Crime stats seem kinda high?

[Dan B]

Wife & I were batting around the idea of buying in Springfield. We hang out there a lot, so are familiar with the area & its "up & coming" status & know it's a work in progress. But we do have a 2 y/o daughter, so of course crime is gonna concern us just for that aspect alone.

Anyways, I was checking out the COJ website & plugged in the most desirable area in Springfield where the nicest houses are. The stats seemed kinda high. Comparably, Riverside & San Marco (the cities other/only urban areas) weren't as bad, at least in the stats that would concern me the most (assaults, battery & things like that).

Here they are: Springfield Riverside SanMarco

Yes, I know the other 2 areas are more established & such, but still. Thoughts??

St. Johns county has better schools and far less crime ^_^

Yeah, we are really hating the Tolbert/James Weldon Johnson/Stanton path... it really sucks.... 

[Johnny]

Just an FYI on the schools, our neighborhood schools are the magnet schools that those out of the core are busing their kids in to.

Also, as for the pocket you are speaking of, several of us are in it and haven't had or known of any problems over here with anyone being assaulted. We are pretty active in the neighborhood, so I would assume we'd have heard about it, at least as long as it wasn't a drug type of issue at 2 am.

[Johnny]

I agree with Stephen on this one...

When we first came here 5 years ago, a sheriff at a neighborhood meeting was advising for us to report everything, no matter how petty so that we would have more police presence. I'm lucky enough to be near Three Layers though. Due to their traffic, I think crime has become non-existent. To be honest, even before Three Layers, we were pretty quiet over here. I can only recall calling the non-emergency line on 2 occasions & never the emergency line since we've lived here.

[peestandingup]

That all sounds pretty reasonable. I've never heard of anything really bad going on in Springfield. To me, Riverside/5 Points is much shadier. There's a lot of crap that goes on that doesnt get reported too. Someone was telling us about a girl who was riding her bike at night & was gang raped right around 5 Points. And not late at night either. Like 9pm or something. But I think that was pretty well known already.

And I like Riverside, but it seems kinda youngish. I mean, we're in our early 30s so we're not exactly old fuddy duddies, but it doesnt seem to have that young/middle aged-but-still-hip professional vibe like Springfield does.

And while San Marco is probably the safest urban area in Jax, its also the most boring of them IMO. I dunno, seems like a lot of old money there. And its not exactly "urban" in the sense that you can walk all over it. You've basically got the square & thats it. Plus, its expensive, so you're gonna get much less for your dollar there by far.

BTW, I saw that the Susie E. Tolbert Elementary School is from 4th grade up, but what about K-3 in the area?? Thats something we really need to be thinking about in our decision.

[Dan B]

That all sounds pretty reasonable. I've never heard of anything really bad going on in Springfield. To me, Riverside/5 Points is much shadier. There's a lot of crap that goes on that doesnt get reported too. Someone was telling us about a girl who was riding her bike at night & was gang raped right around 5 Points. And not late at night either. Like 9pm or something. But I think that was pretty well known already.

And I like Riverside, but it seems kinda youngish. I mean, we're in our early 30s so we're not exactly old fuddy duddies, but it doesnt seem to have that young/middle aged-but-still-hip professional vibe like Springfield does.

And while San Marco is probably the safest urban area in Jax, its also the most boring of them IMO. I dunno, seems like a lot of old money there. And its not exactly "urban" in the sense that you can walk all over it. You've basically got the square & thats it. Plus, its expensive, so you're gonna get much less for your dollar there by far.

BTW, I saw that the Susie E. Tolbert Elementary School is from 4th grade up, but what about K-3 in the area?? Thats something we really need to be thinking about in our decision.

Tolbert is 3-5, RV Daniels is the K4-2 school, right next door.

Technically, Tolbert is out of district, even though its about 2 miles away (near Stanton). What we like about Tolbert is that its a direct feeder into James Weldon Johnson, and it is an academically/gifted magnet. To me, its the best kept secret in Jacksonvilles School system, but has had some drama surrounding what many in the surrounding neighborhood called "segregation practices". They have now addressed the seperation of the magnet/non-magnet students, and the classes will be based around the performance of the student (FCAT scores) rather than the enrollment. Resource classes will be mixed, and Gifted will still maintain its one day a week pull out.

My oldest daughter has been there for almost three years, and the only time we had a problem was the first year, we tried to put her in extended care at RV Daniels... THAT I would not recommend. Make other plans.

RL Brown is an IB magnet, and my neighbor seems happy. J Allen Axeson, and Holiday Hill are also considered "neighborhood" schools, even though they are not even on the same side of the river.

My youngest is at Pine Forest, which is the performing arts magnet feeder to LaVilla Middle.

Bottom line, if you move here, you have a TON of options, you just have to know what they are.

[Reaper man]

mmm hey, I'll welcome you into the neighborhood if you guys have a hot sister you can hook me up with.

[Springfield Girl]

Reaper man, I have to appreciate your determination.

[Sportmotor]

I work till 9pm every Single Day

[ChriswUfGator]

What is 'stoody'?

Urbandictionary;

1.    Stoody:

Someone who is a total butthead

Man, I'm getting old...all this new terminology. Back when I was 20, if we wanted to call someone a butthead we just called them a butthead. Those were the good ole' days...

[hooplady]

I guess it's my job to chime in since I have a slightly different perspective than most.

Yes, there is crime here.  I've lived here 5+ years and the most I've suffered was the occasional item swiped off my porch.  However, my boyfriend was an unlucky victim in June '08 when he was shot in an attempted robbery.  The two criminals are in jail; he's paralyzed from the chest down.  But what matters more is what happened next - there was a huge outpouring of love and the entire 'hood rallied around us.  People donated money, brought us food, and basically kept me going in a time of unbelievable stress.

And we both decided to continue living in Springfield because it's our home.  I have come to believe that we live in a violent society and what happened was just a random act; what counts is how I react to it.  I'm a non-violent person; personally I think we need more of that so the last thing I need to do is move.  I need to stay here and make a difference, even if that's just being a good neighbor and keeping one more old house alive.

We may each move one day, but it will only be so we can be closer to our respective families.  It will not be to run away from a place that has a reputation of being "unsafe."  For me, this is the safest place I could possibly live, because if misfortune befalls me I have a whole network of people who will watch out for me.

Sadly, Somer Thompson lived in what was assumed to be a "safe" neighborhood.  There are no guarantees in this life.  I don't have children so I have no idea what it feels like to worry about their upbringing, but there sure are a lot of parents here who believe this is a great place to raise little ones.

Best of luck, wherever you decide to live!

[fsu813]

2 things:

1. most of the crime stats that you see, especially for "serious" crime, are between homeless or very low-income that are just passing through. Very few actual residents have had any serious problems in the past couple years. Just ask Shadco. (next meeting is Jan 26th at the SPAR builing, 1321 Main Street, 6-7pm)

2. Darnell-Cookman is an "A" middle school, and it's transforming into a Highschool as well. Though it's a magnet, i think zoned residents get dibs if they have the grades. Right now it goes up to 10th grade, and will add a grade the next couple of years. This means a top notch highschool in the neighborhood as well.

here's a broshcure: http://www.magnetprograms.com/pdf/brochure/DarnellCookman.pdf

[peestandingup]

We can deal with crime here & there, but getting shot at & my home broken into is probably not something Im prepared to chance with our daughter in the house. I know "safety first" is always the best solution (lock doors, windows, close gates, etc), but still. If there are actively thugs walking by consistently looking to "make their move", that's not a good feeling to have to be "on" 24/7.

The other part that bothers me I guess is the future of Springfield. Its seems like its in a constant back & forth struggle to grow & really start shining. A few years ago, it was starting to look promising. Now, its kinda reverted back in the "maybe not" category, with less businesses now than before & more vacant homes for sale, with the usual dilapidated homes scattered on every street mixed in. I have no doubt that Springfield will make it & when it does it'll be amazing, but the question is how long is that gonna take. Given the rate of "back & forthness", it could be a while unless major changes in people's mindset of the place get better.

However, this home crisis sweeping the area & country I do believe is good for Springfield, simply because its making the houses actually affordable now. I think one of the area's biggest problems why it cant move forward is because of all the "get rich quick" investors buying into the area, fixing up the homes without anyone living in them & then trying to turn huge profits. No one's gonna pay upwards of $400K to live up there right now, its just not realistic. So this needs to change & I believe it is.

The area needs people who arent investing in the homes, but actually LIVING in the homes & doing it affordably. I think that may be beginning to happen in bigger numbers, esp after home prices have tanked everywhere.

[fsu813]

There's a ton of momentum for SPR now, not sure where you got the impression that it's waining.

- 4 popular new businesses opened in the past year, the entire Park system is going to get a major renovation, which the city hope to be Jax's "central park", Main Street just got finished (which caused many of the business closure, due to construction over the past few years), some exisiting businesses are getting a makeover thanks to SPAR, all kinds of groups/organizations in the 'hood, SRG is still building new homes, as are other builders (a rare thing is this economy), the Southern Living article has created all sorts of attention and interest, a couple of cool businesses will probably be opening on Main in the first half of the year, there have been A LOT of home buyers in the past 18 months, LOTS of homes getting renovated now (again, not something you'll see elsewhere right now), etc.

[Lucasjj]

My girlfriend and I are in the process of trying to find a home in Springfield, and although we don't have any children, crime was an initial concern of ours. We have been going over at all different times during the day and night to ensure we are comfortable in the area. We started out driving around learning the area and seeing it more for what it really is, and then progressed to riding our bikes and walking around.

Not to sound blind to the fact that there is crime to be cautious about in Springfield, but I think some of it is also perception. Although now we feel comfortable enough to buy in Springfield, I would be lying to say I didn't feel more comfortable where I am at in Riverside.  However the fact is, the guy who got his eyes gouged out was found at the foot of my driveway, Richard Collier was shot two blocks behind my house, and the girl who was raped recently was one block north of me. Not to mention my car has been broken into.

To be honest my real fear lies in the concern that the neighborhood won't complete it's transition into what I can be. I do agree that the housing prices coming down (which is the only way I could afford to get in) will help, but I don't want to be sunk with the ship if the neighborhood reverts back and I can't afford to just get up and leave.

[PorchCats]

My personal experience: We lived in Avondale for a year, just off Park not far NW of the Brick restaurant. In that year (2007), there were two shootings (one drug-related), a car jacking and a murder within two blocks of our house.

In our 18 months in Springfield, our house was broken into last July. The alarm started screaming, the guy got a camera and got out. We got the camera back that same day because this neighborhood MOBILIZED. Pictures of the guy hitting other places started showing up on facebook, no kidding - and he was caught coming out of yet another house because our neighbors (East side AND West side) cared enough to stay on top of what was going on. It was amazing.

So - yes - there is other crime, but as someone pointed out, if it happens here, it gets reported and people come out of their homes to help. I have never lived in a neighborhood quite like this before. I feel lucky to be a part of Springfield. People - all walks - say hello when they pass by. They notice you, and you them. That's half the battle.  Some would say the other half is a big dog, but our cats would disagree.