University of San Diego - Safety & Security

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Students feel USD’s small, familiar community plays a large part in keeping the campus safe. Campus crime has been limited to primarily burglaries and petty theft. Keen-eyed security members guard the two main entrances, and students are aware of a gated community feel. Blue phones dot the entire campus and give students nearly immediate access to assistance. Public Safety offers escorts around campus at all hours, a tram to and from parking and dorms, and there is even a partnership with a local cab company to retrieve stranded students. Students who use these services swear by them. Many students are also driven to swear by the constant presence of security when they want to get away with something. Students clearly feel secure on campus, but they also feel the presence of security in their social lives.

Public Safety on campus is a victim of its own success. The most common complaints students have about campus security is not feeling threatened, but feeling encroached on. Officers seem to have an amazing knack of showing up when students are trying to smuggle contraband into their dorms, or at the single loud moment during a small on campus party. Parking Services are notoriously vicious. USD is a small campus, and there isn’t much room to park or hide an illegally-parked car. What crime exists is primarily a student on student affair, and only rarely do minor disputes escalate to something like an assault charge. There is still the need, as there is on every major college campus, for students to be wary of the potential danger of sexual assault. USD does a good job with education, counseling, and prevention. All in all, security at USD does an excellent job and shows a good deal of patience and tolerance with students. More security issues are discussed in the Campus Strictness section.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

Security is very good. Someone is... Security is very good. Someone is available at the Public Safety office all the time. Since campus is on a hill, you don’t get many outsiders. It is very segregated and safe—I will walk there late at night pretty often and feel fine. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

Though I’ve never felt comforted... Though I’ve never felt comforted by Public Safety, our school has always felt extremely safe, and I’ve never been concerned for my own safety or the safety of others. I’m probably most scared of Parking Services, which tickets students left and right. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

It is super safe—I am never... It is super safe—I am never worried about my personal safety even when I go on runs at midnight. They can be uptight about alcohol and drugs—just don’t be stupid, and you won’t get in trouble. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

I can sum up security on campus... I can sum up security on campus like this: USD has the atmosphere of Club Med, not a university. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Anonymous says:

I would say that USD has security... I would say that USD has security covered—almost too covered. I’ll stop there. 12345 Safety & Security Report

Did You Know?

The San Diego Police Department ranks second to lowest in overall crime rates among the 10 largest U.S. cities in 2005. Paradoxically, San Diego has the lowest officer-to-civilian ratio among the same 10 cities. The Department frequently refers to this concept as “doing more with less.”

CNN reported that San Diego in 2004, with only 6,774 in 2004, had the fewest violent crimes of any city with more than one million in population. Its rate of about 521 violent crimes per 100,000 population also topped the safe cities list.

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