City Government
Downtown Boise Continues Crime Spree
April 30, 2012 
While the politicos like to tout downtown Boise as a “family friendly” and a vibrant safe place to enjoy dinner and drinks, the area has a history or alcohol related violent crime that has become apparent the past two weekends.
Last weekend it was a gang-related SHOOTING, this week it was a MELEE which resulted in arrests and assault on Boise coppers.
Boise PD has a “bar team” which works Wednesday through Saturday with a Sgt. and at least six coppers assigned to the area in an effort to keep the peace. Without question the area is the highest concentration of booze vendors and resulting booze-releated crimes.
In the past we recall murders, near riots prompting coppers to call for firemen to hose down the crowd (firemen refused), and street clearing displays of force with coppers from throughout the Valley assisting. Taxi restrictions, private parking lot policies and petty theft all compound the problems faced by coppers.
Of course there were the two incidents with the Ada Sheriff’s Deputy getting popped for drunken escapades and the two drunks who peed on the passed out homeless guy.
EDITOR NOTE–Expect to see crime reporting stats soon that will show downtown is the place to visit without regard to shooting, stabbing, assaulting coppers, etc.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Apr 30, 2012, 4:19 pm
For the average citizen, downtown is safe ,if you don’t hang out on the corner of 6th & Main. I
Apr 30, 2012, 4:36 pm
When I was a teenager Boise had two way streets and the South side of Main St. was referred to a skid row. I do not recall gang fighting or making buildings relief posts. Oh there were some drunks that partook. But, hark, I just know if the Bieter Bunch gets a street car all the bedlam will cease. As to family friendly I admonish families to remain in the suburbs,
Apr 30, 2012, 5:10 pm
I just knew that Team Dave would find a way to create that special big-city feel Boise has been missing. Relax folks, we’ve made it to the bigtime now!
A few more attractions for the forever impovrished will put us over the top with permanent status.
Apr 30, 2012, 5:16 pm
Very misleading BG. Your personal grudge against the mayor’s office is showing again.
I doubt the city has ever promoted downtown as family-friendly during the times that every one of those incidents happened.
I know you can see the difference.
EDITOR NOTE–Are you saying team Dave would EVER suggest downtown is not a safe place for families? We just not two weekends in a row–as weather moderates–the boozers are misbehaving. We will even acknowledge it is usually late at night or early morning. Still, it is a high crime area and the majority of downtown is in a CCDC district where only a fraction of their taxes go to Boise City services, leaving the rest of us to pay for the extra police patrols.
Apr 30, 2012, 8:53 pm
Idaho in general is promoting “family” or more like “child” friendly, there are very little venues for the single, average aged person who just wants to have a good time, so the limited options create an overflow of violence and drunkenness at the “hot spots”, if we were more open to allow single people entertainment, then we might not see such a debauchery of downtown.
Apr 30, 2012, 8:59 pm
Mr. g
Come to Idaho City at 1 AM at Harley’s on main street and you will see some real fights. Idaho City’s new logo is “A Gem in the Rough”….Well the Rough is right.
Boise is weak sauce.
Apr 30, 2012, 9:34 pm
Ronin & Porc: Everywhere in the country the cities/states make a bucket off the booze sales and related rent/fees. Everywhere in the country they spill out into the streets and cause trouble/damage/DUI/death. This is an issue which the governments could moderate if they could get by without the money they haul in. (Which is proven possible by the past btw, just look at inflation adjusted budget vs. population for decades past.)
KR: It’s really bad in Minneapolis and the new $ trillion train did not fix it. Portland either. They do have a train in New Mexico; does anyone know if they still have bar fights and drunk losers in the streets down there?
Apr 30, 2012, 10:57 pm
What do people expect when there is such a high concentration of bars in such a small area. So much so that the police department has deemed it such a problem they have designated a special team just to police this area. My solution is that the Alcohol Beverage Control needs to do more enforcement on the bars for over-service to their patrons and it would cut down on a lot of the fall down out of control drunks downtown
May 1, 2012, 8:16 am
Hmmm… crack down on the bar scene, because you have a minute number of bad apples. I have gone down there a lot of times, and had a lot of fun. Just be aware of your surroundings. Some people get stupid when they drink. Target them, remove them, leave the rest of the 99.9% of the people alone.
May 1, 2012, 12:38 pm
I agree, it is a few that ruin it for the rest. Anytime there is a bar area in a college town, there will be a few fights and disturbances, goes with the territory. Cops here are on the spot when there is a problem and keep them from escalating. A few times there are mass issues which mean more police come in, and they squash it fast, get the instigators out and it goes back to people having a good time.
May 1, 2012, 1:52 pm
But Rifter, that doesn’t fit the narrative of the Boise Guardian that Boise is an awful place because of Dave Bieter.
EDITOR NOTE–Dave, why do you inject the mayor in the issue? There is more “action” downtown on weekends than there used to be in Garden City when I was a copper there! GC had a bad rep in those days if you have been around long enough to recall.
May 1, 2012, 11:11 pm
BG- You were a cop?
EDITOR NOTE–Yup. Also a state Law Enforcement Commissioner during the first Andrus administration.
May 2, 2012, 10:20 am
Explains why you don’t like people speaking the truth about cops
May 2, 2012, 3:33 pm
Legalize pot. Stoners don’t get violent. Or better yet, can’t we just all be Mormon?
May 3, 2012, 8:22 pm
OMG It’s a veritable crime spree in downtown Boise. I know it because the Boise Guardian has highlighted the nightly violence occurring 360 days a year such as the gang related shooting in which no one actually died, just one wanna be gang banger with a leg wound, But wait, wait there was a Melee downtown also at 2 A.M. (prime family time) where a couple of drunks were arrested. OK that’s two nights without anything other than sensationalized stories plucked from the front pages. BG, what do you have for the other 358 days? I lived on 5th just south of Main and my brother clerked at the 5th and main market back in the 70”s when Vern was still on patrol. Things are a damn sight better there now.