Crime not a major fear in city
Resident says violence is less worrisome because it is not random

By Mary Moreno, Caller-Times

   Crime in Corpus Christi may have increased significantly from 2000 to 2001, but residents say they still consider the city safe. It may be because most perceive the crime here to be mostly lifestyle related and not random.
   "I just don't think that there's a lot of random things that happen," said Beatrice Molina, a 44-year-old Southside resident. "I feel that it's retaliatory, what happens here in Corpus Christi. We walk around our neighborhood in the late evening. It may be a false sense of security, but we've never had anything happen in our neighborhood, and there are always people outside."
   In 2001, major violent and property crimes rose by 12.6 percent from the previous year, according to figures provided by the Corpus Christi Police Department. There were 18 homicides, 224 rapes, 582 robberies, 118 aggravated assaults, 359 burglaries, 1,276 thefts and 133 motor vehicle thefts in 2001.
   In the last rankings released by the FBI, Corpus Christi was sixth among large metropolitan areas in Texas for violent and property crimes reported per 100,000 residents. In 2000, Corpus Christi residents reported 587 violent crimes and 5,534.8 property crimes per 100,000 residents - more crimes than were reported by Houston or Dallas.
   Police Cmdr. Bryan Smith said the higher rate of reported crimes is due partly to the early effects of community policing, which has shown residents police will respond to even non-emergency quality-of-life problems like overgrown grass, abandoned homes and the homeless. He said residents' feelings of safety are apparent by the number of people walking along the seawall at night.
   "The feeling of safety is evident in Corpus Christi," Smith said. "Corpus Christi enjoys a safer environment and the citizens know that."
   Libby Trevino, 27, said she feels safe because crime hasn't affected her directly, although national news of children being kidnapped had made her more cautious with her own.
   "I personally feel safe and I'm OK," Trevino said. "I don't let my kids go to the park by themselves, but I do go with them. I haven't experienced anything to where I wouldn't feel safe."