The Police HQ is definitely in need for a new facility.
That need cops just patrolling downtown trouble spots. Here at Moore Square and Glenwood South.
Iām sorry to hear this. I wish you the best in your planning process.
Destructive and violet crime has seemingly gone from a trickle to a fire hose in a relatively short amount of time.
Iām willing to bet the #1 underlying issue is evictions due to rising rental rates.
Which can be traced back to stupid low interest rates, āin responseā to a top-down mandated economic shutdown. Now that weāre facing ridiculously high borrowing rates (relatively speaking), we may see a major housing correction in the next 12-24 months, which will bring housing and rental rates down (positive), but break the economy in many ways (negative) along the way. It likely gets worse before it gets better. All the while, we have local homeowners with tons of equity and social capital making signs to save our neighborhoods from duplexes, ADUs, and small businessesā¦
What a time to be alive.
8 Likes
Since this is a hotter topic these days, Iāll drop this link to my post about giving feedback towards next yearās budget.
5 Likes
Apply for asylum and join all of the ex Raleighites here in Pittsboro. Peaceful, charming , and there is a Western Union so you can send money back to family in Raleigh.
I think our gut reaction is to abandon the Moore Square area until the problem is solved. However, the one thing WE can all do to save it and improve it is to support it and frequent the area. If everyone other than the hoodlums leave then it will only be a place for hoodlums. This part of Raleigh actually has the most historical and authentic atmosphere of anywhere in the city and we cannot turn this over to those people. We must show up in force and shop and dine in these businesses and have our weddings there and live there. The city and police are doing there jobs better now but we have to do our part to save this area for the future.
21 Likes
I agree that we cannot abandon Moore Square or DT in general, but fear is a powerful thing. Even a narrative around safety issues is enough for many to abandon a place because nothing sells in our culture quite like fear.
4 Likes
This is great. Iād like to extend it a bit and hope people can also consider all points of view and not just what you read online. I read this NY Times article about how San Francisco residents are getting tired of their city being basically beat up online and their reputation really going downhill. They have challenges but generally, itās just not that bad.
Iām really hoping weāre not in for years long slog of constant negativity for downtown as there is so much good stuff going on, right now, thatās not being reported or talked about online. Sounds like itās time for a Moore Square meetup in November.
14 Likes
My one pitch on this is to keep sight of the bigger picture. Thereās great discussion here about short-to-intermediate term, local fixes. Similar to local housing policy, thereās only so much you can do at the municipal level. So my hope is that we all support measures at the federal, state and regional levels that may get as close as we can to the root of these issues. The child tax credit and Earned Income Tax Credit programs should be reinstated and expanded, respectively.
I know this site is more about what we can do locally, but Iād encourage anyone that feels as strongly about fixing symptoms here in Raleigh, also keep an eye on ways we can get to the underlying causes at all levels of government and other realms as well.
Bringing it back to Moore Square and the bus station, I havenāt felt unsafe or accosted/yelled at/etc. in the 20+ years Iāve been living in the downtown area (or downtown at large for that matter) despite walking around and through almost every day. Over the years Iāve been to Alive After Fiveās in the old iteration, volunteered working the gates at Hopscotch, helped hold events specifically for the homeless, late night shows at Pour House and so on. Iāve had a lot of positive experiences in this area and I have no reason to feel like thatās going to change in the long term.
Iām not suggesting the other experiences shared are discounted in any way. I appreciate hearing the different perspectives and it has impacted my views in some ways. I just wanted to share my own story since we often hear the more negative ones (in all walks of life/media - if it bleeds it leads).
8 Likes
The biggest hurdle to turning this ship around? Lots of crow eating and admitting you were wrong with your position of blaming those enforcing the law.
This notion the majority of criminals are actually innocent and merely caught up in the āsystemā is hilarious.
2 Likes
Who in fact is blaming those who are enforcing the law?
I think that most of the balanced discussion here has been that this is a complicated issue that isnāt 100% policing, but I donāt think that the police have been blamed for enforcing the law. If anything, they have faced criticism for not enforcing the law, and some of that came in the public comments in the video that Leo linked the other day.
This is a complex issue that involves policing, housing, food insecurity, mental illness, addiction, etc. Not all of these issues are resolved by the police, but policing is what is being highlighted right now because the aggregate of the issues has resulted in crime.
7 Likes
Never once blamed the police. The police are shorthanded 90+ officers and if anything Iām wanting more to help deal with the situation if needed. Blaming any group in this isnāt going to fix the situation. Acknowledging the situation and taking proactive steps through assessment of impact is the path forward. The City can turn it around and part of that is equipping authority figures with the resources to be able to do their job. More officers alone wonāt solve the problem. Lighting, cameras, transportation officers, etc would be a good start.
3 Likes
To WHOM, exactly, is this being directed??? LMAO
I think that lighting could be a game changer in these areas where crime has been a problem. You canāt lurk in the shadows if you take away the shadows. That said, I donāt think that the lighting solution should result in daylighting the problem areas with harsh light, rather directing more lighting downward at the sidewalk level.
3 Likes
This post seems to come from the hip. I recommend you catch up on the conversation above as well as the video posted. Take the time to read my post here and then come back with your thoughts.
6 Likes
Who is blaming the police or saying the criminals are just caught up in the system? I havenāt seen these points expressed in this thread.
Not going to speak for Drew, but itās likely in reference to far left leaning policies/attitudes such as ādefund the policeā and some of the rapid decriminalization of hard-drugs, looting, etc in other cities that has made police recruiting more difficult.
To be fair, Raleigh increased itās police budget for better pay and training (I believe)
3 Likes
Also to be fair, ādefund the policeā is likely the single worst slogan for a campaign to recognize that there are things that the police are doing that they shouldnāt be asked to do. They are not counselors; they are not crisis managers; they are not youth psychologists, etc. At the intellectual core of ādefund the policeā (did I say how much I hate that name?), the intention is to take funding from the police for things that the police should not be doing and then fund professionals to address things that donāt belong in the Police swim lane.
Unfortunately this country doesnāt have a populace with a strong history in understanding nuance and it would rather get caught up in hysterical narratives.
9 Likes
WHY, WHY, WHY is the City forcing the inclusion of the Raleigh Rescue Mission???
Iām sure the barbs are coming but WTH would you include this in a massive redevelopment? Anyone who wants to pull the bleeding heart EVER been to the Tenderloin District of San Francisco?
Moore Square canāt be bordered by a bus station AND a homeless shelterā¦period. If so, taxpayers wasted $14Million in 2019.
3 Likes
The Raleigh Rescue Mission is already there.
The idea is that we do not want to remove a valuable service that has kept the homeless off the streets. Weāll need to think in broader terms as well to address the homeless population, but nothing is changing as a result of this development. I see no issue here.
9 Likes