Can any current students or parents of students comment on the safety factor on and around the campus? I’ve read of muggings on campus but not sure how current that info is. I know there is campus security . How strongly is that presence felt?
I am a parent of a current junior and in the past ~3 years there have been several criminal incidents on campus (a car jacking, a few armed robberies, some car break-ins.) On a urban campus like SLU those random incidents are unavoidable, and to have several isolated crimes over the course of 2-3 years is expected. The Dept. of Public Safety (DPS for short with 80 officers and video cameras everywhere) are a very visible presence and keep the main campus grounds generally safe. They also have a campus alert system which texts or calls your smartphone (yes, for parents too) when any emergency happens on campus. Students must remain “street smart” at all times and realize criminals can roam campus and target them. This is especially true at night and when venturing off campus since the school is located in a very active part of the city (which is also a good thing!)
So is the SLU campus as safe as some tiny college town out in the sticks? No, it is not, but it still is generally safe most of the time, most places during regular class times or when there are lots of people around. DPS is always out and about trying to watch over things, but students cannot depend solely on them and must remain aware and vigilant at all times.