do we have any good data that suggest that harsher punishment actually deters serious, violent crime? Personally, I doubt it.

It seems like common sense, but I think it's one of those cases where common sense doesn't fit with reality.

For example, here's a paper that looks at the issue of capital punishment and deterrence. The conclusions reached in the studies quoted suggest that capital punishment does not have a significant effect on deterrence. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/teaching_aids/books_articles/JLpaper.pdf

Probably true, but it would have a drastic effect on "re-occurance". If the criminal isn't alive anymore, there is zero risk to re-offend.

Really though, most of these crimes are being commited by kids in the range of 16-25. For many of them, they havn't been to jail. If you catch an 18 year old for assault, incarcerate them for 5 years, they will be out by the time they are 22-23. Have they matured? Chances are not good.

Incarcerate them for 10 or more years and you will see a vast difference in the person.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by llama64

Probably true, but it would have a drastic effect on "re-occurance". If the criminal isn't alive anymore, there is zero risk to re-offend.

Really though, most of these crimes are being commited by kids in the range of 16-25. For many of them, they havn't been to jail. If you catch an 18 year old for assault, incarcerate them for 5 years, they will be out by the time they are 22-23. Have they matured? Chances are not good.

Incarcerate them for 10 or more years and you will see a vast difference in the person.

Well sure, if you put an 18 year-old kid in prison for 15 years he will be a vastly different person when he gets out. Unfortunately I don't think he's going to be the type of person anyone actually would want to meet.

[urban1]

You propose to lock up an 18 year old for 10 years for a simple assault conviction?

So theyll spend the first 10 years of their adult life in prison. Then you will let them out at age 28 and expect them to know how to function as an adult and integrate back with society?

Originally Posted by llama64

If you catch an 18 year old for assault, incarcerate them for 5 years, they will be out by the time they are 22-23. Have they matured? Chances are not good.

Incarcerate them for 10 or more years and you will see a vast difference in the person.

[SarichFan]

Originally Posted by Kobatuzzied

hmmm I guess Phoenix has wiped out their gang problem and have outlawed guns in Arizona now?

hahahaha. I never thought I'd see the day that people are leaving Canada to live in the US because of violence here.

Buy your Coyotes season tix early. I hear they sell out fast. hehe

I didn't say it was because of violence. I said the reasons for staying here are going out the window. It's getting more unsafe here, I know Phoenix has violence, all big cities do but the things that were keeping me here are almost all out the door now.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by urban1

You propose to lock up an 18 year old for 10 years for a simple assault conviction?

So theyll spend the first 10 years of their adult life in prison. Then you will let them out at age 28 and expect them to know how to function as an adult and integrate back with society?

Yeah, ten years for assault is way over the top but I followed a case in Calgary where this guy got 3 1/2 years for second degree murder. I 'm not one who seeks revenge but there has to be some value placed on lost lives.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I don't think that is the case in Calgary.
IMO, the sad part about Calgary is that so much of the violence isn't gang related.
When I was in Calgary, there was just way too many middle class thugs who would go around stabbing people at parties, clubs etc.
In Vancouver, I actually feel much safer, because the young adults that would always wanna start something in Calgary don't seem to be here as much. The criminal are real criminals, and you can mostly avoid them and be ok.
In Calgary, the criminals are your classmates, neighbours and teamates who have nothing better to do on the weekends but pick fights and carry weapons.

Well, I definitely disagree with you about Vancouver being much safer than Calgary. Having lived there, I can definitely assure you that if you go to certain places, there's as high a chance of gun violence as Calgary, if not more. Just look at the recent shooting at the Chinese restaurant a month ago in the early morning hours. There are about 4 clubs right now in Vancouver, that you can almost be guaranteed of violence breaking out at around the 1:00AM mark when these types of people actually start showing up. And believe me, these guys aren't real gangsters... just posers who know they'll get noticed if they do something like this. Ridiculous, I know.

You're right though, about the people responsible for these crimes not being your typical stereotypical impoverished teenager. A lot of times now a days, the crews shooting at each other don't *have* to do it to say, feed their family living in poverty, but rather, believe it or not, do it because it's "cool". Granted, there are a lot of times when the violence stems from "business-related" problems, but a lot of times, it's over something EXTREMELY stupid.

Gangs also, hardly exist any more in Canada unless we're talking the more organized kinds like the HAs or the international crews from Asia, and these types of organizations know a lot better than to start blasting at rivals in broad daylight or at the front door of a restaurant or popular nightclub.

I'm not an expert by any means, but knowing people (not directly, through friends' brothers and cousins), I can tell you that most of the time in Canada, these criminals come from families that are well off, and could just as easily have gone the other direction, finish school and work at a normal job as a contributing member of society.

I don't know, I asked my friend's little brother once why he dips into that lifestyle and his answer was, "Why make a taxable $60K/year when I can easily make that in 6 months without getting taxed?"

It's a sad state that SO many teens see things this way now a days (and believe me, many do), and it seems like this lifestyle is actually gaining in popularity.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

That's not the point really.

There are alot better places to live now that Calgary has caught up with other cities problems. Why not live in a city with more to do? With Better weather? and a more affordable housing market?

For my i'm targetting a Phoenix Arizona suburb. Home prices at learly 50% less then what you'd get in Calgary for the money.

I've been there and love the heat, the proximity to Los Angeles, Mexico, Vegas, Colorado, ect.

They have sports up the ass... why not?

for me. I already have citizenship. Golf in January? I'm down. I take it you're in a chair? so I understand why you'd be content with Calgary, it CAN be accessible pretty well depending where you are in the city.

probably calgarys population worth of corpses buried out there in the desert

[Joborule]

The whole criminal penalty system in Canada is completely f'ed up in logic. It's mind-baffling.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

5? Wow..........I lived in Edmonton for the past 5 years and just moved to Calgary in August hoping it would be a nice change of scenery from all the violence. So far in a month i've been here it's been the same if not worse then it was there. That's horrible.

Considering Edmonton has consistently placed at the top of the list for murders per capita in Canada we can only surmise two possibilities:

1) You're oversensationalizing Calgary's murder problem or

2) You've been responsible for Edmonton's high number of murders and now you've taken your show on the road...

[LouCypher]

With all this crap going on whether its gang members or people involved in bad drug deals or an innocent bystander those who commit these crimes will get off easy, they will get their meals in jail paid for without having to lift a finger, they will get treated better than any of their victims will by our system. They will also live to do it again with the same weak consequences.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Well, I definitely disagree with you about Vancouver being much safer than Calgary. Having lived there, I can definitely assure you that if you go to certain places, there's as high a chance of gun violence as Calgary, if not more. Just look at the recent shooting at the Chinese restaurant a month ago in the early morning hours. There are about 4 clubs right now in Vancouver, that you can almost be guaranteed of violence breaking out at around the 1:00AM mark when these types of people actually start showing up. And believe me, these guys aren't real gangsters... just posers who know they'll get noticed if they do something like this. Ridiculous, I know.

Maybe I havn't lived in Van long enough, but those things you state are exactly why I think it's safer for the average person.
All of those examples are predictable and avoidable.

The Chinese restuarant that you mentioned was a targeted hit of known gang members at 4am on a Wednesday morning at a restaurant that you need to be buzzed into to get inside.
You can't get much more avoidable then that.
Certain areas and certain clubs that are known for violence are easily avoidable too.

In Calgary, this stuff is happening in areas like McKenczie where anyone could be there. The kid in Queensland who was killed could have been anyone of the hundreads of kids who were there.

I guess my point is, Vancouver may not be less violent, but I feel further removed from it here than I did when I lived in Calgary, where every teenager in a Honda would stare me down like they have an issue.
and I say this just a couple of weeks after there was a shooting 2 blocks from me.

In Van, you learn that staring people down and acting hardcore might just get you killed. In an odd way, I think the large amount of actual gang activity here, keeps the wannabe's and highschool kids in check.