Downtown Safer than St. John's Town Center?

[fieldafm]

I went to the Target at the Town Center at lunch yesterday and noticed they had a temporary, mobile 'security watch tower' up across from the hand car wash station and thought 'must be having mugging problems around here'.  Sure enough, turn on the news last night and this story pops up.

What a horrible experience for this mother and daughter.  It does appear that the managment team over at Carter is taking this seriously though with beefed up security measures.

Not defending the Town Center at all... but, that parallels with my experience downtown today where I was asked for money three times walking from the skyway station in Hemming over to Chamblins.

[finehoe]

Not defending the Town Center at all... but, that parallels with my experience downtown today where I was asked for money three times walking from the skyway station in Hemming over to Chamblins.

Are you saying that having a gun pulled on you and being kidnapped is the equivilent of being asked for spare change?

[fieldafm]

Hardly.  But the title of this thread is 'downtown safer than St Johns Town Center?'.  My point was there is no nirvana in this city.  Now that there was a serious violent crime in SJTC, should we now say that SJTC is going downhill and will be another Regency Mall by the end of the year?  

Jack Del Rio had his former home in Ortega robbed a few years ago.  This time last year there were many armed robberies in Ortega.  And a few months ago there was a string of robberies in Avondale and a violent rape in 5 Points.  Crime is everywhere.  I once met an attempted robber at the back door with gun in hand in a fomer residence in Riverside.  The point is... so what?  

I feel really bad for the mother and her daughter.  As a prior victim of violent crime, I sympathize with her greatly.  But to make this horrible event into some bigger euphamism of a debate about the safety of one side of town versus another is far stretched, at best.

[Sportmotor]

Biggest question, what time was the kidnapping?
If it was after dark or when everyone was emptying out of SJTC then I could see someone being able to pull this off.
SJTC becomes very open and secuded when it starts to shut down, and hate to say it. Easyer to pray on people. I personally would hate to be a women and walk SJTC by myself or just with a child when it gets late. I become far more alart when it gets dark and all there.

But DT is hardly safer then SJTC
>_>

[Dappleganger]

Dang, we were over at the Japanese steakhouse that night celebrating our daughter's graduation with family. It didn't sound like they were out that late, just the wrong place at the wrong time. I know the pretzel shop was held up last year too (with a gun).

As a woman who enjoys her freedom but also needs to go into areas which some may consider a bit shady at times (areas of St. Augustine, really) I am a firm believer in 2A rights and pack and carry regularly. I've also invested a good deal of time in self-defense classes with a high focus on street smarts (but I did grow up in Norfolk, just a few miles from downtown). Let me just say that if this situation had happened to me I would have gone Momma Bear on her ass real quick.

And to the poster who said the mother 'deserved' this because of where she ate...that was quite tasteless. Nobody deserves that kind of treatment, anywhere or anytime.

[CS Foltz]

Dappleganger...........I agree! "Tasteless" is being polite and then some! Some people have no taste or sense or an idea of what is right or wrong!

[Timkin]

Wow... shocking (guess I should not be too shocked) to hear about this happening in SJTC.  They would be pretty disappointed if they tried to rob me tho.  Im pretty broke these days..

Of the two, SJTC or Downtown, I still believe id be safer @SJTC  especially at night.  no way in hell would I be trapsing around downtown. not anymore.

I hate for our privacy to be totally taken away , however if there were more video monitoring of areas such as Towncenter and DT  , the criminals could be identified pretty quickly.  Its too bad we live in a day and age where no place is really safe any longer .

[Timkin]

And I do feel for the Victims of this situation.  Does not matter to me if they eat at Cheesecake Factory every night, does not give someone the right to rob them and terrorize a child.

[Jerry Moran]

I went to the Target at the Town Center at lunch yesterday and noticed they had a temporary, mobile 'security watch tower' up across from the hand car wash station and thought 'must be having mugging problems around here'.  Sure enough, turn on the news last night and this story pops up.

I hate for our privacy to be totally taken away , however if there were more video monitoring of areas such as Towncenter and DT  , the criminals could be identified pretty quickly.  Its too bad we live in a day and age where no place is really safe any longer .

http://www.myjoytel.com/pdfs/Focusedl.pdf

Murder most bloody was screamed on Metro Jax and from other quarters when surveillance cameras were proposed for downtown back in 2008. What was to be a privately funded program got boogered up with PC details, and the  move to abandon private funding for a Homeland Security grant that never materialized.  Makes me think of all the crude now inundating the wetlands when quick and deliberate action by a strong leader might have saved the area from ruin.

We were against nuclear power, and now we suffer the consequences of our absence of foresight.  The same is coming true for the prevention of street crime in Jacksonville.

[finehoe]

Makes me think of all the crude now inundating the wetlands when quick and deliberate action by a strong leader might have saved the area from ruin.

You're right, it's too bad Tony Hayward isn't more competent.

[Overstreet]

Maybe...........maybe not. Depends upon what you define as downtown. For example this map shows very little or no crime downtown proper or at SJTC area. But just look north of downtown.

http://spotcrime.com/fl/jacksonville

If you pull up the JSO crime stats map you have to click on the part of town you are interested in. Click on downtown and you get a full list of crimes. Note limit your search time to a couple of months. But if you click on the area around St Johns Towne Center. ...... very little or nothing.

http://maps.coj.net/crimestatsdiscl.asp?sJAxGIS=Y

Either place some people make better victims than others. It all depends upon situation and victim selection. Some folks look more menacing and not worth attacking. Others look ........easy.   Most times though it is just wrong place at the wrong time.

[lindab]

We just completed a women's self defense class in the RAP area. It was a great class, free, and well attended.
The JSO officer trainer told us multiple times: "Keep your head on a swivel when you exit a store or approach one. If you feel uneasy, follow your instincts and leave or return to a safe place." Great advice no matter where you are.

[fieldafm]

This is the security tower at SJTC I mentioned previously... if anyone was curious.

[billy]

wha?

[reednavy]

Ha, I know NAS JAX has one of those.