With frequent campus safety announcements detailing crime that has occurred on campus, there is a perception among some students that the University of Minnesota is unsafe. It is this perception that campus officials would like to dislodge as they claim the University area is in fact, safe.
In a Wednesday Minnesota Daily article, Board of Regents Chair Dean Johnson said, “I don’t think that’s the message we want to send,” when explaining that crime alerts could create the illusion that the campus is unsafe. Moreover, University of Minnesota police have worked with students and parents to combat excessive drinking and to
educate students on the potential risks of the University area — which in 2014 “accounted for just under 9 percent of the total crime” throughout Minneapolis.”
More serious crimes have remained consistently low, a positive development when compared to the fall semester of 2013, when the University experienced a string of armed robberies, sexual assaults and even an attempted kidnapping, prompting a meeting at the state Senate about campus crime.
We are pleased that levels of crime in the campus area have remained low, and we commend the UMPD for its efforts to prevent irresponsible student behavior.
However, although levels of violent crime are currently rather low, the reported incidents in 2013 occurred seemingly out of nowhere amid declining levels of campus crime.
Therefore, we urge continued campus vigilance to keep students out of harm’s reach.
