<p>I think Hunt is right about the shoplifting. The area described for UC Berkeley is probably 95% commercial.</p>
<p>A few of you guys are confusing Isla Vista with Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is 12 miles away and a world away from Isla Vista, who’s population consists of almost exclusively students (who make up 13,000 of the 18,000 residents) and poor Hispanic families who cannot afford to live in Santa Barbara or Goleta proper. </p>
<p>The reason property crime is high is due to the fact that the area is very dense, and students are typically not mindful of locking their doors and windows, and criminals use this to their advantage. If you read the crime log for Isla Vista, very few crimes involve forceable entry.</p>
<p>rc251 is right. Isla Vista is pretty much made up of the student community around the campus along with xome lower income families. A LOT of unlocked doors, a lot of open parties with associated thefts, and a lot of stolen bicycles. Overall very safe.</p>
<p>Knowledge is power. You can do whatever you want with it. No need to be “paralyzed with fear.”</p>
<p>I see UC Berkeley uses a map site of Haste & College, which just happens to be where the frats and sororities are located, and a block from People’s Park. Need I say more?</p>
<p>The stats are non-violent property crimes, meaning a little petty larceny. I’m sure under this standard shopping malls would be considered hot beds of crime, so the inference should be we shouldn’t send our sons and daughters to colleges that have a Greek system, or to shopping malls.</p>
<p>I’d be a lot more interested in a listing of areas with high rates of violent crime, instead of property crime.</p>
<p>
Now that would be an interesting and more useful list…not that this is a boring list…</p>
<p>I spent some time as a grad student at Ohio State and it doesn’t really surprise me to see OSU listed twice. Granted, I was there when a former student decided to return to campus and kill a few people, which doesn’t help my perception. Personally, though, I had no problems of any kind on campus. As others have mentioned, you have to take this data with a grain of salt. You may one day visit the 203rd worst college crime area and have issues, while several visits to UCSB are uneventful.</p>
<p>Recently, a local magazine ranked all NJ towns by crimes/resident. Cape May, a tony resort town, was ranked as more crime-ridden than Camden. And for just like a reason given above–they use the year round population, but of course the crime rate is higher because the vacationing population is huge.</p>
<p>As the police chief said, well, bicycles do get stolen sometimes…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If it was, I’m pretty sure that would make the neighborhood surrounding 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. ranked #1.</p>
<p>ughh @ OSU</p>
<p>… well I love it anyway !</p>
<p>The intersection used for 'SC is one where there is no housing, just two churches and a strip mall. Admittedly though, property theft is a problem at USC. Mostly people leaving laptops, iPods, and phones unattended or for whatever reason failing to lock their doors.</p>
<p>The crimes in Isla Vista are mostly nonviolent and petty as has already been stated. I think bike theft is basically the #1 crime, so the list is a little misleading…</p>
<p>As you said, I’m pretty sure bike theft is the most common crime… not exactly something to get riled up over, at least to me. I know several people who go to UCSB and they generally don’t mention feeling unsafe. As with the whole “party scene” of UCSB, specifically in IV, the rowdiness that results from parties may contribute to the high property crime. It definitely gets a little more crazy during Floatopia though, which is basically a drunk party on the beach. Nothing too bad though…</p>
<p>Yeah, bike theft and “borrowing” because this doesn’t account for the recovered bikes. It is a misleading list. On the other hand, "SC is not in a “nice” area.</p>
<p>There is petty crime at every college campus. Usually involving petty theft. Laptops, ipods etc. There are date rapes. RARELY are they stranger rapes from random people on campus. There are rapes in apartments surrounding campuses…in every state. Colleges do a LOUSY job of checking on the CHARACTER of those they admit. JUST LOUSY. They are too focused on gpa and SAT scores, for prestige and status and college rankings. Sometimes is professors who have attacked students. (NCState comes to mind). </p>
<p>The best defense is COMMON SENSE. Lock your doors. Don’t go into dark places alone. Don’t agree to meet people alone in sketchy areas. Don’t drink and wander around at night. Go out in LARGE GROUPS if you venture into the city. If you want to live off campus, THINK. Independence comes at a price: you lose campus police protection. </p>
<p>And know that some people have agendas about some schools and trying to make them look worse than they are. </p>
<p>Problems happen at big state flagships and also a private elite schools. What you really need to know is what happens to STUDENTS, not what happens in the general public in surrounding neighborhoods. Who wouldnt agree that Durham NC is a dump in many neighborhoods with druggies and hookers and so forth? But Duke doesnt have a general problem with students being attacked or robbed. There will always be exceptions. That Student Body President at UNC who was murdered two years ago, went out for an evening at 100am. It was a random act of violence involving her ATM card. They caught the bsterd and he is going to jail for the rest of his life. </p>
<p>Be vigilant, but not paranoid. Be smart.</p>
<p>Re UCSB; posts 22 and 23 are right on. Isla Vista and Santa Barbara are completely different universes. Isla Vista is extremely densely populated as noted before. Lots of stuff lying around for the taking. I doubt if anyone feels “unsafe” there.</p>
<p>This is another list of crime rankings. The Beast ranks 25 colleges/universities. Included here are crimes such as arson, auto theft, etc.</p>
<ol>
<li> Emerson</li>
<li> St. Xavier Univ.</li>
<li> Univ.of Maryland, B.</li>
<li> Tufts</li>
<li> MIT</li>
<li> Univ. of Maryland, E. Shore</li>
<li> Grambling State</li>
<li> South Carolina State</li>
<li> Bowie State</li>
<li> North Carolina Central</li>
<li> Fitchburg State</li>
<li> Illinois Institute of Technology</li>
<li> Hampton</li>
<li> Univ. of Baltimore</li>
<li> Norfolk State Univ.</li>
<li> Cal State Monterey Bay</li>
<li> Springfield College</li>
<li> Brown University</li>
<li> Buffalo State</li>
<li> Harvard University</li>
<li> Alabama A & M</li>
<li> New Jersey Inst. of Technology</li>
<li> Yale University</li>
<li> Univ. of California at Riverside</li>
<li> College of St. Rose</li>
</ol>
<p>this list is a joke. Ever been to University of Detroit mercy? It is located in a war zone damn near lol</p>
<p>Every college that administers federal financial aid must, by law, publish crime statistics. The way in which the statistics must be compiled is mandated by law. If you are worried about campus crime, you can get the complete report from the school public safety department. You may be quite surprised by the crime rates at schools you might think would have high crime rates (based on the surrounding neighborhood). Some of these schools in “bad” areas have low-crime campuses. Some schools in “good” areas have high-crime campuses. The breakdowns include property crimes, assaults, etc. — broken down in detail, yours for the asking.</p>