<p>Most urban college campuses have some security issues and there where two murders in off-campus housing in April 2004 and January 2005 (one at a apartment building right across the street from campus and now sandwiched between two dorms and the other, I think, at a frat house). In the time since the murders, the university has done a lot to improve security and make the campus and the surrounding areas safer. Tons of cameras have been installed around campus and the university’s hired a private security company (Allied Barton) to man the entrances to university-owned housing <a href=“including%20the%20dorms,%20the%20university-run%20apartments%20%5BHomewood%20and%20Bradford%5D%20and%20the%20university%20owned,%20privately-run%20apartments%20%5BCharles%20and%20Blackstone%5D”>size=-3</a>[/size], patrol campus and the neighborhood and supplement to HopCops (Hopkins police officers). There are also blue lights around campus that actually work (if you don’t know what the blue lights are, they’re a system most colleges have where there’s a pole with a bright blue light and a emergency button on it - when you hit the emergency button, it immediately calls Security to your location and at some schools, it sounds a siren). There’s also shuttle services that take you to most of the places students want to go - the Inner Harbor, the Towson mall, the grocery stores, and anywhere else within a mile of campus. </p>
<p>I’ve never really felt unsafe on/around campus and I would say that most other students probably feel the same way. Still, you have to use some common sense, especially since you’re living in a urban environment - always stick with a group of friends after dark, stay in well lit areas, use the shuttle services etc. </p>
<p>I think the best way to judge the security is to visit campus. When I was applying and before I came to visit, I knew (or at least, I thought I knew) exactly one thing about Baltimore: it wasn’t a safe place. Before I visited, the safety issue was really big and I thought it would be enough for me not to go to Hopkins. But visiting campus and staying overnight and going around other parts of the city with my parents really changed my impression on security/safety at Hopkins</p>