Safety of U.S. College Towns

Hi everyone and welcome back to another week of my civic issues blog where we take a look at a new college town and its safety in every post. This week we are going to be analyzing Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. I felt like it only made sense to include a school on the west coast side of the country before this blogging series came to an end. 

Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, AZ takes the top spot (in an unfortunate way) with the most unsafe school, or college town, of this blog. Neighborhood Scout gives it a safety ranking of 4/100 with 100 being the safest. Its crime rate is 5.08 violent crimes per 1000 residents, 36.63 property crimes per 1000 residents, and a total crime rate of 41.70 crimes per 1000 residents. It is considered more dangerous, but only by a little, than the state of Arizona as a whole in violent crimes in that the violent crime rate for Arizona is 4.09 crimes per 1000 residents (Neighborhood Scout, n.d.). Despite these alarming statistics, the area of ASU is considered the safest location in all of Tempe which is a little surprising given its central location on the map of the city.  

Like many of the other colleges researched in this series, Arizona State University employs their own police department, in fact, they recently just celebrated 75 years of service. In addition to the police services, the safety page of this website has a plethora of areas to check out that help to ensure student, faculty, and resident safety, like emergency information, employee health, environmental 

health and safety, and general safety resources, shown to the left. The police department page provides lots of important information on how to report a crime and what to report about a suspect, the processes that should be followed in emergent situations, campus crime statistics, and career opportunities. They have entry level and specialty positions available for application and they even supply students with a tuition reduction for ASU Police Department employees and their dependents. They even have a “Safety for Students” page with plenty of resources for students when they may find themselves in situations of trouble regarding sexual violence, alcohol, physical health, mental health, wellness, and more.  

You can learn more about the department and the safety resource of ASU on their Business and Finance webpage under their “Safety” dropdown! Overall, the ample resources and information provided by this university makes sense with their location in a rather dangerous town. I know that if I went to this school or had a child going here, I would feel comforted to know that they do so much to prioritize student safety and wellbeing. 

Thank you for coming along with me on this civic issue blog journey and learning about the relevant issue of public safety on college campuses and towns. Going back to my first post, Penn State was the safest college analyzed in this series so it’s nice to know that we have that going for us! 

Hi everyone! It’s been a while but welcome back to my civic issues blog where we discuss a new college town and its safety in every post! 

This week we are going to be analyzing the town of Tallahassee, FL, home to Florida State University. Florida State is around the same size as Penn State, in terms of enrollment, with around 45,000 students. Tallahassee’s safety ranking from Neighborhood Scout is nearly our lowest with a ranking of 9/100 (100 being the safest), comparable to Ohio State University’s Columbus, OH. Annual crime data in this city lead it to have a crime rate of 5.79 violent crimes per 1,000 people, 25.25 property crimes per 1,000 people, and 31.04 total crimes per 1,000 people. Tallahassee also has nearly double the violent crime rate of the state of Florida as a whole. However, given these concerning statistics, the borough of Tallahassee that holds FSU (Florida State University North) gets the number one spot for safest area in the city. My good friend from my high school can attest to these findings as she has explained that she feels safe while on campus but is wary anytime she goes into other areas of Tallahassee. 

Florida State University does have its own police department on campus and defines its mission statement as “The mission of the Florida State University Police Department is to support the mission of the Florida State University by promoting a safe and secure higher education environment while providing proactive police and customer-related services aimed at reducing crime”, communicating its values and priorities to students, faculty, parents, and other citizens. On the front page of their website, they even have a portal to display their posts on X, keeping the public informed and updated on what they are doing and what’s going on. The website also provides easy access to lots of resources, like information on reporting crimes, registering personal property and other programs. One that stood out to me was the “S.A.F.E. Connection”, which “promotes awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence. They also have a similar system as PSU with the blue light system, no notify the proper authorities if students feel threatened of unsafe. The department is organized into four sections of Services & Resources, Special Events, Crime Prevention & Outreach, and Compliments, Concerns, and Complaints. They assist with helping to facilitate and operate events on campus, such as Greek life events, sports games, socials, attractions, and more, allowing FSU students to enjoy fun activities while prioritizing safety. Their Prevention & Outreach page consists of 12-modules of important information for anyone involved with the university.

Another aspect of their website that I thought was particularly interesting was the FSU Clery Map (to the right) which displayed the areas of campus that have been affected by crime and what types of crime. The only surprising thing is how the campus is able to remain relatively safe, given its seemingly central location to the city. Regardless, it’s great that there are so many resources and policies in place to ensure student/citizen safety, while still allowing students to enjoy, delight in, and explore the area! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 

Hi everyone and welcome back to another week of my civic blog where we investigate a new college campus every week and assess its safety.

This week we will be analyzing the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. My friend from high school just started there in the spring, prompting me to research this college. Tampa is a smaller university like Ohio University with around 11,000 students in all. Tampa is only slightly more dangerous in safety rankings than Ohio University’s Athens with total crime index being 18 out of 100, with 100 being the safest. Neighborhood Scout also reports that Tampa has a crime rate of 4.6 violent crimes per 1000 individuals, 16.57 property crimes per 1000 residents, making 21.16 total crimes per 1000 individuals the overall crime rate. Tampa, on the whole, is more dangerous than the state of Florida when comparing crime data. Out of the many subareas and neighborhoods that the city of Tampa includes, the campus of the University of Tampa does not even rank in the top 10 safest.  

Unlike the universities I researched in prior weeks, the University of Tampa does not have its own police department and instead the Campus Safety Staff collaborates with the Tampa Police Department for safety regulation in and around the campus. Their university website’s page on “Campus Safety” claims, “The University of Tampa’s Department of Campus Safety is dedicated to providing a safe and secure environment for the campus community.” So, it seems that rather than employing their own police department they just have a department of campus safety. They publicly display contact information on life-threatening situations, safety alerts, tropical weather, safe escort service, and their office. Being in a completely different region of the United States, this university offers a new realm of safety concerns we have not seen before: tropical weather. Especially with recent devastating hurricanes, this is a huge concern for students, faculty, and residents of the Tampa area and other parts of the south. 

Manaret, a student news source, reports that in the fall, Hurricane Helen and Hurricane Milton caused so much destruction that classes were cancelled for eight days and required the University to begin some weekend class requirements. To the right, you can view some of the detrimental impacts of these tropical storms in their area. Their “Campus Safety” page also provides easy access links to things like how to file a report, safety alerts, and just general safety information. Despite not having a police force, the campus safety system still employs 24 campus safety officers to keep students and residents of the university safe. 

Overall, given the downtown location of the university, crime may be a present danger to students and weather is also a constant concern. The Campus Safety department seems to prioritize and value communication, alerts, and approachability in their department in order to maintain a safe college environment for optimal student life. 

Hi everyone and welcome back to my civic blog where we look at a new college campus/town every post and discuss its safety.

This week we will be analyzing Ohio University (OU) of Athens, OH (I’m choosing colleges that my hometown friends go to if you were wondering how I choose which college to learn about each week). OU is a bit smaller than the BIG 10 schools we talked about in prior posts. In between Penn State and Ohio State, OU has a safety rating of 22, making it safer than 22% of cities, according to Neighborhood Scout. This source also indicates that 1.46 violent crimes,17.51 property crimes, and 18.97 total crimes occur per 1,000 residents. The chances of being a victim of a violent crime in Ohio, as a state, is nearly double the chances of being a victim in the town of Athens. When looking at the different boroughs of Athens, the OU Campus, found in the center of the town, is considered the safest of 6 subareas. 

When researching the police departments of Athens and OU, I found once again that the university has its own police division. This prompted me to ask whether every school is required to employ or provide their own branch of police. Axon reports that, “Almost every college campus in the US has its own police department – the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts it at 75%, 

though that number is now likely higher” (2023). So, while incredibly common, this is not a requirement but determined due to funding, as they are paid by the university. Employing, command officers, supervisory officers, police officers, dispatchers, and support staff, the Ohio University Police Department (OUPD) staff consists of many branches that help to keep students and other residents of the area safe. While their primary area of jurisdiction is the OU campus, they work closely with the City of Athens as well as the Ohio State Highway Patrol. If interested in joining their team or becoming involved to learn more, you can request training or program from the OUPD. The website of the OUPD informs students of safety tips, safety programs, and alerts students of crime occurrences on campus. The crime alerts are public and provide the date, time, location, and description of the incident, along with crime prevention tips. The safety tips give advice for students on how to stay safe when at home, driving, when walking or jogging, and property protection. The programs provided include information on how to handle an active shooter situation, credit card fraud, emergency response protocols, personal property inventory, rape aggression and defense, survivor advocacy, and telephone harassment. 

As part of the Clery Act, OU reports crime annually and even a daily crime log which can be viewed in person

at the OUPD from 8am to 5pm on weekdays. According to the annual crime report, The highest volume of crime at the Athens campus of OU is found under the categories of rape, fondling, dating violence, stalking, and burglary. Additionally, College Factual provides this graphic, shown to the right),showing the distribution of crime types at OU. These areas of crime being common seems to be a universal theme in college campuses, unfortunately, thus far in my research.  

Overall, the OUPD and surrounding areas’ law enforcement are dedicated to providing safe environments on campus and keeping students informed.

Hi everyone and welcome back to my civic blog where we look into a different college campus/college town every week and analyze its safety.

This week, I will be talking about Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Before we get started, it’s important to note that this data is mostly based on the city of Columbus given that is the “college town” of Ohio State, so the data may be a little off from the actual campus life. Nonetheless, being in a city provides college students with lots to do and may put them in these settings that are more dangerous. To begin, according to Neighborhood Scout, the crime rate data explains that 3.86 violent crimes. 27.66 property crimes, and 31.52 total crimes occur in Columbus per 1000 residents. Violent crimes here are over four times higher than in State College, which we looked at last week, and property crimes were nearly three times higher. Also, it only has an overall safety ranking of 8/100, with 100 being the safest, making it only safer than 8% of cities nationwide. While still beneath the national average for violent crimes, the chance of being a victim of a violent crime in Columbus is 1 in 259 while the odds in Ohio as a whole is 1 in 349. Out of the 10 smaller towns/boroughs of Columbus, South Campus which encompasses the university is ranked as the 4th safest. 

Crimes seen at Ohio State are found reported in the Clery Act. Lining up with what we saw at Penn State, the most common types of crimes reported would be sexual assault and dating violence with burglary and theft involved as well. Now, let’s learn about the programs and services implemented to combat these statistics.

Similar to Penn State University, Ohio State University has employed a system of University Police, in addition to the general Columbus Police Department. The mission values of the University Police Department consist of “service, innovation, integrity, respect, and diversity”.

To the left, you can see a detailed breakdown of this police service, demonstrating high levels of organization and many layers within the system.

Their division includes three main safety programs, Community Police Academy, Empowerment and Self-Defense, and Stay Safe Buckeyes. Community Police Academy is a free four-week program open to ”current students, faculty, and staff interested in learning about university policing”. Empowerment and Self-Defense is another free program offered by OSUPD (Ohio State University Police Division) which is taught by certified instructors open to all Ohio residents over the age of 14. This initiative delves into ”awareness education, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training”. Stay Safe Buckeyes is an all-encompassing program striving to ”enhance campus safety [24/7]” with the subtopics of crime prevention and reporting, personal safety, and safety education and resources.  

Hi everyone and welcome to my civic blog on the safety of colleges/college towns in the U.S.! This blog will look at the many elements of a college environment and how the school and public authority in the area do their part to ensure their students’ safety and prosperity on (and around) campus.  

This week, we will be taking a look at our very own home campus of Penn State University Park surrounded by the town of State College, PA. To begin, U.S. News and Neighborhood Scout report that the crime rate in this area is 5.8%, just above the national average of 5.3%, with 0.88 violent crimes occurring per 1000 residents and 9.87 property crimes occurring per 1000 residents. It has a safety ranking of 45 out of 100 with 100 being the safest, making it safer than 45% of cities. The chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime in State College is 1 in 1132 versus 1 in 357 in Pennsylvania as a whole. State College consists of 10 different sub-areas or smaller towns, with Penn State’s campus being ranked as the 2nd safest on that list.  

The area consists of two distinct groups of police groups, one being Penn State University based, and the other encompassing the entire State College area. Penn State’s page on public safety informs that they, “[offer] free educational programs and services,

attending community meetings and events, and collaborating with University and locally-based agencies and services that help foster a safe and healthy community.” These missions can be seen through services like the PSUAlert system, emergency phones, escorting services, 24-7 staffed buildings, residence life security, and more. There are also important policies implemented by the university like AD-12 and AD-29, describing the organization’s strict intolerance of sexual assault, relationship/domestic violence, stalking, as well as discrimination against groups based on “characteristics such as age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, genetic information, national origin, political belief, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation gender identity or veteran status”. However, while these policies are helpful and necessary to maintain law and order at the university, students still experience crime on and off campus.

As reported by the Clery Data Crime Statistics page (discussed section seen in the image on the left) of the Penn State 2024 Safety Report, the largest area of offenses comes from “Rape” and “Fondling” with “Aggravated Assault” and “Motor Vehicle Theft” following. This can be connected to the culture of young adults, many often finding new independence and freedom in college life. Penn State’s policies in the Safety Report include the in-depth punishments and sentences for violation against the student code of conduct and safety guidelines, hold students and other individuals responsible and accountable for the actions.  

Personally, I have been fortunate enough so far to not require the attention of these services but it’s comforting to know that they are in place for emergencies and instances where students need help or protection.

Thank you for reading!