Witnessing crime..what do you do???

Hey everybody. I have only been to brooklyn once for like 40 min (1 block from marcy ave station) and I fell in love with the place in that short amount of time. I'm actually planning a move there but enough about me. After thoroughly researching Brooklyn, I find the crime kind of disturbing. It's not really the actual crimes that disturbs me, it's the witnessing of those crimes. Although Brooklyn is "huge" to some people, 70 sq mi (land area) seems like a little bit of space for 2.5 million people. Now with the small amount of land housing that amount of people combined with what I've been reading online, it seems as though it's not unusual for residents of Brooklyn to witness somebody getting mugged, shot/shot at, or killed and I'm just curious to know what you guys do in these situations. I'm from Atlantic City, NJ (not the safest place in some people's opinion) but I've never seen any of this stuff in person. I know the most obvious thing to do would be to duck and find cover, but I actually think I would freeze if I heard gun shots that seemed like 30 feet away lol.

its funny you say youre from atlantic city and have never seen a shooting or crime. Going in through 40 towards Showboat or Taj its not uncommon to see some kind of criminal activity.. My advice to you tho is if you do move here walk briskly, kep your head down and mind your business... If you see something you keep your mouth shut and call 911 once youre safe distance.

Brooklyn only looks like the mid west because all the hipsters are here.. this aint Kansas!

I've seen small crimes (drug dealing, someone smashing someone else's window, etc). I dunno, maybe I just have good luck or don't go out enough because most people that I know have witnessed or been the victim of some kind of crime. I was actually a victim when I young. Our house got robbed twice (one of the times we were in the house and held at gunpoint) but this was in a suburb. BTW, I don't live in the actual city. I live in a suburb about 25 mins away but I was born, raised, and work there.

I think the average Brooklynite doesn't witness a lot of crime as much as we are witnesses to the immediate aftermath of crimes (guys running down the street while people scream "grab him", hearing gunshots then watching the police arrive, etc). As for what we do when we see a crime, usually your survival instincts kick in and you do what's appropriate for the situation which usually involves "get the hell out of there".

I think my instincts are a little different than Brooklynites lol. I've read stories about people in Brooklyn seeing other people (mostly older women) getting mugged and they try to help the victim. Call me a coward or heartless, but my insticts tell me to stay the hell out the way if there is a gun involved. If I help then I've just become another easy victim for the perpetrator. Of course I'll call the police. I'm just not getting involved but that's just me. Now if there's no gun involved then of course I'll help.

I've lived in Brooklyn (The Heights and now Ft. Greene) since 1986 and I've witnessed exactly one crime. (I saw a guy clip somebody's bicycle lock and then run away with the bike. I tried chasing him, but he was way faster than me.) Like Homeowner said, you tend to witness aftermath or hear something beyond your sight. I really wouldn't lose a lot of sleep worrying about it.

BTW, I did get mugged once...in Atlantic City. That's a scary place!

I'm not really worried about the crime, just thought it was common for you guys to witness crime and was wondering how yall react. I guess I just want to fit in with you guys when I do move because I think we have a slightly different way of doing things here. Take your situation for example, I would have never chased that guy but I guess what you did was the "brooklyn way". Atlantic City is very small so you there's a good chance I would see that guy again, possibly with a group of guys or with a gun. I'm sorry to hear about you getting mugged in AC. For a second, I was starting to think people around here were lying about getting mugged. I guess they really do happen here : /

To prevent myself from witnessing crime I avoid all City Council Sessions.

Whenever I hear or see trouble I always tuck and roll while going for my ankle holster, tuck and roll. You have a CCW don't you?

Having "Won't Get Fooled Again" cued on my nano helps.

lol

I'm like homeowner. I've only seen the aftermath. I've heard many, many gunshots but I haven't been winged yet. I did see a guy steal a bicycle once. I thought he was having trouble with his lock. By the time I (duh) figured out what he was doing he was long gone. Oh yeah, if you act like a victim, you will probably become one. Act like you actually live here, talk to your neighbors (even the scary dudes on the corner), say hi to everyone, get to know the corner bodega guys, don't wear jewelry, don't walk down the street texting or checking your email, keep your goodies hidden, keep your eyes open. Then you'll be fine.

Rosweed--Gunshots seem like the most typical thing. In this forum, I always read how people have heard gunshots and wondering has anybody heard what happened. I guess if I lived in Atlantic City I would be used to this because AC is getting outta control and shootings are an everyday thing now. I can only recall hearing a gunshot once in my life and that was at an aunt's house in harlem. BTW, I'm not scared of any of this. I'm not a dumb hipster or anything, but I find this stuff a little fascinating actually. Not that people are becoming victims of crime but that it seems like you guys live life on the edge a little.

Dear JG00,

You have a rich & fertile imagination! You will probably find Brooklyn a let-down from what you were expecting. Most people cannot accurately distinguish between gunshots, fireworks (lots here around New year's, truck back-fires and other noises. Adding to the mix are the weird reverberations of sound off stone & brick buildings which make it difficult to locate direction. You might also noitice that most of the "gunshots heard" posts have little follow-up. I've been in the borough 30+ years & the only shoot-out I saw (for real) was in Manhattan. As we say here go figure!

Salix--Thanks for the imagination comment lol. I won't be totally let down. I'll be satisfied just living in the greatest city in the world. I figured what I read about Brooklyn is over exaggerated. I read a lot of bad stuff before I moved to atlanta and I didn't see a thing down there (I was only there for 2 months though). You're right, a lot of those posts have little to no follow-up.

Q: "Witnessing crime..what do you do???"

A: Have a Coke and a smile and STFU.

Can I use that on a greeting card?

I shoulda sourced that one...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092948/quotes?qt0263439

I have lived in Brooklyn for 32 years, primarily Prospect Heights, and never witnessed a crime, unless you count people not cleaning up after their dogs or going through red lights.