Safety top of mind as students move back to University of Missouri campus
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As University of Missouri students move in to begin the school year, one thing on both parents’ and students’ minds is safety.
Ryan Noble is a freshman at MU this year, and said seeing campus police and safety devices throughout campus have made him feel better about the transition.
"I'm from a small town of 3,000 people, and coming here is like a culture shock," Burns said. "You know (you think), what were you going to see here, see a bunch of bad things? But, they keep it pretty clean up here."
According to the University of Missouri’s 2022 Annual Fire Safety and Security Report, MUPD officers are available 24 hours a day, regularly patrolling the exterior and lobby areas of residence halls and throughout campus to report unsafe conditions. There are also cameras and 217 blue light emergency phones located throughout campus that provide direct communication to police.
Vaso Micheas, another student at MU, said she often tutors late at night and still feels safe walking back home by herself afterward.
"I still feel pretty safe because there's lights around, emergency phones, so I don't have any problem going to my dorm," Micheas said.
MU spokesperson Christian Basi said the emergency phones are checked regularly each week, and any problems are dealt with quickly.
According to the university's website, over 31,000 students are enrolled at MU. The report's crime statistics show reported rapes and aggravated assaults have increased on campus since 2019.
The 2022 report shows 15 total aggravated assaults were reported in 2021, with eight happening on campus. This is up from five total reports in 2020 and seven in 2019.
In 2021, 25 total rapes were reported, with 24 occurring in that year. Twenty of these were reported on campus.
In 2020, 22 rapes were reported, with 14 happening in that year, and in 2019, 19 total rapes were reported, with 17 happening that year. The public safety information specialist at MU previously told ABC 17 News that MUPD has to include rape reports in the year it was reported.
The university also offers programs and strategies to prevent sexual assault, stalking, rape and domestic violence. Students said they've had to watch training videos on what to do in the case these situations arise.
"We can know the campus and the faculty are actually paying attention to this, which makes us feel better, for sure," said Risa Xu.
Other crime statistics from 2021 show 10 motor vehicle theft reports, 26 domestic assault reports and 23 stalking reports. The report said no dating violence or hate crimes were reported from 2019-2021.
Noble said his biggest concern moving to a bigger city is the theft.
"I'm from a small town, sometimes I just leave my door unlocked, you don't have to worry about it," Burns said. "Here, I make sure I lock my door now."
The report states notifications are sent out to students in the case of an ongoing threat. These are issued through a blast email to all campus community members with a valid University of Missouri email. Students are also encouraged to sign up for the school’s mass notification system MU Alert by going to mualert.missouri.edu.
While academic and administrative buildings are open to the public, residence hall exterior doors are locked at all times and require an ID card to get inside. Ground-floor windows have security devices on them and individual room doors have deadbolt locks.
Students also have advice for others about how to stay safe on campus.
"Double check that you lock things up and make sure that you don't lose your key, because if you do, it really opens up the door for someone to just walk right in," said Reid Monsees.
"I would always walk in a group or with someone else at night, and just not go out too late at night and walk by myself," said Lexi Manthe.
The MUPD office is located at 901 Virginia Ave. People can call 573-882-7201 or 911 for assistance.
University spokespeople were not available for further comment on this story Friday.
