University of Arizona - Safety & Security

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

The biggest complaint UA students have, according to the police Web site, is bike theft. With hundreds of bikes on campus at the same time, it’s impossible to police the bike racks behind and in front of every building. Students would be wise to refrain from bringing expensive bikes to campus. There’s even a kid who had her bike stolen two times in the same semester. Now she locks her bike with two U-locks. Laptops and backpacks get stolen a lot, too. Personal safety is a little better. The UA has placed emergency blue-light phones sporadically throughout the square mile of campus. Even if a crime victim is unable to talk into the phone, an officer will respond to the location if the button is pressed. Some students also take advantage of the UA’s Safe Ride program, which taxis students around campus for free.

Recently, the UAPD received additional funding to hire more bicycle police and issued taser guns to its officers. Having interviewed the feisty UAPD spokesman, I’ve gotten the impression that the UAPD takes faculty and student safety very seriously. Due to a campus tragedy several years ago, when a disgruntled student in the nursing college shot and killed three professors before ending his own life, the University has taken action by giving faculty certain powers to remove a student if they feel threatened over an issue such as a grade dispute. Cases like that are rare, however, and haven’t been a problem since. Campus alerts, annual safety and security reports, and sex offender information can be viewed at the UAPD home page: uapd.arizona.edu.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

I always feel comfortable walking... I always feel comfortable walking around on campus. There’s a really cool security system that’s all around, where, if you’re having a problem or whatever, you can pull the alarm, and a policeman will be there in like 2.5 seconds! There’s also a system called Safe Ride which I used all the time last year when I was living in the dorms. It starts at 6:30 or 7 a.m. and goes until 12:55 a.m., and it will pick you up anywhere and take you anywhere you need to go on campus. So, if you want to go work out and it’s dark, and you don’t want to walk around at night by yourself, it will pick you up and take you there completely free of charge. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

Security is quite good. They have... Security is quite good. They have a student shuttle called Safe Ride that will come to your dorm or house (if you live within a certain radius of the school) and take you to wherever you want to go (within their limits). They built a new police station on sorority row, and the police are always patrolling the campus. Tucson is known for crime, as it’s located close to Mexico, but in my four and a half years there, neither I nor any of my friends had a problem. Lock your car doors and don’t leave valuables out in plain sight, and you should be okay. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

Be wary of your bike. More than... Be wary of your bike. More than anything, bikes get stolen—believe me. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

I’ve never had a safety problem on... I’ve never had a safety problem on campus, but I do hear of occasional theft and violence. Also, there’s been a recent outbreak of sexual assaults on women, but I’ve never personally had a problem. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

Off campus can be a little scary;... Off campus can be a little scary; Tucson is big. It’s not bad at all if you walk with a friend. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Did You Know?

The “major crimes” at the UA continue to be theft and burglary. There were 717 on-campus thefts in 2003, 386 bike thefts, and 48 auto thefts. Police only made 42 arrests for all thefts that year. Word to the wise: don’t bring a $1,000 bike to school. Just buy something that has two wheels, pedals, and brakes.

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