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  Feb. 9, 2012 1:34 p.m. Jay_W Dork

  "Justifiable homicide in the city shot up 79 percent in 2011 from the previous year, as citizens in the long-suffering city armed themselves and took matters into their own hands. The local rate of self-defense killings now stands 2,200 percent above the national average. Residents, unable to rely on a dwindling police force to keep them safe, are fighting back against the criminal scourge on their own. And they’re offering no apologies."

  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2844446/posts

  Wow, man. This gets my vote for most backhanded positive news of the year. How did we let detroit become the same as the thirld world?

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  Feb. 9, 2012 1:39 p.m. nderwater SuperDork

  I hate it when news writers (editorialists?) get so carried away. Yes, the local economy has become stagnant, the police force is understaffed and the local government may be corrupt by US standards... But Detroit has reliable electricity, public water/sewer, paved streets, and a measurable degree of law and order. Food is available, housing is plentiful. It's no Mogadishu.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 1:44 p.m. alfadriver SuperDork

  nderwater wrote:

  I hate it when news writers (editorialists?) get so carried away. Yes, the local economy has become stagnant, the police force is understaffed and the local government may be corrupt by US standards... But Detroit has electricity, public water/sewer, paved streets, and a measurable degree of law and order. Food is available, housing is plentiful. It's no Mogadishu.

  Not only that, the reported increase in justified homicieds is 15. From 19 to 34 out of 344 homicides.

  I can and have walked the streets of Detroit, autocrossed on the cities owned Island. It's no Mogadishu.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 1:48 p.m. Conquest351 Dork

  Reading that kinda makes you want to sit on a rooftop with a high powered rifle and observe and report. The report would come from the muzzle. If I lived there, that's exactly what I'd do. Friggin crazy!

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  Feb. 9, 2012 1:53 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  wow...sensationalist much? I have walked through Camden NJ (repeat number 1) and Reading Pa (repeat number 5) and been through newark NJ and Wilimington Del, more than once.. Detroit can't be any worse than them.

  That said, I did JUST miss a gang shootout in Wilmington and drove through two of them in Reading PA.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 1:55 p.m. alfadriver SuperDork

  Conquest351 wrote:

  Reading that kinda makes you want to sit on a rooftop with a high powered rifle and observe and report. The report would come from the muzzle. If I lived there, that's exactly what I'd do. Friggin crazy!

  Reading it written like that is SUPPOSED to make you scared.

  Filter the BS, and get to the hard numbers. There are just over 700,000 people living in Detroit. 344 were murdered. That is a lot, no doubt. But it's also <0.05%. Not a lot. It's no war.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:02 p.m. Jay_W Dork

  Well OK it ain't mogadishu but still. That 344 figure ain't murder victims, they're justifiable homicide done in by their intended victims (good shootin y'all).. That part is I think the good news, better that than the other way round, and I'm hoping that this is a sign of hope, really...

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:04 p.m. rotard HalfDork

  Only 34 were justifiable.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:09 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

  The article did play fast and loose with the statistics. 90% of all statistics are made up on the spot. That's a statistic. Anyway, I see that New Orleans has 51/100K murdered last year, and according to this article, Detroit is 49/100K. Still, people taking a more proactive interest in protecting themselves is a good thing. And I remember reading posts here of people who escaped from Detroit. Raped family members, murders, crack houses all over, etc. outside of the inner ring of safety in downtown. I would not move there.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:17 p.m. alfadriver SuperDork

  Jay_W wrote:

  Well OK it ain't mogadishu but still. That 344 figure ain't murder victims, they're justifiable homicide done in by their intended victims (good shootin y'all).. That part is I think the good news, better that than the other way round, and I'm hoping that this is a sign of hope, really...

  Uh, not it's not. 344 was the total homicides. 34 was the justifiable.
  

  This is a direct pick from the article-

  The number of justifiable homicides, in which residents use deadly force in self-defense, jumped from 19 in 2010 to 34 last year — a 79 percent rise — according to newly released city data

  As opposed to the total 344- again a direct quote from the article

  Detroit homicides — the second-highest per capita in the country last year, according to the FBI — rose by 10 percent in 2011 to 344 people.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:21 p.m. DrBoost SuperDork

  Dr. Hess wrote:

  And I remember reading posts here of people who escaped from Detroit. Raped family members, murders, crack houses all over, etc. outside of the inner ring of safety in downtown. I would not move there.

  Yup, that'd me my posts. There are small, and I mean small pockets that are safer, but I'd not say safe. I've been out of Detroit for 15 years now, so my experiences are from a time when the police force was twice the size and the population wasn't. So, more cops per person still resulted in the things I experienced.
  I want Detroit to do better, I really do. I can't think of many cities with more potential. Look at that waterfront! When you do, you'll see decaying factories not high-end houses, shops, or just housing or shops. Look at the public transportation system. There's a monorail that does a little loop, then there's the busses that run, mostly.
  If I lived in the D still, I'd certainly be armed to the teeth.
  Deep down inside I think it will one day shine, I just don't know if I'll be alive to see it.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:26 p.m. DrBoost SuperDork

  alfadriver wrote:

  I can and have walked the streets of Detroit, autocrossed on the cities owned Island. It's no Mogadishu.

  I have walked the streets of Detroit at night in the last year, but the question to both of us is where and when? I walked in the area of Cobo on a COLD winter night. The crims are at home when it's that freaking cold out. It was also around Cobo, that's a safe area cops everywhere during the auto show.
  Walk the neighborhoods at night during the summer and it'll be a different story. Even Brightmore (mostly white, thus removing the race card) is terrifying at night for a honkey like me.
  And Belle Isle is also a world of contrasts. I dont' have a problem taking my family down there for an auto-X. But, I'm outta there by the time the sun is down. If I did happen to be there in the evening, I'm staying away from the areas where the aquarium were or the amusement park. That's where the shootings happen, and they don't find the bodies.
  Not disagreeing, but time and location are huge factors here.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:34 p.m. Otto Maddox SuperDork

  This could describe the poor parts of any large inner city.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 2:43 p.m. MadScientistMatt SuperDork

  I'm not sure if it's that many reporters don't understand the idea of statistical noise, or if they do but think it's a gold mine for story leads.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 3:05 p.m. Jay_W Dork

  My bad, I missed the 34 and not 344 total... I still think I like where I live now and shan't move there!

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  Feb. 9, 2012 3:17 p.m. NickF40 Dork

  It's so cooooold in the D

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  Feb. 9, 2012 3:39 p.m. Xceler8x SuperDork

  You guys are right in the Detroit has so much potential. But if you read the article you find out about robberies happening, the cops are called, and they show up the next day. That's not a safe city by any standard.

  Detroit, the first third world city in the U.S.?

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  Feb. 9, 2012 3:42 p.m. MG Bryan Dork

  Xceler8x wrote:

  Detroit, the first third world city in the U.S.?

  No. As has already been said, from a functional standpoint it's not even close. Beyond that, it is, by definition, not a third world anything.

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  Feb. 9, 2012 3:50 p.m. scardeal HalfDork

  Dr. Hess wrote: Anyway, I see that New Orleans has 51/100K murdered last year, and according to this article, Detroit is 49/100K.

  I moved from the New Orleans area to the Detroit area. What do I win?

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  Feb. 9, 2012 4:05 p.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork

  scardeal wrote:

  Dr. Hess wrote: Anyway, I see that New Orleans has 51/100K murdered last year, and according to this article, Detroit is 49/100K.

  I moved from the New Orleans area to the Detroit area. What do I win?

  A .002% smaller chance of being murdered?

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  Feb. 9, 2012 4:06 p.m. petegossett SuperDork

  In reply to scardeal:

  Apparently two free shootings????

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