Originally Posted by
kryptonite
Are you sure you are talking about downtown Detroit?? I peronally have never felt safer downtown than I have since the casinos and sports arenas opened, because of those developments there is foot traffic once more in the downtown. Back in the 80's there seemed to be much more crime, there were not a lot of people out at night and broken car windows were common. People primarily went from their car to whatever venue they were attending and did not walk much to restaurants or bars other than the place they went to in the first place. unless there was a festival on Hart Plaza, Downtown was quite bleak in the 80's with the exception of Greektown.
Nowadays I am frequently downtown and feel safe to walk around and to go to different places even in the evening. I agree with Detroitplanner, if you don't want your car broken into, don't leave things sitting out in the car. That is true in most big cities - theft from parked vehicles is very common and not just a Detroit problem.