A reader sent me an e-mail last night advising of yet another incident at Friendly Shopping Center:
I moved here from Northern New Jersey with husband and kids five years ago and have always praised Greensboro to friends and family. BUT- as you are aware Greensboro crime is getting to a point where I feel unsafe even out in the daytime in our neighborhood around Friendly Ave. As I shopped at Belk- Friendly Center Sunday around 5pm I heard yelling, screaming, and then someone telling everyone to get down, he has a gun- I then see a tall male with a gun running for the exit. End of story. After having security walk me to my car and telling me "oh, it's the economy, these things are getting worse" I drove home and kissed the little ones. These acts of violence are now in all parts of the city and no one is talking about it! When a mom can't even go out with her children without being scared something is wrong- We lived in the largest metro region in the country for years and I never felt unsafe being out by myself.
Sorry for the rambling post, just wanted to let someone who writes about these things know that Friendly Center was targeted yet again.
If this incident truly occurred as the reader reports it did, there is little reassurance for Greensboro residents that our crime problem is being adequately addressed.
Would this have been reported to the GPD or swept under the rug by Wackenhut?
Posted by: Botswana | January 12, 2009 at 08:38 PM
My source says she called the GPD, and they were unable to find a report of any arrests. But it was not clear if the incident itself had been reported.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | January 12, 2009 at 09:01 PM
"These acts of violence are now in all parts of the city and no one is talking about it!"
It shouldn't surprise anyone. Some members of the Council are too busy having their "blood cringe"d by criticism to notice the blood shed by us "peons". For this, I salute them with my politically incorrect middle finger. (apologies to Dr. Johnson)
Posted by: Touch | January 12, 2009 at 09:17 PM
Wackenhut is no longer responsible for security at Friendly.
Posted by: R.Melton | January 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM
This is interesting as violent crime rates in 2008 across the U.S. are being reported to be on a down swing, so is there really a connection in Greensboro and the deteriorating state of GPD?
Posted by: Stormy | January 12, 2009 at 10:55 PM
The immense size, multiple exits, high dollar stores and preponderance of blue hairs with money can make Friendly a ripe hunting ground for the Neanderthals of society.
Posted by: Botswana | January 12, 2009 at 10:57 PM
I'll say one thing that I do not know whether violent crime is increasing in Greensboro, but it sure feels like it. And, it seems like everyone else is starting to feel it. I am sure that some of it is the fact that everyone expects Greensboro to be safe as it has been in the past.
Posted by: Stormy | January 12, 2009 at 10:58 PM
I'm about to hammer out a post on Red Mike's getting hit again...no no, Zack Matheny says we can't bash city council, we can't bash the city manager, the mayor nor the police department because...he's had it!
Posted by: Erik "E.C." Huey | January 13, 2009 at 07:47 AM
Stormy, the crime trend in Greensboro, indeed, does appear to be in the wrong direction. And as we noted with the Old Navy homicide last month, more people are getting concerned when previously unaffected areas are getting hit.
Botswana, I had thought about the "multiple exits", and it occurred to me that some portions of Friendly do not necessarily afford a quick get-away. It is sometimes pretty slow getting through certain parts of the place. I assume the Belk assailant had his vehicle positioned in an optimal location to get out.
And Touch and EC, if this report is true, then folks on the Council like Zack need even more to focus their energies on crime and the Police Department.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | January 13, 2009 at 10:52 AM
"Wackenhut is no longer responsible for security at Friendly." Were they ever really?
Private security companies can often operate under restraints that render them useless.
Posted by: Roger Greene | January 13, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Doug Clark at the N&R looks at the stats and yes, crime is increasing in Greensboro. On pace for a 9% increase for 2008 over 2007.
http://blog.news-record.com/staff/offtherecord/archives/2009/01/crime_increased.shtml
Posted by: Roch101 | January 13, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Roger, if that is true (and I suspect at some level it must be), then our main shopping areas receive much less protection than needed if police leave the heavy lifting to the private security firms.
Roch, thanks for that information and for providing that link. The article in the News and Record today had a police department spokeswoman-- Janice Rogers-- attempting to make it appear not-so-bad because some other cities in the state had a bigger increase in crime last year. But that might turn out not to be true.
It appears that we have some senior commanding officers in the GPD spinning the statistics. Last week, it was Hastings at the City Council meeting. They want to make things look better than they truly are.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | January 13, 2009 at 12:33 PM
"Overall, I think Greensboro looks good," said Capt. Janice Rogers, commander of the department's criminal investigation division. "We have an increase, but not as much of an increase as some of these other cities."
GPD seems to be measuring themselves against others, saying that we are not so bad. However, she ignores the fact that the national trends are down, where as Greensboro is headed up. I want a police department that has a zero tolerance for crime. I also noted the N-R headline, which also seems to be minimizing it:
"Violent crime rises slightly in city"
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/01/12/article/violent_crime_rises_slightly_in_city
Posted by: Stormy | January 13, 2009 at 01:43 PM
The thugs made Four Seasons Mall a place to avoid, so Friendly was revived. Now they are taking over that, too.
Where is the law enforcement? You can't shop in this town anymore.
Posted by: Spag | January 13, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Sam, they will reassure you that they will respond appropriately if there is a report of a serious crime, after the fact. That is the law enforcement we have in Greensboro.
They don't do more proactive things for various reasons.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | January 14, 2009 at 06:32 AM
Greensboro's crime rate is soaring becuase the police dept is not serious about fighting crime. This is not coming from the patrol level, this is a direct result of poor leadership and direction, not to mention lower standards for police recruits. The police have become completelt reactive to the crime, and it will stay that way until new leadership comes to town.
Posted by: NJ also | January 21, 2009 at 04:31 PM