<p>YouTube</a> - Armed Robbery at West Campus Apartment Complex </p>
<p>i actually almost lived at this place and was thinking about living there next year after moving off campus. do those of you who live in West Campus feel safe?</p>
<p>Damn. I’m going to be living just across the street from J26! D:</p>
<p>That is no good.</p>
<p>Stuff like that happens everywhere</p>
<p>i know things like this probably happen everywhere in areas where there are large concentrations of students and i didn’t mean at all to portray UT or west campus in a bad light. i really am just curious as to whether or not people that live in west campus feel safe, even living among other students.</p>
<p>Whoa that’s horrible :(</p>
<p>From what I have heard, west campus can be a haven for crime though. The owners of the apartment I am staying at this coming year warned us to keep nothing visible in our car and to keep everything locked. Obviously, this is great advice no matter where you live. But, they said theft can be a big deal over in west campus.</p>
<p>I don’t even hit Guadalupe after hours; especially if i’m alone. </p>
<p>:s Of course, I’m new to town. How bad can it get – also as far as on campus like near the dorms and such?</p>
<p>Usually this stuff happens more on Riverside. West Campus is the safer than all the other places lol… I just hope no one breaks into my apartment and holds me at gunpoint! I’d be scared ****less. xD</p>
<p>Has there been any crime in Vintage West Campus yet? This will be its second year in operation, so i’m hoping all doors and controlled access gates aren’t broken like the ones in J26 are reported to be.</p>
<p>yall think that sounds scary?! i was here when it happened. there were newscasts everywhere. do NOT live at j26. the security is completely sub par. the “access doors” don’t work and anyone can come in whenever they want. (by “access doors” i mean doors that to anyone else would represent security doors. however, j26 assured me that they were not security doors because security was up to the resident. therefore, fixing the doors was not their main concern… throwing parties and having dj’s every saturday is. isn’t that cute?)</p>
<p>also, just so yall know… west campus is something like the top 15 most dangerous place to live in the nation.</p>
<p>[Study:</a> West Campus among most crime-ridden neighborhoods](<a href=“http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/study-west-campus-among-most-crime-ridden-neighborhoods-129312.html]Study:”>http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/study-west-campus-among-most-crime-ridden-neighborhoods-129312.html)</p>
<p>You guys didn’t know that Princeton Review rated UT West Campus as the #3 highest crime campus neighborhood in the U.S? LOL</p>
<p>The reason it’s rated so highly is because it’s one of the MOST densely populated areas in Texas. Think about how many people live in a place like J26, 21 Rio, The Block, The Quarters, etc. Then multiply that by the entire size of west campus, figuring for sorority and fraternity houses, etc. There are SO MANY people.</p>
<p>Yet, I have walked all around every part of west campus at various times at night, and there is never a time that I am alone. Whether it’s Tuesday night at 4am or Saturday night at 2am, there are lots of people. If it’s a Th/F/Sat night there will be tons of crowds everywhere for all hours of the night. For weeknights there are plenty of people walking around solo or in pairs at 4am. I never felt like I was going to get robbed/mugged/etc. You just have to get used to the fact that it’s safer than it looks actually.</p>
<p>@TMT90-I’m wondering the same thing. I’m thinking about getting an apartment at Vintage West Campus Fall '11 and was wondering if anyone stayed there.</p>
<p>Check out the crime map of UT and surrounding areas. </p>
<p>[Austin</a> Crime Map - Showing Crime in University of Texas at Austin, TX - Crime Statistics - Crime Alerts - Crime Stops Here](<a href=“http://ucrime.com/tx/university+of+texas+at+austin]Austin”>http://ucrime.com/tx/university+of+texas+at+austin)</p>
<p>[Austin</a>, TX Crime Map - Showing Crimes in Austin - Crime Statistics, Alerts and Reports - Crime Stops Here](<a href=“http://spotcrime.com/tx/austin]Austin”>Crime in Austin - Austin, TX Crime Map | SpotCrime)</p>
<p>Oh my gosh nunya! I literally made a small gasp when I saw the map. I understand it’s a big city and it sure has hell isn’t 1950 anymore, but damn! I’m really going to have my guard up now. :s</p>
<p>Here’s the West Campus situation:</p>
<p>Lots of robberies in West Campus. The complexes that are in the southern side of WC south of 24th street tend to be less well-lit, which means there are lots of break-ins especially in the cars. Anywhere on the first floor is especially likely to be broken into if they can see what you have in your apartment.</p>
<p>All of the fancy, “luxury” high-rises are equally easily to break into. There are parties there every weekend, and as a resident of west campus for 2.5 years, I have NEVER had trouble getting into places like: Jefferson West, j26, Quarters, Block, etc. There’s always a broken door or a friendly resident willing to let you in. So keep your doors locked and don’t advertise that you have nice stuff in your apartment by keeping your blinds closed. Rules apply to your cars as well. Hide your crap. Don’t leave anything in there worth taking, not even any change.</p>
<p>North of 24th, there tends to be less car break-ins because it’s a bit more well-lit, lots of frat houses so there’s more police presence.</p>
<p>Unfortunately since WC is so densely packed in with college kids, there are lots of robberies, break-ins, etc, but my friends and I have never had any problems with it (knock on wood). I’d like to think that it’s because we realize that WC is not an extension of the rest of campus. Thieves definitely take advantage of that fact and know that it’s easy to steal from WC because…it is.</p>
<p>/tl;dr</p>
<p>^ For those large complexes, it’s easy to get into the main hallways, but to break into a room it’s like breaking in anywhere else. If you leave your apartment door locked, it’s safe as long as nobody picks your lock or smashes down your door or something. And with the large number of people coming and going down the hallways, nobody is trying to pick locks.</p>
<p>If somebody wants to rob you, they will see if your light is off/you are not home, and then try to open the door like normal. If it’s locked, they move on to the next apartment. If you’re not the easy/unlocked room, it’s not worth their trouble unless they notice you have a $3000 laptop or something easy to steal and worth a lot.</p>
<p>@Why Two Kay: You’re exactly right. Everyone’s making it out like WC is sooooo dangerous, but really a little common sense, street smarts and keeping a low profile go a LONG way.</p>
<p>update: I recently got a new apartment on north campus b/c the one I had was burglarized. at 7 PM when the sun is still up. he broke into my windows</p>