most of her life.

As an elderly woman walking to the neighborhood grocery store, which was just around the corner from where she lived, she was knocked down, and her purse was stolen. More than once. At that neighborhood grocery store, the checkout had a glassed in checkout area. You put your groceries down in a bin that was common with the checkout stand. They picked the groceries up, rang them up, bagged them, and then waited for you to pay. Once you paid, they moved the bags back down into the bin. They'd been robbed far too many times.

She would have people come to her front door and distract her while others were breaking in her back door and stealing her valuables. This was in the mid '70s. All she had to live on was Social Security. She lived in what eventually became a bad area of the city. She had no other choice. She owned her home and she wouldn't leave. I visited her whenever she needed some help or to take her to my parents' house for the holidays. I never felt comfortable when visiting that neighborhood.

I feel plenty safe in Springfield. There are some areas of town that do have their problems. You stay out of those areas late at night and in the wee hours of the morning. Springfield's crime problems are like many city's problems. The poor, the uneducated, the mentally ill, and the drug addled people are the ones causing most of the problems. We're far enough south that the weather is mild enough the better part of the year. Thus, we have a fair amount of homeless types residing here. The rural areas were popular with the meth manufacturing criminals for a long time. They don't stay out in the woods all the time. The drugs import and creates more crime problems. Springfield is kind of a hub area for all sorts of stuff. That and the fact that many come here for the lakes, recreation, and somewhat milder climate. It is an affordable place to party.

https://www.kcur.org/history/2024-03-22/missouri-meth-capital-america-drugs-lab-busts

You can also Google "southwest missouri meth" and see the problem still exists.