Thank you for writing this. These are my thoughts exactly. So much to love about Malden. But what can we as a community, and what can the city do to help eradicate all of this violent crime?

One of the first things we need to is not become like other places and not help if we know who these people are. If we as a people refuse to do our part then you tie the hands of the people who are trying to fix the problem. We don't need a different pastor each week saying we are are standing in unity against this , although this is a great place to start. We need the people who sit in the pews and that means you to start to stand up and say hey I know who that is who did that. The police need to step their efforts but the people need to help.

AS YOUR NEIGHBOR & ALSO A MOM ( AS YOU KNOW) THAT HAS ALREADY GONE THROUGH 2 SCHOOL LOCKDOWNS~ HOLDING MY BREATH TIL I GET A TEXT FROM MY SON THAT HE IS ALIVE IS PURE TERROR!!! RACHEL, WHAT AN OUTSTANDING PIECE OF AWARENESS YOU WROTE THAT BRINGS US BACK OUT OF THE COMPLACENCY OF BEING USED TO THE SIRENS- TO START SOLVING THIS PROBLEM.
MALDEN IS HOME- I AGREE W RACHEL.. LET'S MAKE IT FEEL SAFE.
I HAVE NOTICED AN INCREASE OF POLICE PRESENCE OF MALDEN'S FINEST UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF LT. GATCOMB.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO BUT I TOO AM COMMITTED TO UPGRADING MALDEN TO A PLACE WHERE I DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY SON COMING HOME FROM SCHOOL EVERYDAY! PERHAPS A MEETING W OUR NEW MAYOR WHO HAS DONE SO MUCH GOOD WORK IN A SHORT TIME! POWER IN NUMBERS! LIKE RACHEL SAID - LETS DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO MAKE MALDEN A WARM, WONDERFUL SAFER PLACE WE CALL HOME. THANKS AGAIN FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE FOREFRONT RACHEL!
Rachelle T. Nash

This is the best colum Ive ever read. I was so floored by it I had to read it over 4 times. You said it all what we people feel in our hearts. Thank You Racheal Brown You said it all and from your heart.

Unless you admit or even realize that where crime stems from or what type of the demographic characteristics are attributed to crime I'm afraid the solution will not be easy.
Not all criminals come from poor black family, not all criminals are illegal hispanics/latinos, But I'm uncomfortable when I see a saggy pant wearing, smoking dude in the street corner or the kid loitering in late night in the corner of seven eleven on salem street or the bumS panhandling in front of walgreen or asking for cigs when you walk around the so called rehab centers.

Talking about diversity, I'm amazed at the hard working students and professionals both local and foreign that take the t and orange line day in day out to go to the colleges and universities and then there are these low life loitering around the station or city hall doing absolutely nothing other than looking for cigarette butts or asking for gas money.

As long as these second group of people and families have a place they can afford in a city; crime is unlikely to be reduced. Unless we get rid of these absentee multi family housings or properly regulate so that 8 people don't live in a one bedroom house or apt there isn't much that can be done.

On top of that nepotism and lack of leadership and having the remotest sense of taking responsibility in the police department makes it harder. The silver lining is the mayor who seems to care and maybe can turn things around.

Section 8 needs proper regulation for sure, absentee landlords who pay one visit per year need to be taken to task, connections and friends of friends need to be seriously looked at and addressed when what is going on now in Malden is end result. Too many years of neglect on the part of the officials...oh the things I've seen, experienced, tolerated when they're put into residential areas - when no one cares and everyone turns the other cheek it heralds the decline of communities and neighborhoods. Apparently we are watching the decline now...I once felt there were things about Malden to love too, I once was very active here and always wanted to continue on that route - after too many ignored issues and problems I've come to realize there is only one way out now - LEAVE

It was wonderful to read an intelligent, reasoned letter about the many good and endearing aspects of Malden and the current feeling of danger here. I have recently become more observant of people around me in the neighborhood I live in. I looked up the police phone # to call in a non-emergency situation on www.maldenpd.com:
Reporting Conditions in Your Neighborhood
To report a condition in your neighborhood, contact the Crime Prevention Unit at 781-397-7171 or email gmackay@maldenpd.com

To report suspected drug activity, call the drug hotline at 781-322-1300 or submit a tip online. All calls and tips can be made anonymously. When submitting information, please be as specific as possible with the location, days of the week and times of day that the activity is occurring. Additionally, please provide as much information as possible concerning the activity you are observing and descriptions of suspect(s), vehicles and residences involved.

Also, I know all my neighbors and we tell each other if we are going away for a couple of days, etc. We keep an eye out for each other. If I can do more to prevent crime, I'd like to.

A thousand cops on the street will only look like a thousand cops on the street. These scumbags who commit these violent crimes have no regard for law enforcement or feel good touch touchy safety meetings. It was said on here before by some and refuted but the ONLY way to make Malden and other high crime areas safe is to lock up the criminals. Get Judges to be tough on crime and sentence these criminals to long term prison time. Someone said build more prisons, I have to agree, lock them up. These criminals are animals who are holding you hostage in your homes. There were no school lock downs when I was a child, none! I hope and pray no innocent person is injured or worse.

I was told by a police office you should dial 911 when you suspected crime in action, like the cars parked in front of your house waiting for their dealer. If you dial 911, they have to respond right away, the other numbers mean they will probably be gone before the police get there..

In response to above whatsup, I agree, some posters here can deny it all they want, but the criminals in this city are not resident homeowners

I agree with Whatsup...nailed it right on the head...who wants to get accosted for change or cigarettes while getting on the train or walking through Malden Square? Why are there silhouettes in parks after hours? The Mayor is prioritizing this yet only one City Councilor has issued a statement publicly...where is our community leadership when we need them the most? Oh yeah...they get the summer off...only reconvened on September 4th....too many elected holdovers.

daughter was accosted at train on way to her college- she ran over to a police car, told him she was being harassed by some individual and he asked her "well, what are you doing hanging around the trains"..haha...we all had a good laugh at that

Dialing 911 on your cell phone gets routed to the State Police. Call 781-322-1212 for MPD Emergency.

Great article, though some of the comments that follow disturb me. I'm not a homeowner. Does this mean I should be lumped in with the drug dealers and drive-by shooters? Ridiculous. The solution to crime is education and instilling the city with a sense of community and shared responsibility; it's not racial profiling, classism and scapegoating.

Great article. And although I dont agree with every comment I don understand why they feel this way. While forums and community meetings wont solve everything it is a way to participate and come together to work toward a solution. We do need a stronger community to combat this. Check out the Malden Patch Event section and learn about a community forum that Malden Rotary is hosting on September 25th. Join us and take part in finding solutions. Again, I dont think it will solve all ills but it's a start...

I agree with ScollaySq comments above! There is not a cop or public official in Malden who wants to see thugs run wild and tear up our city. The bigger problem is liberal judges and a legal system in Massachusetts that would rather assess fines and give criminals all sorts of chances at redemption. Go to Malden court any morning and watch the first two hours........criminal session. Thugs are walking out the front doors constantly. If they jail these offenders and publish thier names and photos in the paper and on MATV, everyone will know who the criminals are. Criminal records are most often public records after they have been adjudicated. When everyone in Malden sees these jerks and they know they are recognized for the animals that they are, maybe then they will jump on the train and take thier shitshow out of Malden. A criminals best offense is remaining annonymous, take that away and they have to keep bouncing to new places to commit crimes! This state needs a violent offender registry similar to the Level 3 Sex Offender Registry. Excellent article Rachael, Malden doesnt have to be the next downtrodden ghetto!

Thank you Rachel Browns!!! You have summed up how we are all feeling. As a fellow mom, I am terrified to let my child outside. She needs to walk around the corner to catch her school bus and I walk her there. Unfortunately, she needs to walk home on her own, because as a single mom, I can't pick her up. :( She doesn't have far to go...but lately it doesn't take much around here and, frankly, I am terrified. I pray for peace, for Malden, and everywhere else.

Thank you Rachel, your thoughtful article warms my heart. It is great to know that others care for our city in the same way. Together, with neighborhood awareness we can take back our streets, so all feel safe. I might recommend snapping some photos when bad deeds are seen. They help the police. We all need to work together.

I not see any solutions in this letter.

So, basically, to summarize this article:

- gun violence is bad

- there are solutions to this problem but I don't know what they are

- I'm afraid to take my children outside.

Got it

Very nice letter to express how many of us feel. You are in the majority. I am pretty sure most agree that the system is too lenient on the criminals and there are bigger root problems but lets start with that. Judges are to lenient. How many agree with that as they sit there? So how do we get more judges who are not lenient? Is it progressive or conservative judges who are lenient with criminals? If you are honest with yourself you know the answer. So who appoints those judges Democrats or Republicans? I am a Democrat and I know the answer to this and so do you. So we in the Cities can complain all we want but you all know we will keep voting for the same people. So then the only solutions is to ask the people we elect to take themselves off the hook and make judges be elected by the people. YOu do that and I guarantee if they are looking at an election every four years they will lock a lot more of these dirt bags up for a long time. I know its not going to happen the only other solution is to start voting for the other party. Never going to happen in MA but just saying anybody who thinks about it knows its true

Wonderfully written... I grew up in Malden, and left 2 yrs ago, I have two grown children one of which still lives in the West end... I also have an 8 yr old Boy, it broke my heart to leave Malden. I didnt leave because of the violence ( even though my son endured one lock-down at the Forestdale school) . I now live in Reading, and I thank God everyday that I got him out of Malden. But I have Many many Family and Friends who still live there... and I find myself checking the news everyday to see what else has happen.... Very Sad! Malden used to be a wonderful city :(

Here's the running theme of this thread - "I can't wait to move!" "I'm so glad I moved!" "Malden is beyond repair, I'm out of here!"

Thanks for your support, folks. Don't let the door hit you on your way out. It's good to know that when the going gets tough, your neighbors flee while sabotaging your property value in the process. Thanks again.

as far as property values -
already down thanks to absentee landlords who do NOTHING to make their properties presentable or updated, not to mention and for many years not even clean ...FORGET about the renters who live there - it's not their house so they dont' give a damn what it looks like as long as the rent is paid or half paid or free or whatever it might be.

I blame the schools for not being proactive when they see a student start to turn sour.

You cannot blame the mayor, the police, the teachers...IT STARTS AT HOME...

whatsup has a point - everyone I've ever known who grew up in a high-income house became exemplary citizens as they got older. Must've been the fact that they bathed in money.

we were afraid of hell, authority figures, parents, and damnation, this element seems to be afraid of nothing

It definitely starts at home, however some of the kids are victims of generations of bad habits and living. If we can affect change in schools we should try. I also agree that we need the courts to be tougher and smarter on sentencing, although Im not sure how the Mayor's administration can mandate that. I dont blame anyone that decides to move on for fear of the safety of their children- thats their right. I choose to stay in Malden and fight for a city that I love and hope to restore. Im was glad to see the Mayor get all "Boots on the Ground" to help out. Lets keep this type of presence seen and active. Please join Malden Rotary in seeking to formulate a community response to the violence.

Just a thought.... It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
--Frederick Douglass

EVERY FAMILY HAS PROBLEMS! "Bathing in money" isn't the exception to that rule. Raising your children to have respect and good values make a family stronger. The unfortunate children that are born to parents who don't live by these rules can get lost in the shuffle, but many of them grow up to be successful members of society. This is in thanks to the numerous community volunteers and programs that are resourceful to these children. Those who do not volunteer their time are truly missing out on the benefits of making a difference. It's sad that some think it isn't worth it.

Hey Nick Wright ur totally wrong by the time u realize its time to go ur property won't be worth a damn then ull be stuck here!Go tell the residents in Roxbury to fix their city too.Malden is done face reality I got one word for ya Titanic!Ur welcome for the Great advice!

Malden does have positives, but the negatives are over shadowing this city. Take a look at the city data for Malden: http://www.city-data.com/city/Malden-Massachusetts.html We have one of the highest crime rates in the state and still no pliable solution to this growing issue. If I was looking for a safe place to live and bring up my kids based on this data I wouldnt give Malden a second look. Also everytime Malden is in the news for violence real estate values drop another notch.... So now the question... why is Malden's crime rate so high compared to Wakefield, Melrose ect. Is it tied to Home values, the MBTA stations, lack of Police awareness,..just questions Iwould like others to chime in on...Thx.

Glad yours went up mine went down this month. .The point I'm making is they are still close enough yet not close in percentage of crimes, so what makes them so different?

The Foreigners Ruined the city just like many surrounding communities.....you move to a white community and not have all these issues but white communities are becoming rarer and rarer until we solve our immigration issues we have no hope of having a safe anywhere in the United States......

no one wants to say it but thats the truth,White kids get lured into the life style because they are taught being white isn't cool and they emulate what they here in rap music and see on Television.....Spare me the we are all immigrants and this happens everywhere blah blah blah,we have a different caliber of immigrant nowadays,they are from the third world not the first and their whole life they have been focused on survival not prosperity,that mentality has come along with them and destroyed our neighborhoods and communities....

Wow, that's so edgy.