Post by OnCrime on Sept 14, 2007 9:09:45 GMT -5
9/13/07 - CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Poll: Most worry little about crime but 46% are at least Somewhat concerned over becoming a victim
The majority give police a passing grade Kevin Parmlee doesn't worry about becoming a crime victim.
The 19-year-old student at Johnson C. Smith University said he doesn't associate with people who cause trouble and that he always takes precautions, like using main roads at night and staying aware of his surroundings.
"I've never had any problems," said Parmlee, who moved from Winston-Salem to Charlotte about a year ago. "It has a lot to do with the situations you put yourself in."
More than half of Mecklenburg residents are only slightly or not at all worried about becoming a victim of crime in Charlotte, according to an Observer/WCNC-TV poll. And the vast majority of those surveyed gave police a passing grade when it comes to fighting and preventing crime. Parmlee is among them.
The poll found that 12 percent are very worried about becoming a crime victim, while 34 percent are somewhat worried. Fifty-four percent are only slightly or not at all worried about becoming a victim.
Caucasians are less worried than African Americans. People who make more money are less worried than those who don't make as much. And women tend to worry more than men, the poll showed.
Peggy Edmunds, a 60-year-old lifelong Charlottean, said she is very worried about becoming a crime victim.
"You used to feel safe walking down the street. Now I don't feel safe doing that," said Edmunds, who lives in the Paw Creek area. "Kids, they don't respect people like they used to."
The survey also asked participants to rate the job police are doing fighting and preventing crime in the city of Charlotte. Fifty-five percent rated police as excellent or good; 33 percent said fair; and 5 percent said poor.
The results showed Caucasians were more likely than African Americans to rate police as excellent or good.
Guy Chamberlain, an associate superintendent with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said police were excellent when his autistic son was missing briefly.
"I was amazed at how responsive they were," he said. "Within two minutes, police had every exit from the neighborhood blocked. Canine (officers) were on the way and they were getting ready to dispatch a helicopter."
Chamberlain, who lives in south Charlotte, said his son rides a bus to Metro School but got on a bus headed for South Mecklenburg High by mistake.
Lidia Cosgrove had a different experience, she said.
Cosgrove, 38, called police recently after someone approached her on Executive Center Drive in east Charlotte as she was walking to drop off mail for work. She said she suspects that prostitutes hang out in that area and believes the man mistook her for one of them, even though she was dressed in professional attire.
"They need to step up patrols in that area," she said. "I called the Hickory Grove office. The person I spoke with, her attitude was like, `What do you want me to do about it?' "
About the Poll:
The Charlotte Observer/WCNC News 2007 Carolinas Poll was conducted Aug. 15-19 by Braun Research of Princeton, N.J., which interviewed 600 people by telephone in Mecklenburg County. The sampling error for the responses is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
MELISSA MANWARE
mmanware@charlotteobserver.com
Link to article: www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/275863.html
Poll: Most worry little about crime but 46% are at least Somewhat concerned over becoming a victim
The majority give police a passing grade Kevin Parmlee doesn't worry about becoming a crime victim.
The 19-year-old student at Johnson C. Smith University said he doesn't associate with people who cause trouble and that he always takes precautions, like using main roads at night and staying aware of his surroundings.
"I've never had any problems," said Parmlee, who moved from Winston-Salem to Charlotte about a year ago. "It has a lot to do with the situations you put yourself in."
More than half of Mecklenburg residents are only slightly or not at all worried about becoming a victim of crime in Charlotte, according to an Observer/WCNC-TV poll. And the vast majority of those surveyed gave police a passing grade when it comes to fighting and preventing crime. Parmlee is among them.
The poll found that 12 percent are very worried about becoming a crime victim, while 34 percent are somewhat worried. Fifty-four percent are only slightly or not at all worried about becoming a victim.
Caucasians are less worried than African Americans. People who make more money are less worried than those who don't make as much. And women tend to worry more than men, the poll showed.
Peggy Edmunds, a 60-year-old lifelong Charlottean, said she is very worried about becoming a crime victim.
"You used to feel safe walking down the street. Now I don't feel safe doing that," said Edmunds, who lives in the Paw Creek area. "Kids, they don't respect people like they used to."
The survey also asked participants to rate the job police are doing fighting and preventing crime in the city of Charlotte. Fifty-five percent rated police as excellent or good; 33 percent said fair; and 5 percent said poor.
The results showed Caucasians were more likely than African Americans to rate police as excellent or good.
Guy Chamberlain, an associate superintendent with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said police were excellent when his autistic son was missing briefly.
"I was amazed at how responsive they were," he said. "Within two minutes, police had every exit from the neighborhood blocked. Canine (officers) were on the way and they were getting ready to dispatch a helicopter."
Chamberlain, who lives in south Charlotte, said his son rides a bus to Metro School but got on a bus headed for South Mecklenburg High by mistake.
Lidia Cosgrove had a different experience, she said.
Cosgrove, 38, called police recently after someone approached her on Executive Center Drive in east Charlotte as she was walking to drop off mail for work. She said she suspects that prostitutes hang out in that area and believes the man mistook her for one of them, even though she was dressed in professional attire.
"They need to step up patrols in that area," she said. "I called the Hickory Grove office. The person I spoke with, her attitude was like, `What do you want me to do about it?' "
About the Poll:
The Charlotte Observer/WCNC News 2007 Carolinas Poll was conducted Aug. 15-19 by Braun Research of Princeton, N.J., which interviewed 600 people by telephone in Mecklenburg County. The sampling error for the responses is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
MELISSA MANWARE
mmanware@charlotteobserver.com
Link to article: www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/275863.html
