Crime In the City and the Burbs

Two crime stories, two different locations.

The first involved a semi-spectacular chase which ended in a flipped car and a suspect wanted for felony assault who was tasered, and taken into custody. The second involved two men who struck a woman from behind several times during a robbery in a mall parking lot - before making off with her daughter's "Hello Kitty" purse.

The first incident occurred in Kennedy Heights, a neighborhood of mixed income and cultural folks in the city of Cincinnati. The second incident occured in Florence Kentucky, one of the busy, more suburban areas that make up the greater Cincinnati area.

And, human psychology being what it is, the first incident will confirm, in the minds of many, all sorts of pre-existing assumptions about the "dangerous" nature of life in the city. The second incident - and every crime story that takes place in the outer areas of town will be mentally written off as an "isolated incident". Never mind the fact that crime in the outer areas is on the rise for no other reason than simple demographics. There are more people in these "donut" areas. Furthermore, law enforcement budget, like all sorts of other basic services, is several fiscal cycles behind in terms of basic capacity. This means more crime in sheer numbers.

But of course, crime in Kennedy Heights - of course! What did you expect from those people.