See Comments below article......that's the real truth behind this P.C. article. Parts of this area are look like Tijuana.


Sunday, 09/17/06

Violence rises 36% in parts of Madison
But crime is down in most of Metro, police data show

By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF
Staff Writer


A man shot to death in his apartment. Another man fatally stabbed over a $5 debt. A sharp rise in aggravated assaults and a soaring number of robberies.

The number of violent crimes jumped more than 36 percent in parts of Madison during the first six months of this year, police figures show, prompting police to shift resources and leaving some residents and business owners pessimistic about the future of the once-quiet area of north Nashville.




"Madison used to be a good place," said Kevin Baker, director of a neighborhood watch program in Madison's Amqui neighborhood. "Now, it all depends on what part of Madison you're in. It's pretty bad when you have to keep everything in your yard in chains just to keep people from stealing it."

In recent weeks, Metro police compiled a midyear report of crime across the city, including a breakdown by city council district. The report showed all crime down nearly 8% throughout the city.

But the number of robberies rose nearly 10 percent during the first half of 2006, and at least two council districts, one in Madison and the other in south Nashville, showed fairly dramatic spikes in all violent crime categories. (These are Latino areas...full of illegals)

In the 4th Council District, represented by councilman Michael Craddock, 74 robberies were recorded by June 30, an increase of more than 80 percent. Forcible rapes and aggravated assaults rose 20 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

There have been three killings in the area, up from just one during the first half of 2005.

"Other than placing a police officer on every corner, I don't know what else to do," said Craddock, who sits on Metro's public safety committee. "It would be nice to have more police officers, but we choose to spend money on other things in this city."

Craddock said he blames some of the crime in his district on a flood of homeless people to the area. They have literally built an underground community in parts of Madison, he said, including in the storm drains along Gallatin Road.

Craddock said he has met with business leaders and urged them to join together to hire private security for added protection. He has also advised business leaders to report every crime to police, in hope that department officials will allocate more resources in response to the increase in the calls for service.

A similar spike in crime was seen in the 17th Council District in south Nashville, represented by Metro Councilman Ronnie Greer. That district has seen violent crime rise nearly 31 percent, during the first half of this year. The trend is paced by 134 robberies, an increase of 65% from a year earlier.(This is another area that is overwhelmingly Latino Illegal.)

Police say they have already begun responding to the crime spike.

In recent months, officers have been working with neighborhood watch groups and the business community to slow down the crime problems, said Metro police Commander Louise Kelton, whose North Precinct patrols Madison and other parts of north Nashville.

Kelton said there have been some positive results, and she's hopeful that the year-end statistics will show improvement. For example, she said police arrested a man recently who was believed to be responsible for four robberies in the Madison area.

"At the beginning of the year, we had an issue with commercial robberies and street robberies," Kelton said. "We sent resources to address those problems. We've had success."

But the crime has not disappeared.

On Nix Drive, which is just outside of the 4th Council District, there have been two unrelated killings since June. One victim was Michael Scott Adams, 31, who was found shot to death in June inside his apartment.

On the same street earlier this month, Gerald Milliken, 54, was stabbed to death in a dispute over a $5 debt, Metro police said.

Several business owners near the intersection of Gallatin Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard said last week they were troubled by an apparent growing number of people asking shoppers for money.

Faye Patterson, who has operated a wig store in the area for more than 30 years, said she has upgraded security in recent months after being burglarized twice. Patterson said she has also noticed an increase in the number of homeless people who approach her asking for money. "I am leery when I go out at night," Patterson said.

Kathy Knowles, who manages a Wal-Mart grocery store in the area, said the retailer recently installed surveillance cameras.

"It was a precaution to ensure the safety of our customers," she said. "Since we have put it in, the number of people asking for money has decreased greatly."





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Violent crime up 31% in south Nashville? Didn't I just read about a problem with illegal immigrants in south Nashville? Wonder if there's a connection? I'm sure to answer that question we need to get some (taxpayer) grant money to study the issue for 10 years because commen sense is out of vogue these days, and not at just the paper.

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:54 am

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I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to recognize where the blame belongs, on illegal immigation. There is an unwillingness to say it out loud by the media and public officials.

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:45 am

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of course the madison area and the area in south nashville has highest crime rates. they also have the highest population of illegal imigrants.
i live in the area and see it every day. if u want to think u r in juarez, mexico just go to rollins mkt on weekend or watch the school bus in the
mornings. lets stay politically correct and let the crime continue to rise.
i am kidding. when i moved in 2 yrs ago from goodlettsville, my auto ins went up automatically $20 per mo because of where i park my car at night.

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:26 am

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My brother-in-law who lives in Florida told us last week that Florida is cracking down on illegal immigrants. Signs are posted at all work sites "NO ENGLISH - NO WORK". The cities have started cracking down on employers who hire illegals, as they are fined $1,500 for each illegal they employ. Also, the cities are fining landlords $1,500 for each illegal they rent property to. If they can't find work and can't find a place to live, they would have no choice but to go back to where they came from.

A friend of mine just sat on the grand jury where two illegal immigrants were being tried, they had an interpreter because the men stated they couldn't speak english on the night of their arrest, but when they were being questioned on the jury stand they started answering the DA's questions before the interpreter could translate. Some answers would be in english some in spanish. Finally, the judge had to ORDER them to choose which language to answer their questions in. A lot of these people are taking advantage of lady justice being blind.

So now the illegals are migrating to Tennessee since they can't find places to work or live in Florida. They mainly worked in the orange groves and sugar cane fields in Florida.

Nashville needs to wakeup!!!!

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:54 am

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