Stay Safe Provo

Running shorts, check; tennis shoes, check; Ipod, check. The sun has gone down already but Julia hasn’t had a chance to work out yet. She slips into her running gear, plugs in to her tunes and heads for the door. She doesn’t think twice about how her choices could affect her on this run, or how not thinking through the process is like playing Russian Roulette with her life. 

Julia is a fictitious character in this case, that represents many young students here at BYU. Students who don’t recognize that while Provo is a safe place statistically speaking, bad things can still happen.

“Statistics don’t mean a thing if you’re the victim,” Lieutenant Lemmon, University Police said. 

When compared to surrounding Universities, Brigham Young University tops the charts with safety, both on and off of campus.

Utah State University, Weber State University, and University of Utah all have statistics of increasing numbers within certain crime categories.

From the year 2009 to 2011 the rate of drug law violations and burglary increased significantly at Utah State University. On-Campus drug law violations increased by 183 percent and off-campus violations increased 33 percent. Burglaries went up by 140 percent on-campus and 100 percent off-campus. 

Following the same 3-years, Weber State University saw an increase in drug law violations on-campus by 300 percent and off campus by a shocking 1,000 percent. The university also struggled with sex offences, having an increase of 100 percent on-campus.

University of Utah saw an increase from 2009 to 2011 in drug law violations, sex offences both on and off campus and on-campus burglary. 

BYU on the other hand, brought decreases in each of the above mentioned categories. 

“We have a really effective crime reduction strategy that we follow religiously,” Provo Police Sergeant Matt Siufanua said. “Since this strategy has been implemented, I know that in 2012 we dropped Provo crime down 13 percent, which is a big drop. What that means for us is that there were about 415 less crimes done in our city in that time.” 

Many students feel confident in their knowledge of how to stay safe and implement things they were taught as young children to their lives at college. 

“Staying safe in Provo really isn't that hard for me,” sophomore Nate Baker said. “When midnight rolls around, I go to bed. When I am out, I lock my car door and keep valuables tucked away out of sight. That's all that has really been necessary for me. Provo is a safe town for those who don't take unnecessary risks like going out late alone or going out to isolated areas after dark.”

Sometimes however, it is difficult to know just by the look of a town if it’s a safe place to live or not. Siufanua suggests going in to the police department and asking questions. He said that police departments also send out an annual report that gives a lot of information on the city and the number of crimes from that year. It was also suggested to look online; Siufanua mentioned that crimereports.com was a great program for the general public.

As far as students are concerned, there isn’t much of an option as to what city to live in, generally students choose to live in the city the school is in.

“The more information the better I think,” Siufanua said. “(Students) need to be aware of what’s around them. Every perpetrator is a little different; some go after young boys, others young girls, and others actually go for college students. So I think some websites will allow you to see who the biggest threat to you is.”

For those that live in Provo, once again, the odds are in their favor. 

According to city-data.com there are 113 registered sex offenders living in Provo, making for a 1,060 to 1, resident to sex-offender ratio. We can see that when compared to other cities, this ratio is quite low. There are 91 registered sex offenders living in Logan with a ratio of 544 to 1, 661 registered sex offenders living in Salt Lake City with a ratio of 277 to 1, and 392 registered sex offenders living in Ogden generating a ratio of 212 to 1. 

On top of living in a relatively safe town, most students feel fairly safe going to school at BYU, especially since the students there are held to an honor code. Some of the things in this honor code include, 

“Students must abstain from the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal substances and from the intentional misuse or abuse of any substance. Sexual misconduct; obscene or indecent conduct or expressions; disorderly or disruptive conduct; participation in gambling activities; involvement with pornographic, erotic, indecent, or offensive material; and any other conduct or action inconsistent with the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Honor Code is not permitted.” It also states that students must follow all laws, including those of the city they live in. 

On-Campus Crime 2011

Lieutenant Arnold Lemmon of the University Police emphasizes the advantage this brings to the University,

“The biggest difference with BYU and other Universities is we do not have the drug and alcohol problems that other universities have. Therefore we run about 1/3 less police officers per capita,” Lemmon said.

While the honor code makes for an atmosphere conducive to learning at BYU, it shouldn’t make students feel indestructible.

“I don’t think anyone should become over-confident in the Honor Code,” Baker said. “It’s a moral code of conduct so that people don’t commit sin while studying at BYU, not a magical lifestyle that will save you from all bad things.”

Students should instead use their own good judgment when it comes to staying away from crime.

“The biggest thing is be aware of the people that are around you,” Siufanua said. “I think if you want to be a hard target using common sense approaches to things…another thing that keeps students safe is locking doors. We recognize that there are multiple students who live in a single dorm, but they need to lock their doors to protect themselves. Every year we have walk-in burglaries. ” 

One of the biggest issues Provo itself has run into is the Provo River Trail which follows the river underneath highways and through some unnerving territory.

“One of our biggest issues with BYU is we have a river trail that for some reason our young women like to run on late at night,” Siufanua said. “Using common sense tactics of going with somebody is a good way to prevent problems.”

Sophomore Jen Schmidt suggests that we approach safety in a new way and take advantage of the new technologies college students spend so much time with.

“I don't hear about crime in other universities,” Schmidt said. “Probably because I don't watch the news and that’s the medium you hear most of that kind of stuff on. I think putting it on Facebook or Twitter where more people spend their time, rather than the news would reach more people.”

Another way to reach young adults was thought up by sophomore Joshua Stallings,

“Well if they gave them information on the problems of the safety in Provo, then educated them with what to do in different situations, like a reenactment in a movie presentation, or something in that manner,” Stallings said. 

While Provo’s statistics are in favor of BYU students, there is still a responsibility for students to be smart and keep their finger off the trigger.