Andy Allmendinger is your typical University of Memphis student. He lives with his two best buddies in a house on Carnes, close enough to campus to bike to school everyday, which he does.
Because he lives nearby, he goes to Scootie’s for cigarettes, CK’s Coffee Shop to study and R.P. Tracks to blow off steam after a hard day’s work.
However, he does all this looking over his shoulder. He says the area is not safe.
“When I’m out, I’m always on guard because of what’s happened to me around here,” said Allmendinger, a senior geography and political science major.
The event he’s referring to happened shortly before Christmas break. He was at R.P. Tracks late one night, when he offered to walk another U of M student to her car. While exchanging good-byes, the two were ambushed by three armed men. The robbers demanded Allmen-dinger’s wallet, struck him with a pistol and then fired at him as they ran away.
“We shouldn’t have to spend our time honing our urban survival skills to live around here,” said Allmendinger. “There definitely needs to be some sort of action taken.”
Megan Biggs, a U of M freshman with an undecided major, agrees. She was held up at knife-point in an alley off Highland a little over a year ago. That night, the robber took more than her purse — he took her sense of security.
“I could have been killed,” said Biggs. “I’m much more cautious now.”
Inspector George Strickland, commander of the central precinct — the precinct U of M sits in — said these two examples are exceptions. He said the Highland and Walker area is one of the safest places in his precinct, and one of the safest in Memphis.
Since July of 2000 there haven’t been any homicides or rapes there. The crime reported most — 78 incidences — was larceny. Larceny from vehicles came in at a close second, with 66 reported incidences. Strickland said these numbers appear more serious than they really are because the Memphis police report all instances of larceny, including shoplifting, whereas others cities only report the most serious cases.
“If you steal bubblegum, we have to report it, which makes crime look worse than it is,” said Strickland.
During the same time, 17 simple assaults, 13 auto thefts and 10 robberies of individuals occurred. Strickland said compared to other areas, these numbers aren’t alarming.
“As a rule, most of the crime (around The U of M) is way, way below average,” said Strickland.
Strickland said the reason the area is so safe is because both the Memphis Police Department and the campus police are highly visible in the area. Also, the parking lots are well lit and college students tend to travel in groups. For those looking for easy money, these factors are a deterrent.
In fact, Strickland said the biggest problems on Highland and Walker and in the neighborhoods around U of M are the students themselves. Underage drinking and fake IDs consume a lot of police time. Over half his residential calls are due to students being disruptive late at night.
Nonetheless, he said U of M students have got to exercise caution. Crimes like larceny from vehicles could easily be prevented by not leaving valuables visible in the car.
“A lot of crime comes from carelessness,” said Strickland. “I don’t think students realize that. A lot of them come from small towns, and they don’t understand there’s crime in big cities.”
