Living with Pensacola area's crime data
- November 3, 2014
- / Mollye Barrows
- / government
Harriett Walker bought her home in Montclair in 1988, with money she saved from her job as a mechanic at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
Now 71, she brought up a daughter and a grandson on Chantilly Way, but says it was a different neighborhood then.
“Mostly (it was) neighbors working and sacrificing. Come home, clean their yard, do what they have to do to get ready for work,” Walker says. “It’s 180-degrees different now. I think I see more people wanting what they want instead of looking out for their families and children.”
Drugs and the crimes that come with it plague the Montclair community: theft, prostitution, and violence. Just last week, two people survived after they were shot on Rio Grand Circle. Two teenagers are now accused of trying to kill them.
Walker is not surprised, only resigned. Now her 87-year-old uncle and 101-year-old mother live with her, and the feeling of safety she once had is gone.
She shakes her head at the prostitution and suspicious activity she often sees.
“I started to call the police, but I said, ‘No,’ because you don’t know the neighborhood I live in. I don’t want any trouble.”
Walker’s daughter Sharon lives in another neighborhood, but comes over often to help her family. She says they worry so much about safety, they won’t even allow their grandmother to sit on the porch.
Now 101-year-old Miranda Walker enjoys her favorite pastime from her bedroom window.
[caption id="attachment_8575" align="alignright" width="300"]
Harriett Walker watches as her daughter Sharon Walker helps her mother Marinda Walker after looking out the window of Harriett's Montclair neighborhood home in Pensacola. Marinda spends much of her time looking out the window watching what is going on. Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today[/caption]
“She likes to watch the people passing by,” Sharon said. “But we don’t want her outside because some of the people coming through here act like it’s the ghetto.”
What’s happening in Montclair is a reflection of Escambia County’s crime rate.
According to a recent study by students at the University of West Florida, Escambia has one of the highest rime rates in the country, based on the number of arrests.
The students have been compiling and studying data, under the guidance of Professor Raid Amin.
“Its significance is that Escambia County has had a high violent crimes rate for 10 years,” Amin says. “The jump occurred from 2000 to 2001. It is not a new problem.”
Their charts show that from 2000-2010, Escambia County consistently had a higher crime rate than the state average, while neighboring Santa Rosa County was consistently lower than the average crime rate in Florida.
[caption id="attachment_8591" align="alignleft" width="257"]
Data gathered by University of West Florida students show how crime rates in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties compare to the state average.[/caption]
Data tells tale of neighborhoods
Dr. Rick Harper, an economist and director of the Studer Institute, believes the numbers say as much about neighborhoods as they do about crime.
“Escambia and Santa Rosa are the same community, but with different people choosing to live in each place,” Harper says. “It is a story about well-employed, younger people moving to Pace to have a larger, newer home and kids from similar demographics populating the school system.
“Others might move to a higher income neighborhood in Escambia but outside the urban core. Older neighborhoods, especially middle and lower income neighborhoods in Escambia, may suffer from these outflows, and the crime rates reflect that.”
Escambia Sheriff David Morgan knows crime in his county is nothing new. He was elected almost six years ago and notes Escambia has traditionally had the highest incarceration and crime rates in the state, long before he took office.
But he points out that the latest reports from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI show Escambia County has had a nearly 17 percent drop in violent crime.
Amin says his class did not previously have access to those reports covering the last several years and they’re now working to include that data in their research.
“I’m a data-driven guy,” Morgan said. “I have to be. I don’t have a choice. Our data indicates a lot of the reverse of what they’re saying. It’s as much of a sociological study as a crime study.
“Are you trying to measure feeling? Do I feel safe? That’s all about public perception.”
Morgan says the crime rates are usually higher in neighborhoods where income and educational achievement is low, and pockets of Escambia County impact the overall crime rate.
"People want to take their communities back"
Santa Rosa Sheriff Wendell Hall agrees the lower crime rate in his county is a reflection of the population.
“The major draw for Santa Rosa is the educational level. We’re fortunate to get the quality of people who want to move to Santa Rosa County. They care about their kids. They care about their kids’ education. Low crime rates come with that.”
Santa Rosa is a “bedroom community” of Escambia. An estimated 41 percent of working Santa Rosans are employed in Escambia County. Another 13.5 percent have jobs in Okaloosa County, many high-wage.
That’s not to say Santa Rosa doesn’t have problems with violent crime, but much of what they do see is related to drugs and Hall says they concentrate on problem areas.
“People want to feel safe in their home. This is a good place to raise their kids and keep them safe.”
Morgan wants Escambia residents to feel the same sense of safety, but says his office has an uphill battle in neighborhoods where poverty and crime have long been a way of life.
“We have both cultural and familial crime here. We’re arresting grandfathers and grandsons. The cycle of criminal activity is passed on here.”
Morgan encourages community involvement. There were only 13 active neighborhood watch groups when he took office; now there are 127.
Escambia is also the first county in the state to have a Neighborhood Watch Academy.
“People want to take their communities back. Our community has bought into our vision as to what we need to do collectively to address in problems in Escambia County.”
[caption id="attachment_8576" align="alignright" width="300"]
Harriett Walker stands in the doorway of her Montclair neighborhood home in Pensacola. The changes in her neighborhood over time keep her from socializing with her neighbors as she used to. Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today[/caption]
But for residents like Harriett Walker, taking a stand against crime comes with a risk. She can’t afford to move and fear of retribution stops her from reporting potential problems.
Walker is grateful she has not had any problems, but she keeps to herself and her doors locked.
“I would move if I could afford it, but I can’t afford it. If I could sell it I would pack up my stuff today,” she says. “I’ve always been an independent woman. Take what I got and make the best of it. The Lord looks after me.”
Harriett Walker watches as her daughter Sharon Walker helps her mother Marinda Walker after looking out the window of Harriett's Montclair neighborhood home in Pensacola. Marinda spends much of her time looking out the window watching what is going on. Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today[/caption]
“She likes to watch the people passing by,” Sharon said. “But we don’t want her outside because some of the people coming through here act like it’s the ghetto.”
What’s happening in Montclair is a reflection of Escambia County’s crime rate.
According to a recent study by students at the University of West Florida, Escambia has one of the highest rime rates in the country, based on the number of arrests.
The students have been compiling and studying data, under the guidance of Professor Raid Amin.
“Its significance is that Escambia County has had a high violent crimes rate for 10 years,” Amin says. “The jump occurred from 2000 to 2001. It is not a new problem.”
Their charts show that from 2000-2010, Escambia County consistently had a higher crime rate than the state average, while neighboring Santa Rosa County was consistently lower than the average crime rate in Florida.
[caption id="attachment_8591" align="alignleft" width="257"]
Data gathered by University of West Florida students show how crime rates in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties compare to the state average.[/caption]
Data tells tale of neighborhoods
Dr. Rick Harper, an economist and director of the Studer Institute, believes the numbers say as much about neighborhoods as they do about crime.
“Escambia and Santa Rosa are the same community, but with different people choosing to live in each place,” Harper says. “It is a story about well-employed, younger people moving to Pace to have a larger, newer home and kids from similar demographics populating the school system.
“Others might move to a higher income neighborhood in Escambia but outside the urban core. Older neighborhoods, especially middle and lower income neighborhoods in Escambia, may suffer from these outflows, and the crime rates reflect that.”
Escambia Sheriff David Morgan knows crime in his county is nothing new. He was elected almost six years ago and notes Escambia has traditionally had the highest incarceration and crime rates in the state, long before he took office.
But he points out that the latest reports from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI show Escambia County has had a nearly 17 percent drop in violent crime.
Amin says his class did not previously have access to those reports covering the last several years and they’re now working to include that data in their research.
“I’m a data-driven guy,” Morgan said. “I have to be. I don’t have a choice. Our data indicates a lot of the reverse of what they’re saying. It’s as much of a sociological study as a crime study.
“Are you trying to measure feeling? Do I feel safe? That’s all about public perception.”
Morgan says the crime rates are usually higher in neighborhoods where income and educational achievement is low, and pockets of Escambia County impact the overall crime rate.
"People want to take their communities back"
Santa Rosa Sheriff Wendell Hall agrees the lower crime rate in his county is a reflection of the population.
“The major draw for Santa Rosa is the educational level. We’re fortunate to get the quality of people who want to move to Santa Rosa County. They care about their kids. They care about their kids’ education. Low crime rates come with that.”
Santa Rosa is a “bedroom community” of Escambia. An estimated 41 percent of working Santa Rosans are employed in Escambia County. Another 13.5 percent have jobs in Okaloosa County, many high-wage.
That’s not to say Santa Rosa doesn’t have problems with violent crime, but much of what they do see is related to drugs and Hall says they concentrate on problem areas.
“People want to feel safe in their home. This is a good place to raise their kids and keep them safe.”
Morgan wants Escambia residents to feel the same sense of safety, but says his office has an uphill battle in neighborhoods where poverty and crime have long been a way of life.
“We have both cultural and familial crime here. We’re arresting grandfathers and grandsons. The cycle of criminal activity is passed on here.”
Morgan encourages community involvement. There were only 13 active neighborhood watch groups when he took office; now there are 127.
Escambia is also the first county in the state to have a Neighborhood Watch Academy.
“People want to take their communities back. Our community has bought into our vision as to what we need to do collectively to address in problems in Escambia County.”
[caption id="attachment_8576" align="alignright" width="300"]
Harriett Walker stands in the doorway of her Montclair neighborhood home in Pensacola. The changes in her neighborhood over time keep her from socializing with her neighbors as she used to. Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today[/caption]
But for residents like Harriett Walker, taking a stand against crime comes with a risk. She can’t afford to move and fear of retribution stops her from reporting potential problems.
Walker is grateful she has not had any problems, but she keeps to herself and her doors locked.
“I would move if I could afford it, but I can’t afford it. If I could sell it I would pack up my stuff today,” she says. “I’ve always been an independent woman. Take what I got and make the best of it. The Lord looks after me.”
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