Is The University of Memphis safe?
According to campus security watchdog groups, The U of M compared favorably to other institutions of similar size. Statistically, The U of M has shown considerably lower crime rates than other schools, such as the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the University of Cincinnati.
Although those two schools have more students than The U of M, the difference in size is not a significant one. While The U of M had two reports of robbery in 2000, UTK had three and UC had eight. That same year, The U of M had 239 reports of theft, compared to 532 at UTK and 570 at UC.
“I feel pretty safe when I am on campus,” said Allison Ramsaur, a freshman at The U of M. “I’m at school about three hours a day, except on Fridays, and when I see the (campus security) patrol cars driving around, it makes me feel safer.”
From Jan. 1 through March 13 of this year, on-campus crime was down 42 percent compared to the same time last year, said Bruce Harber, director of Public Safety at The U of M.
According to the Department of Education, the number of crimes on campus has decreased. In 2001, there were 14 reported burglaries, compared to only five in 2002. There was also one report of aggravated assault in 2001 — and none thus far in 2002.
Crimes reported to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation showed similar results. In 2001, there were 28 reports of vandalism, compared to 11 in 2002. There were also 37 reports of larceny in 2001 and only 21 in 2002.
There have been six off-campus armed robberies in The U of M area since Dec. 1, 2001.
Since the beginning of the semester, there have only been two robberies and a purse snatching reported on campus, according to Harber. The robberies took place on South Campus, while the purse snatching happened at West Hall. The most recent off-campus crime was the attempted robbery of a U of M employee.
“We meet with The U of M police department on a weekly basis to look at crime figures and possible suspects,” said Major Henderson of the Memphis Police Department. “We apprise them of crimes around the area and on campus, while they in turn apprise us. The U of M is part of our reporting system. We have a very healthy relationship with them.”
“I’m always at school during the day, so I feel safe when I’m on campus,” said Brooke Cooper, U of M sophomore. “Last year, I had a night class and absolutely hated walking by myself. I only hated it because it was dark, not because I ever saw or heard about anything.
“The campus is big, though. There are so many places where no one would even know anything was happening to you and they wouldn’t be able to hear you. That is a little scary to me.”
A few things students can do to lessen their risk of being a campus victim is keeping doors locked, staying aware of surroundings and never walking alone, especially at night.
