My daughter has chosen Chico State U to attend next fall? We just visited the campus and she really likes it but I have my doubts as to the safety next to the campus in all directions. 3 days before we arrived, there was a random drive-by shooting inside a house 2 blocks from the university where a lot of the students live. The day we left, there was a stabbing two blocks away from the Univ over alcohol. My daughter really has her heart set on Chico and I really have my doubts. Anybody, comments please. Thanks.
My son is a sophomore at Chico. I read the Chico Enterprise Register on-line (they have an ap too) regularly. Some of the crimes are disconcerting but, he says he feels safe on and around campus and know to steer clear of ‘sketchy’ areas. The city of Chico has about 100k residents and like many, their police force was hit by cut backs in the recession. As you can see from the report linked below, crime did go up -though is still not bad for a city that size. They have added officers recently and plan to continue increasing their sworn force by 30% in the coming years.
When i think about the other schools I’ve toured, I ask myself, where would he be safer? Perhaps Sonoma or SLO. Certainly not Long Beach, San Jose, Northridge, Fullerton, San Diego, Fresno, SF or even Sacramento or Santa Cruz.
http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/chico-police-adding-new-officers/24673108
http://www.chico.ca.us/police/documents/ChiefMedia2014CrimeAnalysisReport.pdf
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I should add, the campus itself and dorms in particular are quite safe and well patrolled by campus police.
My son LOVES it there… I’d be happy to answer any other questions you’ve got.
Thank you @NCalRent. I will message you.
Yeah this is something I have been researching as well, particularly the theft problem that seems to happen a lot in Chico. I will be attending as a junior transfer for exercise physiology. From what I understand, Chico doesn’t really stand out in when you look at the crime- it’s probably similar to Santa Cruz in terms of the type and frequency of crimes that happen. What I’ve been able to discern is that even the drunk college kids aren’t the biggest problem- it’s organized theft and burglary that happens especially when the college kids take off for winter break and spring break. Part of it is where you live and who you choose to associate with. I hear the campus is pretty safe.
Really though, Chico is over all probably a safe place, with a few spots you might want to avoid like any other city. Like @NCalRent says, the police force is becoming stronger so we’ll probably see some decrease in those crime stats. I currently live in SLO, which is basically the model for a city where very little crime of any type happens. I’ve lived in Santa Cruz as well, which has a colorful population and definitely has some spots you learn to avoid, such as the Beach flats and the river paths at night. I don’t know, I’m a pretty fit looking man and I practice martial arts so I always feel safe where ever I go, but your daughter just has to have the general common sense when it comes down to going to college and being involved in those types of social circles- walking with friends at night, choosing good friends (you are who you hang out with), if she chooses to drink knowing where it came from and so forth.
The students who give tours of the campus should be able to give specific information such as what spots around town have notoriety and so forth. Chico used to be one of the top party schools but the school has done a lot to combat that image, and while it still has some of that reputation I think the crazy party scene has been toned down quite a bit (which I’m glad for, I’m over that whole scene and just want to get the most out of the exercise physiology program).
@KBChief Thank you. I am taking all of this in. I really appreciate your input. As a transfer student, where are you going to live? Have you scoped out the area? Have you considered any apartment complexes that you think are safe? Close to campus or not within walking distance? Just wondering … I would appreciate any input you have and what you have learned. Thank you for taking the time to respond at length. I really really appreciate it.
@mum4college Not a problem, glad to share what I’ve heard and learned! Well I am currently scouring Craigslist for places, either a studio where I can live by myself and ditch the roommate scene, or I am also considering trying to crash in a house where they need a roommate (which would be cheaper as would be expected). So I will be living off-campus for sure- no matter what that is the cheaper option. There seem to be apartment complexes that directly associate with the school, I haven’t looked at them too much yet but would consider them as well. I will be moving in June so I can get established, and I pretty much have a job when I get there so I can start working- it would seem a lot easier to get housing in early summer than in August when everyone comes back for the Fall semester. I’m going to try to live not right next to the campus, but rather in a family neighborhood or something of that nature- the theft seems to happen most around campus.
Everything is super close to the university- almost every ad I look at says walking distance to campus, or at most a 10-15 minute bike ride.
I would think apartment complexes would be pretty safe, as an attempted burglary would be riskier- a lot more people around that have close proximity, so it’s sort of a neighborhood watch. From what I’ve heard from victims of theft (I heard about them through a friend), they all seemed to live in houses and sometimes thieves came into houses even when it wasn’t empty! Pretty wild.