Susanna Patterson has lived all over the world, but she settled in Macon after law school because she loves the community.

She worries about crime in the city -- something she describes as a realistic part of living in the world.

“I hear a lot of people complain about crime in Macon, and they haven’t lived in a lot of places,” said Patterson, who grew up in an Air Force family and lived in Warner Robins as a small child.

“I’ve lived everywhere. ... Crime exists everywhere. Is it worse in Macon? No, I don’t perceive that it is. The difference to me about Macon and other places that I have lived is that you have the affluent communities right next to the not affluent communities. Where in some cities you can very much separate yourself from it, in Macon you really can’t.”

A childhood spent in El Paso, Texas, has given her a different perspective on crime.

“I think there’s certainly a lot of property crime in Macon,” Patterson said. “You always hear people talking about, ‘Well, my car got broken into,’ Patterson said. “In El Paso, your car doesn’t get broken into. It gets stolen, and it is in Mexico, never to be seen again, before you even know it’s gone. So, to me, it’s like, ‘Well somebody may break into my car, but at least I’ll still have a car.’ ”

Crime in Macon, as well as race relations, political divisions and the lack of growth, were among the frustrations cited most often by nearly 600 people interviewed for the “Macon in the Mirror” project.

Keep reading this story from The Telegraph at Macon.com

"Macon in the Mirror" is a series on GPB produced in partnership with The Telegraph and Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism. The stories are drawn from nearly 600 interviews conducted this year. Tomorrow we examine misconceptions that linger about Macon.

Tags: Mercer University Center for Collaborative Journalism, Adam Ragusea, Macon in the Mirror, Debbie Blankenship