The University of Illinois campus is known for its architecture, its history, its tradition, and now, its crime. On October 10, students at Illinois received a crime alert stating that an armed robbery had occurred at the Espresso Royale, located at 602 E. Daniel, in Champaign. To many students, this was just another crime alert, but to others, this alert created a new sense of fear on campus.
From robbery, to sexual assault, to drunken arrests after bar close- college campuses across the Big Ten experience crime, but where does Illinois fit in? Unfortunately, despite all of the great rankings the prestigious university is known for, it is also known for its higher rates regarding crime. According to Campuscrime.net, only the University of Michigan is precedes Illinois in crime rate, with Penn State following with a crime rate that nearly cuts the University of Illinois’s in half. Other schools, such as Wisconsin, hold crime rates of an even smaller fraction, one-third of that at Illinois.
Many different crimes account for the high rate, and according to the same source, the total amount of reported crimes in 2010 that fit the University Police’s definition of “violent crime” rounded out at 126. Of that number, 41 fell into the category of “assault,” 53 were considered “robberies” and 32 “sex crimes.” The University Police Department provides a map on their website which pinpoints said crimes so students are able to not only know the statistics, but see the demographics and know what parts of campus may or may not be safest.
However, after the Espesso Royale robbery, many students have expressed a fear that, despite statistics, there is no place or time of day that is safer than another. The mid-afternoon robbery alarmed many students and disqualified the notion that, “if it’s light out, or I’m in a public place, or I’m not alone, I’m safe.”
A campus survey of over 30 students provided data which showed that over half of students polled experienced a shift in their opinion of campus safety after the October 10 robbery. However, when asked if they would change the way they went about keeping themselves safe, 22/35 students responded that they would keep with their same habits, with one student even replying, “It doesn’t matter what we do to stay safe, it’s out of our hands.”
But many students disagree, and continue to take precautions. 17 of the 35 students polled stated that they had taken some form of self defense class, 12 of the 35 reported carrying pepper-spray or a similar product, and an overwhelming 27 of the 35 students commented that they never walk alone on campus after dark.
Overall, student opinion varies, and a group of 35 new students could present entirely different statistics. The facts are facts though, and Illinois has crime. In the coming year, Police representatives, according to their website at illinois.edu, report an expected rise in crime rate, due to the continuously rising overall rate in the past ten years (the rate has doubled since 2008 alone.)
For further information about how to stay safe on campus, visit dps.illinois.edu. The police website contains every emergency number, safety class, tip, and opportunity to get involved that students could hope for. Regardless of what students believe they can do to keep safe, there truly are options and opportunities out there.