Man shot and killed in NE, Calgary's 7th homicide of the year

[tvp2003]

I grew up in Marlborough Park (parents still live there) -- I never felt like it was unsafe but I can see why people might think that. Race is very much an issue, especially in more recent years it seems.

Having said that, I agree that NE Calgary is a utopia compared to some parts of the US. We took a subway in LA that passed through areas like Compton, etc and the difference is like night and day.

A resident in the quiet community of Marlborough Park told the Herald that he heard gunshots and ran out of his house to find his neighbour lying in the alleyway.

Maybe it's me, but if I hear gun shots the last thing I'm going to do is run outside into the alley

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

Unfortunately I think a lot of the stereotype of the N.E. is race related. Which is too bad.

I think the perception is a combination of income, race, and crime. That section of town does get more than it's share of crime vis-a-vis other areas of town. Ie 5 of Calgary's 7 murders this year have occured east of the deerfoot. However that all being said Calgary has an extremely low crime rate by North American and World standards and that area of Calgary probably still has a lower crime rate than many other North American cities best sections. It's still very safe and it's rediculous to be afraid of going to that section of town at any time of the day.

[bigtmac19]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Seems every city I've seen, the West is safer than the East. Are there cities that you all know of that is different?

Yep, in Windsor the West end definitely has a bad rep. compared to the east.

[soulchoice]

In my opinion, there are no scary neighborhoods in this city at all. Violence can happen anywhere. I would never be afraid to venture into any part of Calgary.

[Bobblehead]

Population of Calgary in 2007 - 1,019,942
Number of murders in 2007 - 30

Population of Calgary in 1978 - 505,637
Number of murders in 1978 - 37

[Sainters7]

Wow, Madeira Dr. in Marlborough Park, we briefly lived there way back in 1990-91! I don't know how bad Marlborough is as a whole(I know it has a bad rep), but the Madeira Dr condos were just full of trouble. My mom wasn't too far removed from a divorce and had just met who is now my stepdad and I think money was a little tight, so when my mom got a job in Calgary we had to move ASAP. They saw how cheap this area was and jumped on it, without doing enough homework. We were out of there extremely quickly, I think they were shocked how bad the area was, especially considering me and my sister were very young at the time.

Surprisingly there's a really good elementary school right in that area, Cappy Smart. I don't know if it's still around or what it's like now, but back then it was constantly winning Calgary School of the Month Awards. I think it's important to have a very well-run, caring school full of good staff and teachers in an area as crime-ridden as this, it can really make a difference in the community.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Population of Calgary in 2007 - 1,019,942
Number of murders in 2007 - 30

Population of Calgary in 1978 - 505,637
Number of murders in 1978 - 37

Great post. Puts things into perspective. Also reminds all those idiots who complain that things are so much more violent now than the 'good old days' when Calgary was such a wonderful small prairie town where everyone knew everyone, and it took only 5 minutes to drive to work, buses ran on time . . . .

[SarichFan]

Wasn't 1978 pretty much the timing of the 1st real Calgary boom? Just as many Cranes then as there are now.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Wasn't 1978 pretty much the timing of the 1st real Calgary boom? Just as many Cranes then as there are now.

But more than twice the murder rate.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Population of Calgary in 2007 - 1,019,942
Number of murders in 2007 - 30

Population of Calgary in 1978 - 505,637
Number of murders in 1978 - 37

There were 9 murders in 1997 and 30 in 2007. OMG The city is going to hell, that's 21 more people than 10 years ago!!!!

*See, stats can be used to prove anyone's point, when picked apart.

BTW 1978 wasn't even close to being the norm back then. In fact in a recent Herald article about the homocides in '07, they specifically named '78 as a very weird year, and in fact, the record for homicides in Calgary's entire history, so to put '78 and '07 side by side and basically say 'see, things haven't changed', is entirely false.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Seems every city I've seen, the West is safer than the East. Are there cities that you all know of that is different?

The west is safer than the east in most western-based cities but the opposite is true in most eastern-based cities. West Philadelphia, East L.A., Oakland/SF etc.

Oddly enough, in Winnipeg (a central city) it's the North that's the bad area and the South is safer.

[Resolute 14]

Yeah, but Winnipeg has always been an odd city.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by flameswin

There were 9 murders in 1997 and 30 in 2007. OMG The city is going to hell, that's 21 more people than 10 years ago!!!!

*See, stats can be used to prove anyone's point, when picked apart.

BTW 1978 wasn't even close to being the norm back then. In fact in a recent Herald article about the homocides in '07, they specifically named '78 as a very weird year, and in fact, the record for homicides in Calgary's entire history, so to put '78 and '07 side by side and basically say 'see, things haven't changed', is entirely false.

Sure, but the stats just show that people who believe things are worse now than they have ever been are wrong.

If you are ablt to dig up the stats, you will see violent crime was increasing until the late 70s early 80s, then decreased for quite a while and is now inching back up again.

I believe what it comes down to is instead of 3 networks and a couple newspapers fighting for people
s attention, there are now many networks, as well as the internet to fight against for ratings. Sensationalizing the news seems to grab more attention, and hence, "It bleeds, it leads". And if one station can get yuo to tune in by "exposing Calgary's soaring murder rate" then they will do it and find stats to back there point, whether it is a true representation of what is going on, or not.

We can now hear about the worst news from around the world within minutes of it occurring. We can hear about happenings on the other side of the globe. It makes the whole world seem like it is going to hell when we are inundated with all the tragedy in the world, and distance is no longer a buffer to these stories.

We need to recognize that just because we hear about a lot more school shootings, kidnappings, and so on does not mean that there are a lot more of these happenings. It may just mean we have more access to knowing about them. And the crazy guys who used to stand on the street corner telling people that the world was going to end now publishes his beliefs on the internet, and we can see that he isn't wearing any shoes so it is harder to judge the veracity of his message.

I guess the point is you can't necessarily believe that life used to be rosy and now it has gone bad. Things are not necessarily better, or worse, just different, and in some ways it is better, and other ways it is worse.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Wow, Madeira Dr. in Marlborough Park, we briefly lived there way back in 1990-91! I don't know how bad Marlborough is as a whole(I know it has a bad rep), but the Madeira Dr condos were just full of trouble. My mom wasn't too far removed from a divorce and had just met who is now my stepdad and I think money was a little tight, so when my mom got a job in Calgary we had to move ASAP. They saw how cheap this area was and jumped on it, without doing enough homework. We were out of there extremely quickly, I think they were shocked how bad the area was, especially considering me and my sister were very young at the time.

Surprisingly there's a really good elementary school right in that area, Cappy Smart. I don't know if it's still around or what it's like now, but back then it was constantly winning Calgary School of the Month Awards. I think it's important to have a very well-run, caring school full of good staff and teachers in an area as crime-ridden as this, it can really make a difference in the community.

It's still very much around. Went there from Kindergarden to grade 4.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Seems every city I've seen, the West is safer than the East. Are there cities that you all know of that is different?

Chicago

I believe Kanye West refers to a pretty brotha from the West, where as the gangsta live in the east

[corporatejay]

Chicago i believe is North/South......Cubs are for afflluent people, Sox are working class

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Chicago i believe is North/South......Cubs are for afflluent people, Sox are working class

Yup... North South divide.

Detroit is Auburn Hills and Area and Rest of Detroit Divide.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Seems every city I've seen, the West is safer than the East. Are there cities that you all know of that is different?

There is actually a reason for this. In North America, industrial areas are built up on the eastern sides of cities so that pollution isn't blown across the city as the wind blows from west to east. The neighborhoods that develop in these areas are typically working/lower class and immigrant neighborhoods that attract more crime than other areas.

[agubuan]

I grew up in Marlborough Park, I used to know multiple people that lived in those condos and played hoops at Cappy Smart. Sweet dunk hoops in the back of the school. My bike even got stolen when I played a soccer game there in my early youth.

[JiriHrdina]

Woah weird bump.