Aug
15
Crime in the burbs? No way!
August 15, 2006 | 12 Comments
KMBC-TV 9 made a funny this week, carrying a great quote from a suburbanite shocked over an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant in the Northland’s posh Zona Rosa town center.
Conroy said she’s surprised that robbers would target a restaurant in the popular shopping district. “Not in Zona Rosa — maybe down in the ghetto, but not here,” Conroy said.
Yes, dear Leah, crime happens in the suburbs too, not just the ghetto. Criminals go where the money is, and Platte County is a very close second to Johnson County in terms of wealth.
KMBC-TV 9: Three men rob Zona Rosa restaurant (with video).

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People like that crack me up with their cluelessness. Plus when you glance through the papers most of the restaurant robberies happen in the burbs.
I usually feel like I’m more likely to come across a robbery on Metcalf than anywhere along Broadway. (Though in either case the odds are so incredibly minute that they are hardly worthy of considering.)
Well, criminals aren’t stupid. It’s a lot more easy and profitable to rob a Qdoba than, say, a Go Chicken Go. No bars, no bullet-proof glass, it’s like they WANT you to rob it. Plus, their burritos are delicous. Dangerously delicious.
This is incredibly funny. These racist suburbanites really live in a bubble. I currently live in Johnson County and grew up here and in South Kansas City. I’ve also lived in one large East Coast city where I spent plenty of time in its poorer neighborhoods. I currently spend part of my week at a location on Troost, so I can see the contrast between the city and the burbs. One thing that struck me when I moved back to KC and went into a suburban bank was the complete lack of bulletproof glass for the tellers. I’ve also noticed that the schools around here don’t have surveillance cameras.
It’s like the suburbanites are obsessed with crime–they consume local TV news and won’t “go down there” to Troost–but then they live like crime doesn’t exist. Which it doesn’t, for the most part in JOCO.
Chuck sayid: “they live like crime doesn’t exist. Which it doesn’t, for the most part in JOCO.”
Why should the suburbanites live like crime was as prevelant as it is on and near Troost?
As for Scooter’s surmise…. Can you provide some statistics to support your position that there is more to fear on Metcalf than Broadway?
Crime may follow money but the statistics still show that crime is much more a problem in the ‘city’ then it will ever be in the suburbs, especially the problem of violent crime.
An interesting statistic: White collar crime nets $1,000 to every $1 of armed robbery and is caught and prosecuted less often.
Just my own personal experience — I’ve been a crime victim in Blue Springs, Overland Park, and Olathe but never in midtown or downtown KC.
The crime rate within the Downtown loop is lower than most suburbs, including Independence and the precious Overland Park. The Star has mentioned this several times over the last couple of years.
A lack of people means a lack of crime. On a per capita basis, you are much safer in the suburbs. The statistics will bear this out.
Chuck wrote, “These racist suburbanites really live in a bubble.” Don’t judge everyone who lives in the suburbs as one group – I’ve lived north of the river for 10 years, but I grew up in a small town.
While crime does worry me, for a while I was just as worried it would hit me on Troost (to use the example in the other entries) as it would in downtown Parkville. In fact, my car was stolen at my apartment complex IN THE NORTHLAND. Just because I live in a suburb doesn’t mean I live in a bubble, and to group all suburbanites as such is just as racist as saying anywhere downtown is a ghetto. I live in Parkville (and north of the river) because I’m familiar with it (I came to Kansas City to attend Park University) and know where everything is, not because I’ve necessarily felt it was safer. (Heck, you should talk to me about the time the SWAT team made an appearance at those self-same apartments my car was stolen from….)
theres nothing we can do about the crime..but cry like little girly girls about it…but we can cheer for the chiefs!! go KANSAS CITY CHIEFS……WOOP WOOOP……I LUV THE CHIEFS….BRB IM GOING TO STREAK THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND SHOW OFF MY NEW KC TATOO….erm..bye bye
haha–these are the same people who think the neighborhood is “going downhill” when a black person moves in.
truly priceless.
this is lame. don’t everyone be flippin’ judgmental. crime happens. deal with it. not all white people who live in suburbia are naive and think black people depreciate their neighborhood. everyone here and everyone you are talking about needs to get a clue and stop being so close-minded and ignorant.
People need to stop sterio typing the “ghetto”. I’ve meat more civilized people in North East than here in North Kansas City. Parent up here think their kids aren’t capable of commiting crimes blah blah blah. I’ll tell you as a fact because you give your kids all that confidance they’re the ones going down to the “ghetto” gettin high and starting fights,ext… People in the Zona Rosa or North of the river period are so ignorant.