University of California - Berkeley
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Oakland is consistently listed as one of the least-safe cities in the United States, and Berkeley is right next door. Even with its own police department, UC Berkeley has not managed to control crime in the campus area. The campus itself is considered safe at night, but crime is fairly common in the surrounding areas. Although there have been several local homicides in the past couple of years, these generally have not involved Cal students. When it is light out and people are walking around, crime is almost unheard of. Although many students admit to having walked alone at night, most say this is not a safe choice. Because everyone is aware of the crime, students try to walk home in groups. 

To help control local crime, UCPD offers night safety shuttles, BearWALK (a night escort service), several blue-light posts around campus that denote emergency call boxes, and high-visibility officers throughout the city. If more students took advantage of BearWALK and the shuttles, crime would probably decrease and students would probably feel safer around campus. Unfortunately, most don’t want to wait 20 minutes for the shuttle or escort to reach them, and many complain that the services don’t work well.

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Health & Safety at University of California - Berkeley

hkeren092

'04

Architecture

4.2

A-

Police

Berkeley is well proctected. Since I am an architecture major I usually leave my building early in the morning our super late at night but I feel safe because I am aware of the police going around and they also have the "Bear Walk" system which consist on securities who scort you from door-to-door.

Jan 25, 2012

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Health & Safety at University of California - Berkeley

hermosakiwi

'13

Latin American Studies

3.8

B+

Proximity Is Key

The fact that UC Berkeley is so close to many other urban areas with crime problems makes it inevitable that some of those occurances will spill on to the campus. Campus police as well as the city's police department have made themselves known by educating the student community on how to keep ourselves safe, treat others respectfully and be responsible. Communication is one of the big factors in making sure that our campus stays safe regardless of the urban problems that come with such large neighboring cities.

Dec 28, 2011

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Health & Safety at University of California - Berkeley

Prospect5217

'15

Communications

3.5

B

Safe on Campus

On campus, anyone is pretty safe. Although there is not really any security enforcing this safety, the campus is usually just filled with students and no one else really. Off campus can get pretty seedy, and if you are not prepared for this, I would cross Berkeley off of your list. As a larger guy, I feel fine here. But I don't know how some of these smaller female students feel comfortable walking at night.

Nov 15, 2011

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