USU included in list of safest campuses in the nation

College life brings all kinds of worries: loans, grades, work, classes, roommates and the list goes on. But the last thing students should be worried about is being safe on campus.

Utah State University was listed as one of the safest college campuses in the nation in a recent study from Rent College Pads. It was also the only university in Utah in the top 25 rankings.

“It’s always nice to see recognition like that,” said Captain Steve Milne of the USU Police Department. “Utah State is a pretty safe campus.”

USU ranked 25th for top safest college campuses in 2016, the report stated. The study surveyed 500 colleges and universities around the country. Each institution was given an index number determined by comparing the size of the college to on-campus criminal offenses from 2010-2014.

Public, private and nonprofit four-year institutions with over 5,000 individuals and on-campus housing facilities were taken into consideration.

Brigham Young University – Idaho ranked number 1 as the safest college campus in the nation, with Concordia University Wisconsin ranking second and Pace University – New York ranking third.

Milne attributes much of the university’s safety to watchful individuals on campus.

“We have a lot of good people who see something suspicious or out of the ordinary and report it. And that’s what we want them to do,” Milne said. “Many people have personal pride to have this be a safe university.”

In 2015, the overall number of crimes reported dropped 31 percent from the previous year, according to the USU Department of Public Safety annual report.The total number of arrests also decreased by 33 percent.

The decline of arrests mostly came in the area of alcohol and drug arrests, the report stated.

Even though USU was ranked as a safe campus, Milne cautions students not to be careless.

“The biggest problem we see here is theft,” he said. “It’s not people breaking doors, but it’s what we call theft of opportunity.”

He said the department encourages students not to leave laptops, cameras, backpacks, cell phones or other important items out in the open.

“It’s the students’ first time being on their own. They don’t realize there is potential problem leaving their laptop in the library while they walk over to the student center to get something to eat,” Milne said. “The common phrase we hear from students is ‘I was only gone for a minute.’ That’s all it takes for somebody.”

Another potential danger for students on campus is sexual assault, Milne said. The number of sexual assaults spike between Labor Day and Thanksgiving on a national level, he said, though he hasn’t seen the numbers spike at USU during those times. He advises students to use common sense when traveling and interacting on campus.

“It’s not just dark areas and guys jumping out of bushes,” he said. “You meet some cute guy in classes and go out on a date and the guy tries to make advances.”

Some of the services the USU police department offers are free safety escorts to students and employees who want an officer to accompany them to their car or on-campus apartment. USU Department of Public Safety employs 12 state-certified full-time police officers for on-campus safety as well as five part-time student security employees.

“Anytime anyone feels uncomfortable walking anywhere they can call us,” Milne said.

The university also operates an emergency alert system called “Code Blue” that sends email, text or phone messages to individuals about emergency situations on campus. To sign up, go to usu.edu/alert.

“If we ever have an emergency on campus, that’s how we’re going to get the word out,” Milne said. “Hopefully nothing ever does, but if something does happen, I think everyone is going to want to know what’s happening.”

For more information about campus police services or crime prevention programs, call 435-797-1939 or visit the USU Police Department webpage at dps.usu.edu/police.

— ashley.ruth.stilson@aggiemail.usu.edu