Crime in Riverside

[Timkin]

Yep, 100% accurate, knowing somebody was IN YOUR HOUSE, beating your dogs away with some of your own kitchen appliances while they're unwiring your electronics.  It sucks.  But hey, apparently that's our lot in life over in here in the '04.  Have you heard about the atrocities in AVONDALE?  RIGHT ACROSS FROM A CHURCH?  They're stealing PLANTERS, and BAGS OF MULCH, worth at LEAST ten bucks.  AT LEAST.

fsquid and Adam W, thanks for understanding my need to vent.

The first one sucked, the second one made me question the neighborhood, the third one made me feel stupid for letting it happen, and the fourth one forced me to close up my dog door and (coincidentally) get another dog (a French Mastiff that wouldn't have fit through the door anwyay).  Tank is having some behavior issues these days, but I'd be more than happy to have him unleash his teenage angst on an intruder.

Brian... just a suggestion...  How about installing surveillance Cameras?   ..

Am sorry to hear about your extensive list of misfortunes.  Cannot say I blame you a bit for your position .

[Bill Hoff]

Brian,

CPTED & SHADCO are your friend.

I grew up in Riverside, and some of my most vivid memories are of random gun shot & DV victims knocking on the door for help (multiple times), prostitutes working Stockton Street, being jumped after school on Myra and Ernest Streets, and being targeted by sex offenders. Those were the days (late 80's to mid-90's). Thankfully, most of that is in the neighborhood's past now....and that's awesome. Here's to progress.

[Pinky]

Yep, 100% accurate, knowing somebody was IN YOUR HOUSE, beating your dogs away with some of your own kitchen appliances while they're unwiring your electronics.  It sucks.  But hey, apparently that's our lot in life over in here in the '04.  Have you heard about the atrocities in AVONDALE?  RIGHT ACROSS FROM A CHURCH?  They're stealing PLANTERS, and BAGS OF MULCH, worth at LEAST ten bucks.  AT LEAST.

fsquid and Adam W, thanks for understanding my need to vent.

The first one sucked, the second one made me question the neighborhood, the third one made me feel stupid for letting it happen, and the fourth one forced me to close up my dog door and (coincidentally) get another dog (a French Mastiff that wouldn't have fit through the door anwyay).  Tank is having some behavior issues these days, but I'd be more than happy to have him unleash his teenage angst on an intruder.

Brian... just a suggestion...  How about installing surveillance Cameras?   ..

Am sorry to hear about your extensive list of misfortunes.  Cannot say I blame you a bit for your position .

I have an 8 camera DVR system at my place of business, and honestly, it's not the answer unless your perp is so well known that the responding officer immediately recognizes his/her face from the video.  Otherwise it's just "ok, white guy around 5'10"...  However, if you use the "direct to mobile" and "motion sensor" functions, it'll stream live video to your iPhone whenever it senses movement.  If you see a bad guy and then call 911 and say "I'm watching my place get robbed" the officers will respond immediately, as opposed to checking out an alarm call which is low priority and usually not even dispatched for a long period of time.  (For example, my Safetouch system at my old house would blare away for a minute by default, then someone would come over the "2 way communicator" and ask if there was anyone present and if so, if they had a password.  If there was no response they'd then begin calling my various listed phone numbers trying to reach one of us to see if it was an accidental alarm.  In the meantime dudes are carrying stuff out of your house...  Then, eventually, the alarm company will call the JSO and report it as an alarm, which is a low priority call. 

The key is to make your house just a little bit less attractive than your neighbors.  Remember, thieves are lazy; they'll go with the easy targets first.  Big dogs are good if the perp is dog-averse. (Clearly, not all are.)  Burglar alarms will make them think twice, or even burglar alarm stickers on the windows.  Lamp timers to make it look occupied help, and an unpredictable schedule is a plus.  Outdoor lighting helps too, although both of my robberies were mid-day. 

[MissMinda]

My house has been burglarized once, which included items that can never be replaced. My vehicle has been broken into twice. The second time was on the night of my birthday. I now have a gaping hole in my dashboard, which I'm not going to replace while living in this neighborhood. I'd rather not replace the window again. I can live with music from my phone, although I usually just drive in silence.

I have ranted and raved against this neighborhood for years, which my husband is so attached to. New Year's Eve, 2010, I made a resolution to "appreciate" the neighborhood I live in. Part of which, was joining this message board that year. Although I haven't made it to Orsay, yet, it is definitely in the plans, now that my children are old enough to take care of themselves in the evening.

I no longer hate Riverside and am looking to move every moment, but I still bear ill will toward those who steal my kids' scooters off of my porch, toward those who knock on my door and ask my children for money, etc. I hope that you do not choose to move, Brian. I am so glad that you own and operate one of the most highly acclaimed restaurants here. I also hope our neighborhood improves.

Minda

[RiversideLoki]

I have an 8 camera DVR system at my place of business, and honestly, it's not the answer unless your perp is so well known that the responding officer immediately recognizes his/her face from the video.  Otherwise it's just "ok, white guy around 5'10"...  However, if you use the "direct to mobile" and "motion sensor" functions, it'll stream live video to your iPhone whenever it senses movement.  If you see a bad guy and then call 911 and say "I'm watching my place get robbed" the officers will respond immediately, as opposed to checking out an alarm call which is low priority and usually not even dispatched for a long period of time.  (For example, my Safetouch system at my old house would blare away for a minute by default, then someone would come over the "2 way communicator" and ask if there was anyone present and if so, if they had a password.  If there was no response they'd then begin calling my various listed phone numbers trying to reach one of us to see if it was an accidental alarm.  In the meantime dudes are carrying stuff out of your house...  Then, eventually, the alarm company will call the JSO and report it as an alarm, which is a low priority call. 

The key is to make your house just a little bit less attractive than your neighbors.  Remember, thieves are lazy; they'll go with the easy targets first.  Big dogs are good if the perp is dog-averse. (Clearly, not all are.)  Burglar alarms will make them think twice, or even burglar alarm stickers on the windows.  Lamp timers to make it look occupied help, and an unpredictable schedule is a plus.  Outdoor lighting helps too, although both of my robberies were mid-day.

I was talking with CompoundJoe the other night about this very thing. Your normal CCTV cameras are NOT going to be up to the job. The resolution isn't there, and all you can do is tell that someone has been there. The likelihood of them catching the perp is virtually nil.

I highly recommend IP cameras, as the resolution achieved with them is untouchable by regular CCTV camera and off the shelf camera systems. My current favorite is Ubiquiti Airvision. The cameras are cheap, about 100 bucks a piece, and have features of 500 dollar IP cameras and are high resolution. They will email you pictures on motion/events and can store back to a central server or repository to pull up in the event that something happens, and most importantly YOU CAN READ TAGS AND IDENTIFY people.

[Dog Walker]

Thanks for the tip, Loki, you have just saved me from a mistake.  I was going to cheap CCTV route because of the cost of the IP cameras.

[RiversideLoki]

Man, someone stole my potted saguaro last night. Who steals a cactus?!?

Reward if found, Remington and McDuff area.

[Timkin]

^ Damn Cactus thieves   

[simms3]

I know crime rates are often worse in other cities, but I really think it's a Jacksonville thing to have blatant crime everywhere.  My parents live waterfront in Ortega and have some amazing war stories you just wouldn't believe (of course I missed all the action, even when I lived with them...I don't think either event disturbed them as they were "excited" and energized for weeks afterward!).  Then there is "gypsy season", which I have only heard of being an occurrence in one other city.  Oh and I have a friend and know of a couple of others who have been robbed gunpoint in their driveway upon returning home from school (followed), one in front of his parents watching from inside...in Ortega/Ortega Forest (lest we forget the crimepit at Lane and San Juan is a mere 2-3 miles away, 103rd St is right there).

Then two friends in particular always have crazy stories when they come and visit.  Crazy stories.  Not to mention some of the parties I went to in HS (won't go into details, but white Ortega kids certainly partied harder than anyone I've met from almost anywhere else...I mean like dangerous drug dealers came to these parties).

And one thing I have not heard since moving away are the constant police copters.  Every week on at least one night I would see or hear copters hovering around overhead (this is not normal...I travel a lot now and never see or hear police copters elsewhere, certainly not in the "good parts").

I seriously think the difference between Jax and many cities is the fact that crime/rough areas are mingled in everywhere, and it's really not just "one side of town".  My dad always described New Orleans as sort of checkerboard (partially literally black one block white the next, but I think he really meant in terms of wrong/right side of the tracks, too).

As is the case with Ortega/Avondale/Riverside, even within the neighborhoods themselves you can have downright ghetto not 3 blocks from $3MM homes.  I know of a few people who moved to the area from other cities, having found "similar charm" in Avondale or Ortega as their previous neighborhoods, only to move out to the beach because they got tired of dealing with the riff raff not 2 blocks from their million dollar investments.

To my many previous points likewise iterated by others on this thread, I think appearance will help things along.  Clean the sidewalks and increase city and private lighting.  Mow lawns.  Maintain parks and enforce nighttime rules.  This will also raise values, helping current residents and keeping not so nice future residents out.  There are houses that look abandoned not one block from the Shoppes (mainly on the Riverside Ave side), with overgrown yards...which probably leads to outsiders parking illegally on those yards.  This situation is certainly not a deterrent to crime.

[simms3]

I just have to add a prominent doctor was shot on his morning jog at Baker Park near the Ortega Bridge when some thieves tried to jack his car (he threw the keys away and tried to run away and was still clipped...I'm probably telling it wrong but he was def shot).  He lives.  There was another prominent Ortegan who was not so lucky in a similar situation.  Apparently it was so bad 2-3 years ago the JSO was holding neighborhood meetings at all the churches on a weekly or monthly basis to update people on what they were doing to curb the crime wave.  A house of a HS classmate of mine in Venetia across from THE Ortega officer (Moulder) was robbed in broad daylight of many many items (like a truckload came to pick everything up, and thankfully someone noticed and called the cops, which weren't home across the street at the time).

I think the only place where one is probably "extremely" safe from assault, vandalism, burglary, etc is Ponte Vedra Beach, if you are part of the 1% that can afford it and don't mind being surrounded by a ton of retirees and across the universe from everything (but next to the beach ).

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I think the only place where one is probably "extremely" safe from assault, vandalism, burglary, etc is Ponte Vedra Beach, if you are part of the 1% that can afford it and don't mind being surrounded by a ton of retirees and across the universe from everything (but next to the beach ).

Please stop typing.

[Timkin]

I think the only place where one is probably "extremely" safe from assault, vandalism, burglary, etc is Ponte Vedra Beach, if you are part of the 1% that can afford it and don't mind being surrounded by a ton of retirees and across the universe from everything (but next to the beach ).

Please stop typing.

??