<p>Actually, I believe a final reply should go to someone who was directly involved with the recent muggings around Yale Campus… namely myself, a grad student at Yale.</p>
<p>I found this thread via searching for information about the recent arrests of the punks invoved with this round of robberies and thought I would weigh in. The brief backstory is that this occured on my way home in the early evening after I read the notice of the recent muggings on campus and just after walking a female friend of mine to her house in the area known as the “Grad Student Ghetto”. For those in the know, the area is populated mainly by grad students, post-docs, some professors and local familes, and is actually quite safe and lively area. </p>
<p>Not a block from dropping my friend off and almost to State Street, which is a busy street with many shops, restaurants etc. and MUCH safer than 10 years ago, I was approached by two kids, not even 16 on bikes. I could see it coming as they crossed the street, with the brightly lit corner not 100 yards away. I knew what was coming, but at first tried to ignore them, but when one said that I had better stop, with his hand in his sweatpants pocket, well, I wasn’t about to do anything stupid. </p>
<p>In the end, I was unhurt, and lighter some cash and cell phone. But they didn’t take my laptop, which was far more valuable to me. I had walked this street home for 4 years, in the daylight and at night, always aware of my surroundings, but in this case, there was no where for me to go. In addition, I rarely walk home at night, generally leaving the lab to get my car well before dark, if I know I’m working late… and as a grad student I usually am. This was probably the safest area that the muggings had occurred in. Apparently its some kind of gang initiation and it was about a mile and a half from their “central location” according to the police. They were targetting Yale students, and as anyone who lives on campus or in the area knows, crime always spikes right around the time new students arrive. </p>
<p>Additionally, another person in my lab was chased by kids of the same description right near his house 5 blocks away at 11:30 AM! Lets stress that, AM, in a fairly decent neighborhood, but about a block away from a sketchier area. These kids were bold, but not smart, as they were caught not long afterwards. </p>
<p>That’s the another thing about New Haven, many areas are fine, nice and safe, but stray one block one way or another, and it goes downhill fast. Knowing where these places are is key to life here. </p>
<p>So yes, New Haven has had a rise in crime lately, but I do want to stress that some of the other incidents that occurred were the result of a bit of arrogance on the part of the victims. These incidents were in definitely bad neighborhoods, at 3AM… </p>
<p>Take away from this what you will, but during my time here, I had always felt quite safe. I feel no less safe now however, as I see this as an extreme case of bad luck. I typically stay late at the lab to escort people home, walking in groups, well before this event. I would personally worry more about date rapes etc. among Yale undergrads than violence around Yale campus.</p>