Crime in Savannah?
 

I recently read on another travel forum that crime in downtown Savannah has been very bad, especially at night. Do my husband and I have to worry about walking downtown from our hotel and back after dark? We are staying near Forsyth Park and he is in a wheelchair.

Hi MarciaK. Savannah requires the same precautions you would take in any other USA city. Relax and have fun. Stay in the tourist areas. Be careful as some of the sidewalks in some parts of the historic district are in need of repair. Have a wonderful time. I wish I were going too!

From downtown to Forsyth Park (with or without a wheelchair)is a pretty long walk. I'd recommend taking a cab - not for safety - just for ease. I love to take pedicabs but I don't know if you hubby could manage getting in and out of one.

I'd plan to eat dinner closer to your hotel and/or taking cabs.

I would not recommend coming to Savannah at this time and I have lived here for many years. I live on the southside and it is becoming very bad here as well. It is very unsafe in the historic district especially at night. The criminal element has become brazen to the point of even commiting crimes during the daytime. Slow police response times dues to to inadequate staffing coupled with apathy from city leadership has made Savannah a very unattractive tourist destination. Robberies and murders of locals and tourists are at an all time high especially with senior and disabled citizens becoming a favorite target. I hate to say this as I retired here and have seen a tremendous uptick in crime. I don't venture downtown anymore especially with my fancy sports car. Again it is your decision but I can not recommend this as a tourist destination.

Rubbish.

That's all. Simply rubbish.

What an interesting first and only posting by a brand new poster. Have no idea the motivation, but...

(IMHO) rubbish.

Okay, GoT. Is this a new alias for you and an attempt to divert more tourist $$$ to Charleston?

Kidding. Just kidding :-)

MarciaK, I would not walk that distance in Savannah after dark. I would also be careful around the riverfront area at night. In any city, after dark, I would only walk in well-lighted areas with plenty of other people in sight. I've been to Savannah several times, and am always warned by friends living there to take safety precautions. I absolutely love the place ... just use your common sense! :-)

Concerning crime in Savannah, here's a link to an article on the subject from macon.com, from about a month ago.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/local/13573671.htm

Our son goes to college in Savannah (in Historic District). A lot depends on your perspective and experience.

One must treat Savannah like a big city regarding crime, even though it is not. Historic District/tourist areas are so geographically close to a much less splashy and higher crime rate area - of course there is going to be "spillover"

That said, he has senses an increase in random street crime in past year - do not know whether or not that is real or perceived threat. He tells us that it is understood that it is not safe to walk around after dark alone anywhere, and students feel safer in groups of 3 or more. We receive crime alerts from the school periodically and there was a young woman stabbed in Historic District just after Christmas and another person attacked in Forsyth Park recently. However, both were after midnight. In general, auto theft, purse grabbings, etc. are the type of crime students are concerned about. Since his school has no compact campus but is scattered sites thruout District, students just act accordingly every day.

I know OP is old, but this is time of year people go to Savannah - hope to help someone else out.

Did not mean OP was elderly - meant that the post was old. Sorry if I offended.

read the posts above and realize that for decades there has been this "thing" between Savannah and Charleston...it has always been absurd as it was when I first lived in Savannah in 1963...I see it has continued.

As to the crime rate: I agree that taking normal precautions should be sufficient if my friends who still live there, and actually drive THEIR cars around town at all hours, are to be believed.

There has recently been an uproar over the murder of a debutante, after a ball. She was one of a group of young people walking through one of the squares in the early hours of the morning. This has caused a lot of attention to be focused on crime in the downtown area. But for as long as I can remember, I have been prudent about the squares when visiting Savannah. They are lovely and well worth seeing, by all means, go, but by day and in groups.

There is no more crime in Savannah than there is in any major city!!!!

Nope, LOL, no aliases for me!

I've never had a problem in Savannah and I've traveled there alone and with friends for business and leisure.

As long as you stay out of bad neighborhoods (where there are drugs or known gang activity) and use common sense, you'll be fine.

Oh, geez, Intrepid. It was a joke! It has nothing to do with a continued "thing" since you lived there 4 decades ago. It has to do with posters on this board trying to figure out which beautiful, historic coastal city to visit and posting questions about which is "best" or they should spend 3 days in Savannah and 2 in Charleston or 3 in Charleston and 2 in Savannah! Everyone has their favorites. GoT's is Charleston and mine is Savannah - but we like (maybe even love) them both. It was a JOKE!

Regarding crime. Savannah is a city. Small city or big town, but a real life functioning city. It is not a Disney park. It is not a manufactured Disney "community" like Celebration. It is a city. Tons of college kids attended school there every day. My niece attends college in Charleston. There are projects adjoining the historic districts. There are home owners of million dollar properties. There are hundreds of tourists there every day of the year. If one takes normal precautions, one is as safe there (Savannah - or Charleston for that matter) as they are at "home". The "sky is falling" post warning folks to stay away is an alarmist. And, I still think that post is rubbish (can you tell?) :-)

I like to differentiate between the two by saying Charlestonians (true, six generation Charlestonians) are the biggest snobs on the planet and residents of Savannah are one inch away from the nuthouse.

I love both cities.

I have lived in the Ardsley Park neighborhood of Savannah for the past 10 years and although I do not agree with the extent of the warning imparted by mrmiata7's post I have to say that I dont consider it complete rubbish either. Savannah is a very beautiful and lovely city that has a long history of violent crime. If visiting the historic district stay in areas with a high amount of tourist traffic, dont wander off alone and take a cab if you are going more than 2 or 3 blocks at night. Have fun but be on alert at all times.