Is Bend feeling the stress?

I'm kind of asking you guys the question.


Here's some headlines I've been noticing:

"Three murders in three months."

"Domestic abuse on the rise."

Random stories of car break-ins, home intruders, car jackings, street people, big drug busts.

When this whole crash started, I think a lot of us starting looking for signs of an uptick in criminal activity.

I think this kind of thing takes time -- a lot of damage is being done, behind the scenes, before it finally rises to the surface. It's like a weakened immune system, any kind of crisis can result in disaster.

Hard to tell, anecdotally.

If you just read the occasional headline, you'd think that Bend has probably lost population; instead we've gained. You'd think that maybe downtown Bend was emptying out; instead there are more stores than before the Great Recession.

I guess we'll have to wait for the crime statistics.

But...I have to believe the stress of the Great Recession is compounding the problems.

I don't have any major insights here, just kind of wanting to throw it open for discussion....


I will say one thing that absolutely appalls me.

Every few months there is a news story of a mugshot group either: breaking into a house and pointing a gun; or beating up someone. And it turns out that these morons are trying to collect on a drug debt.

Here's the thing that you wish someone -- parents, neighbors, friends, bloggers -- none of whom obviously they would listen to -- would just like take them aside and say:

"Dudes (dudettes),

"Your drug dealing is bad news. Not a good life choice. But, you know, probably with first offenses or small amounts, you might serve just a little time in jail.

"But armed robbery and kidnapping is a WHOLE NOTHER level of missteps. Them's lifetime type crimes. I mean, go rob a bank, if you're going to do that. At least there might be a payoff.

"Or let the drug debt go. You know, quit selling to the deadbeats, or whatever. I mean, really, you're dealing with a class of people like yourselves --so you ought to expect to be stiffed once in a while. I mean, I know you're all drug addled and you've gone down a bad road.

"But invading a house? Waving a gun around? That's magnitudes more stupid, stupid."