Gangs in my neighbourhood. Maybe it's time to move?

Nikolas · Thu 06/09/2007 15:22:28

I live in Ealing, towards the West, London.

And while for a couple of years now, we had little trouble personally with anything, we had heard of stolen cars, bikes, etc...

Now, on Monday, a gang for 40-50 people, according to the police, with bandannas and the rest, stabbed 2 people, the one is in life support now.

I didn't know the guy, so I don't even know if he's black/white/arab/india/whatever, nor I can assume that this stabbing has something to do with "race", although I have to confess that I feel somewhat "safe" being Greek... maybe it's ignorance, but at this point I don't want the bubble to burst.

Still after the stabbings I just got immediately worried: People are getting killed, almost literally, outside my doorstep...

Maybe I should move somewhere more peaceful? Or am I being paranoid?

Of course it's rent, but still after 3 moves thus far, it is getting tiresome to move every year or two years or so. I've passed from Windsor, to Alperton and then Ealing.

But if it is to give me and my family peace of mind, and maybe even added safety, then...

But if I did want to move, how would I know that the future area, or neighbourhood would be peaceful, or less dangerous?

MrColossal · Thu 06/09/2007 15:27:26

how many stabbings a week happen in your area?

Nikolas · Thu 06/09/2007 15:34:40

percentage is 0 probably.

But.

Stolen mail from inside the mailboxes
2 houses broken
7 cars broken
general terror in the air
and this from our building alone, don't know about the other buildings...

MrColossal · Thu 06/09/2007 15:43:59

In my personal New Yorker opinion, you are in a relatively safe area. A gang of 40 to 50 people sounds like a pretty huge group of people. How do 50 people stab someone? What was the group doing?

Anyway, if you feel unsafe go ahead and move I guess, but it's not really that bad.

Theme · Thu 06/09/2007 15:50:14

oh, where I live we get people diyng everyday
with not only stabs, but shoot and burnt alive too.
Not to mention houses and cars broken are pretty common
Luckly tragedy never struck me, yet

o/

Radiant · Thu 06/09/2007 16:46:24

Depends if there is significant improvement available in your budget.

I'd suggest not deciding this in the spur of the moment. Every city gets a stabbing every now and then, but consider how many people are living there...

LGM · Thu 06/09/2007 18:00:38

I imagine if you just mind your business your probability of death-by-gang-bang will linger around the 0-10 percentage rate.

Darth Mandarb · Thu 06/09/2007 18:01:04

Buy a gun.

I kid, I kid!!

The key here is if you feel unsafe. If so, you should move to a place that doesn't feel unsafe. The world has gone to shit, but there's still plenty of "safe" places to live. It's all a matter of protecting your own well being (and that of your family).

Best of luck with your decision!

Nikolas · Thu 06/09/2007 18:12:29

Quote from: [lgm] on Thu 06/09/2007 18:00:38
I imagine if you just mind your business your probability of death-by-gang-bang will linger around the 0-10 percentage rate.

If you consider the possibilities of getting hit by car (and die) are less than 5% (I think) then the 10% dying by a gang is enormous!

I would move today!

Lionmonkey · Thu 06/09/2007 18:22:59

Can you take a photo of this gang and post it here?

Oliwerko · Thu 06/09/2007 19:53:11

Quote from: Lionmonkey on Thu 06/09/2007 18:22:59
Can you take a photo of this gang and post it here?

Every time I get threatened by a group of 50 people, before I run away, I shout: "Say Cheeeeeese!" and take a picture of them.

blueskirt · Thu 06/09/2007 22:28:42

If it was just me, I'd most likely stay there and keep a low profile, but if it was my family's safety that was at stake everyday, I would certainly find an appartment in a quiet suburb to move as soon as possible. Moving is a pain but if what you listed happened around your building, there are far worst things that could happen to you than moving. Add to this all the time and energy you'll waste constantly worrying everytime you or someone in your family have to leave your home.

But I've spend my entire life living in areas with very low criminality, so what do I know.

Andail · Sat 08/09/2007 10:07:10

I live in one of the most criminal and violent parts of Gothenburg, and even though this is just cozy little Sweden, crime is quite a problem here.
The place I go to shop has been robbed several times the last year, there have been a least a couple of killings just some blocks away and lots of gangs roam around making trouble. I was witness to a rather serious assault and battery aboard the tram not long ago. A friend of mine was attacked and held down while they took his mobile phone a few years back.

My girlfriend and mother nag on me constantly that I should move, but flats in nicer areas have become ludicriously expensive, and I'm not even employed currently.

SierraFreak · Sat 08/09/2007 20:56:54

Not to make light of your situation, because being stuck in a place and dealing with crime is never a good thing, but be happy you don't live in Baltimore, MD, here in the US. It's just north of me, and good god, what a dump. This year is shaping up to be a record for murders. We've passed 200 reported murders already. It's likely that there are more, since they tend to report some murders as accidental shootings to reduce the tally. Keep in mind that Baltimore has a population around 650,000. Not huge by any stretch of the imagination. Just for reference sake, I looked up the crimes stats. For 2004, we had 11,000 violent crimes (against people), and 33,000 property crimes.

Like I said, what a dump.

But for your situation, I've found that when dealing with gangs it's best to stay out of their way, keep a low profile, and stay in at night. If you don't mess with them, typically, they won't mess with you. For property crimes, car alarms and police bars are the way to go. Or take the Baltimore method of car security. Leave your doors unlocked and take your radio inside at night. We have a joke here about that (it's probably everywhere, but here goes anyway). A person's car keeps getting broken into and their radio gets stolen over and over. Finally fed up with it, they stop replacing the radio and put a sign in their window that says "No radio" and go to sleep. The next morning, they wake up to find the window broken and somebody had scrawled "just checking" on their sign.

I'm sure it's not true exactly, but that's how it goes with burglary and theft.

By the way, love Tale of Two Kingdoms. The music is excellent.

edit by eric: don't double post, modify your post if you want to add something, thanks!