Yes. I've been told that by cops in prior years.

That said, things have improved enormously in the last 10 years. There is a vibrant downtown area, and fairly large pockets of redevelopment around it, with safe(-ish) and affordable housing.

To assholes yeah. I grew up in a pretty rural area and still drive through some holes in the wall regularly with traffic lights where I'm stopped and there's no traffic in miles. I still stop because that light is there for a reason. To save lives by enforcing some consistency in the rules.

Only when turning left. Seriously, a city planner or something had a huge beef with turning left at lights and launched a war against it.