Is crime on the rise in Downtown Wilmington?

Yes Will we know and we're all so proud of you.

It's the city manager who is to blame.......everyone works for him including the police chief. Lay the blame where it belongs.

It's psychotic comments like yours that disturb the concerned. It's probably people like you who create absurd drama which tie up the police from "doing their jobs". I'm glad you know so much about how the department works though, that's fantastic; and spot on! [End sarcastic rant with a roll of the eyes]

YOU are SO right!!! the crime is unacceptable and we see the obvious disregard for work, school, family structure, respect for authority, etc. by the folks in the outskirts of main downtown. I, myself can surmise that any opportunity would have me staring down the barrell of a gun or a knife at any opportunity they might have, as it seems that human life is of no issue to these thugs. When are we going to demand a stop to this? God bless all who have been victimized and I hope we'll band together one day and demand a change. No more coddling and being afraid. Come on, folks, it's so obvious that we, ourselves look the other way. We are all to blame. Let's band together to raise our children collectively to be responsible, caring, educated people. Thanks again!

I'll repost a comment I made on another article: --------------------------------- To any of you who actually think that the WPD "doesn't care", or "cares more about themselves than the citizens of Wilmington," then I challenge you to go on a ride-along, JUST ONE, any night in the West side districts and see for yourself how the police handle things. They respond to more domestic violence calls and petty disputes, and patrol common drug areas, than you obviously can imagine. And if you think the department is ill-equipped, you're right. For some reason it isn't viewed as beneficial to make a budget that can handle the requirements of a well-equipped force. There aren't enough officers. And so when Joe or Jane Smoe have two officers tied up with a ridiculous call, then YES, you will see other officers scrambling from other districts to handle a more serious call. My point is, don't knock the system until you understand it, its complications and how it works. ------------------------------- And yes, I'm sure that 6 giant paddles are exactly what this city needed to help curb the "racial and socioeconomic tensions" here. And how dare you accuse anyone of what they're NOT doing when you aren't even here to see it, or doing anything yourself to help!

Ummm, yea, the police are running code to go home. Perhaps you would like to know that the cars with the in car camera system automatically record when lights are activated to a secure hard drive. Then that drive is uploaded at the station and is monitored by IA. Until you finish high school, you shouldn't post anything more here.

I completely disagree with you about Wilmington being no place for families. I grew up here and I am raising my children here. While I don't like the excessive growth and all the traffic, there is no better place to live for me and my family. Yes, the crime 'wave' of recent weeks is unsettling. That is why I try to take steps to insure my safety and the safety of my kids. If you ask me "It's 10PM. Do you know where your children are?" I'm going to be able to answer you. And the only time I won't is when I'm dead and gone. Part of the problem is parents don't want to 'discipline' their children because they are afraid of 'warping their little brains'. Well, my parents disciplined me when I did wrong and I do the same. No I dont get out the bamboo sticks or anything like that but restrictions are put into place and if necessary I do spank my children! As for the law enforcement personnel - I think MOST of them do a wonderful job especially with the kind of crap they have to put up with on a daily basis! In fact yesterday, I was driving down 16th street with WPD behind me when 3 KIDS on bikes were riding down the MIDDLE of the road - one in each lane! Once the officer realized what was going on he turned on his lights and got them out of the way. My point on this is - those kids probably dont have any type of supervision and if they do they probably didnt get into trouble other than by the officer. Crime in the area - yes. Why? Parents today wont do the responsible thing when raising their children to begin with!!!!! And if you don't like Wilmington - stop coming back. I am sure we will survive without your presence!

I'm sure this never occurred to you but we actually have officers in Wilmington who are (gasp) undercover. So, no, you may not see a lot of officers in their cars. (AND, that's complete nonsense about thes guys running red lights with lights and sirens to get home early. They can't engage that equipment on the street without radioing dispatch as to the reason why.) That's right-and they're risking their lives in parts of town you never even set foot in. Wilmington pays these guys next to nothing and so we don't have a big enough squad to be in ALL the public parks and on every street corner. Why do military police have to come downtown? Because we have huge droves of young marines who come downtown to drink and fight and we can't handle the numbers cuz we don't have enough officers. So, despite your eloquent, typo-ridden missive, it's not OBVIOUS what is to blame for Wilmington's issues. It's many factors; gang influx as a result of Hurrican Katrina, a huge homeless population thanks to all the churches and missions that feed them, parents who don't take time to know where their baby thugs are and all the millions of dollars we have to ppour into welfare, WIC, Medicare and public housing thaat prevents us from having the money to pay more qualified individuals to be cops and sheriffs in this town.