Students at Temple University are well aware of the stigma that their campus is not a safe area. Yet that didn’t stop 38,297 people from enrolling at Temple in 2015.
According to police, there have been 324 crimes within Temple Police’s patrol parameters since Jan 2017. It’s evident that student’s living on the west side of Broad street have to worry about crime more so than students who live on campus.
Ilona Fekete, a junior at Temple University said, “I feel safe on campus, but not really like off campus.”
The majority of crime that happens on and around Temple’s campus is theft. Since Jan. 2017, police say there have been 239 incidents of theft, which accounts for nearly 74% of all crime.
Students at the university are not left in the dark when it comes to the criminal activity that surrounds them. Temple police send out TU Alerts, which are text message and email notifications that alert students when and where an incident has happened so that they can avoid the area.
Temple student Emily Knight said, “I feel like we’ve been getting a lot more texts about like shootings or robberies in the area. It’s definitely great that we’re getting the [alerts] but it’s definitely a little scary.”
Knight is not the only student who feels like there has been a spike in TU Alerts on and around campus. However, Police Chief Charles Leone said that there has not been an increase in crime; it has remained pretty consistent.
“We’ve extended our boundaries south because of Temple’s sport complex that opened up on Girard Ave. So we’ve actually increased out geography for alerts, so that’s why some people may feel like there’s more [crime].”
According to Philadelphia police records, the total number of crimes committed in Temple’s parameters in 2015 and 2016 were extremely close. From 2015 to 2016 the crime increased by less than 1%, a total of 12 crimes.
Many people feel that Temple is a university with an unusually high crime rate, however Leone said that Temple is on the same level as most other city schools in Philadelphia.
Leone confirmed that Temple police mostly deal with theft on campus as it is the most common crime in the area. “Often times it’s about leaving your property unattended,” he said, “Most of us say we won’t do it, but enough people do it to make that be very significant.”
Most students at the university know somebody who has been the victim of a crime. “It’s happened to quite a few friends.” Fekete said, “Last year my roommate’s TV was stolen through her window, and someone I’m friends with got assaulted on her way home [one night].”
Leone said that once campus gets dark that’s when it is the most vulnerable and susceptible to crime. He also stated that the farther one walks away from campus the more likely they are to run into trouble.
Temple University offers many programs and services to keep its students safe, such as the Walking Escorts and Flight. Knight suggests carrying pepper spray at night and always walking with a friend.
“We want people to be aware,” Leone said, “We want people to be safe.”
Interactive Infographic on Temple University Crime Statistics
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