In the town I grew up in (called Lakewood ), our parents let us go where ever we wanted as long as we didn't venture too far from home, and stayed away from the railroad tracks that ran through the city (a 9-year-old boy was killed by a train in the early 90s, so naturally every kid's parents were paranoid for a few years). We were allowed to go to the movies or the store by ourselves and hardly ever needed adults or older kids to look after us.

The crime statistics in Lakewood are more or less the same as they were in the 90s, but I honestly would never let my kids (if I had any) venture in those streets on their own. Maybe I'm just more aware of crime now than my parents were, I don't know.