Hi - I am parent of D22 and while drawing up college lists, wondered if campuses are considered safe and secure in general ? Post pandemic , as cities are opening up, wondering if/how this plays out if the college campus is in the city/downtown etc would love to hear if this came up.
New frosh may be naive about risks that may not have been as big at home.
For example, if the first experience with alcohol is getting drunk at a party, that makes the student vulnerable to crimes like rape or sexual battery, or more prone to getting into fights.
Another example is students from high SES low crime areas leaving dorm rooms and main doors unlocked and unattended, resulting in being easy targets for thieves.
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I can only speak to the colleges I toured (about 20 in the northeast, some in cities) and the one I ended up at, but most have a ton of safety policies in place–there should be a place on their website talking about safety. For example, my school has a blue light system that have emergency buttons summoning campus police, a walking buddy program for going home from parties at night, students can only swipe into their own dorm. We’re in a city so with the exception of the admissions office you have to swipe into every building.
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There isn’t one answer that covers all colleges, even those in urban areas. All schools have to complete a campus safety and security report each year, called the Clery report. This report will show incidence of crime where students are involved, both on and off campus.
When looking at the numbers in the Clery reports though you have to keep the data in context…the location, adjust for the size of the student body, etc.
Because of the pandemic, you might pull the last few years’ reports, and also take a look at each school’s student newspaper for additional perspective. You can also find more each school’s approach to safety and security on their websites, e.g., how many security staff they have, whether community police also patrol camus, blue light systems, buddy rides, etc.