Marquette No. 83 In New US News Ranking

[Scoop Snoop]

Milwaukee is more dangerous, but I don't think the Marquette area is.

Stay with me here.

When I was at MU, a woman was sexually assaulted in her own dorm room by a rando off the street. Marquette didn't want to put in blue light phones because it was too expensive. It took the actual murder of a student to get that implemented. In general, crime on and around campus was accepted - by students, by the administration, and by public safety.

Fast forward to now. We have blue light phones. We have the safety shuttle. We have our own armed police forces that is in addition to the Milwaukee Police Department. Anyone on or around campus who follows common sense preventative safety measures is pretty darn safe.

But we also have helicopter parents, social media, and greatly increased expectations. If a kid had his apartment robbed in 1983, they didn't get much more than a "sucks to be you" comment, possibly along with "what did you expect, living in that neighborhood?" These days, a kid gets hassled by a homeless , calls their mom all upset, who posts on social media going "OMG WHAT IS MARQUETTE GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS!?!?

You hit on some basic and very true points. Muggers and other criminals do not like to take chances. They're sometimes even cowardly. If they know that there are armed campus police and see people walking in groups, they are far, far less likely to attack. I kind of get the attitude "I should be able to walk anywhere by myself anytime without worrying about being attacked" but the reality is and has always been that is simply not true.

Way back when I was at Marquette I was nearly mugged. One guy was walking behind me and two others crossed the street to my side and were closing in. I very quickly headed towards Cobeen and they dropped off as soon as I blended into a small group of students. My niece was not as fortunate when she was at Marquette and got mugged. My guess is that, being extremely independent and the" nobody is gonna tell me what I should do!" type, she was walking alone at night.

Spot on about the helicopter parents.

[Mu8891]

The FACTS are that MILW is much more dangerous and crime is up across the
Board ( compared to 5 / 10 years ago):

2019 … 90 homicides
2021 … 200 + Homicides
2022 .. on pace for 300 plus

Reckless driving is FAR worse all over
MKE, and within the last two years an
MU professor was killed by a driver on campus !

Auto thefts are up over 200% from a few years ago.  Non fatal shootings are so numerous that 80% of them are not solved.  It’s sad.

It’s something I hope the MU Admin has at or near the top of their list of concerns at all times.

* that said, I have been to the bookstore and had lunch at Real Chili on campus in the last few months.  The issue will not keep me away, but it will keep some people away.

[withoutbias]

Warriorchick

Much of your post is spot on, but the odds of a bad random event happening on or near MU campus is far greater than 5-10 years ago. I had two of my children at MU as recently as five years ago and I did not fear MU was in combat zone and still do not feel that. That said, random violent acts are getting closer and more frequent. I would send my kids there again (if on full ride) in a heartbeat, but that does not mean I think it is the safest campus in America.

I also do think defining the campus by streets is crazy. As I noted yesterday, there have been 3-4 shootings in the Third Ward area over the past half year and a couple in the middle of the day. I am in the Third Ward a great deal and seldom do I not see a ton of MU and UWM students. Plus, Water Street is seen more violent acts in the last year than I can ever remember. I consider Water St and Third Ward as an extension of the campus simply due to the number of students that frequent both areas.

There are folks on here that know far more about how MU brass feels about the safety issue, but I have a good friend in a pretty lofty position that told me crime/safety on campus is one MU's biggest concerns. Now, you can say every school feels that way, but not every school is not in urban environment, an urban environment where murders are up 100% over last year's record year. I am sure Carroll University wants a safe campus and their concerns on how to make a safe campus is different from MU.

Hey, I love MU being in an urban environment and have spent time on campus for 50+ years and will continue to do so. Since the hiring of Shaka, I have been on campus more times in past year than I was when my last two attended MU, so I am not hiding from anything. That said, I am more cautious on where I park or streets I drive to and from MU. Again, maybe that makes me a boomer and I am fine with that.

Would you say violence is way up on Carroll’s campus with the Waukesha parade attack then?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

The FACTS are that MILW is much more dangerous and crime is up across the
Board ( compared to 5 / 10 years ago):

2019 … 90 homicides
2021 … 200 + Homicides
2022 .. on pace for 300 plus

Reckless driving is FAR worse all over
MKE, and within the last two years an
MU professor was killed by a driver on campus !

Auto thefts are up over 200% from a few years ago.  Non fatal shootings are so numerous that 80% of them are not solved.  It’s sad.

It’s something I hope the MU Admin has at or near the top of their list of concerns at all times.

* that said, I have been to the bookstore and had lunch at Real Chili on campus in the last few months.  The issue will not keep me away, but it will keep some people away.

Yes, and as all the data shows this is not specific to MU or Milwaukee, crime is up substantially starting in 2019 all over. And, it still remains far below levels from the 70s, 80s and early 90s, the very time period some of the primary fear mongers attended school. If it is bad now they must have been positively terrified back in the day and I can't believe they didn't transfer so they wouldn't fear for their lives every waking moment.

[Scoop Snoop]

Yes, and as all the data shows this is not specific to MU or Milwaukee, crime is up substantially starting in 2019 all over. And, it still remains far below levels from the 70s, 80s and early 90s, the very time period some of the primary fear mongers attended school. If it is bad now they must have been positively terrified back in the day and I can't believe they didn't transfer so they wouldn't fear for their lives every waking moment.

it's been decades since Richmond VA was ID'd as the #1 homicide city of the US (per capita), but at the time I was rarely nervous about it and walked without fear in most of the city.

The reason was that with I 95 going straight through the city, it had become a major distribution point for drugs enroute to Philadelphia and NYC.  The murders were, by a very large margin, drug trade related and in a very small part of the city. I'm not brushing off the loss of life-just putting the stats in perspective. The rate is still high and always will be as long as drugs are distributed via I 95. VCU is, like Marquette, an urban campus and of course has some crime problems, but I suspect that security is handled much as Chick has described at MU.

[warriorchick]

You hit on some basic and very true points. Muggers and other criminals do not like to take chances. They're sometimes even cowardly. If they know that there are armed campus police and see people walking in groups, they are far, far less likely to attack. I kind of get the attitude "I should be able to walk anywhere by myself anytime without worrying about being attacked" but the reality is and has always been that is simply not true.

Way back when I was at Marquette I was nearly mugged. One guy was walking behind me and two others crossed the street to my side and were closing in. I very quickly headed towards Cobeen and they dropped off as soon as I blended into a small group of students. My niece was not as fortunate when she was at Marquette and got mugged. My guess is that, being extremely independent and the" nobody is gonna tell me what I should do!" type, she was walking alone at night.

Spot on about the helicopter parents.

I forgot to mention the cameras that are now everywhere and have helped nab quite a number of bad guys. It takes a special kind of stupid to try to commit a crime in a neighborhood that has cameras everywhere and two sets of police.

[4everwarriors]

Wrong, cameras don't mean a thing. Otherwise criminals wouldn't rob banks, gas stations, or convenience stores, all of which have cameras. Also, see the Beverly Hills jewelry store heist this week in broad daylight. A tough criminal justice system, with real penalties would do a lot more to deter this activity, aina?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

We have double the incarceration is any other developed country. Obviously the answer is to lock up more people

[Hards Alumni]

Wrong, cameras don't mean a thing. Otherwise criminals wouldn't rob banks, gas stations, or convenience stores, all of which have cameras. Also, see the Beverly Hills jewelry store heist this week in broad daylight. A tough criminal justice system, with real penalties would do a lot more to deter this activity, aina?

Please base this claim on statistics.

Unless you're the type of dentist that would rather crown teeth and fill cavities rather than have his clients brush their teeth.

Have you considered, for even a moment, that perhaps we should brush society's teeth rather than filling it's cavities.

[real chili 83]

I forgot to mention the cameras that are now everywhere and have helped nab quite a number of bad guys. It takes a special kind of stupid to try to commit a crime in a neighborhood that has cameras everywhere and two sets of police.

I had a choir boy from St Paul walk up our driveway over Thanksgiving and try and break in to two of our cars. The second he stepped on the driveway, the motion detector kicked on the floodlights and the ring camera started filming.  This did not deter in the least.  I happened to be up and watched it live.  Called the cops and they nabbed him 2 hours later.

I looked him up from his arrest record. He had a record a mile long, including fraud, theft, auto theft and assault. Outstanding citizen.

[Goose]

I think some on here are missing a point. There is crime and there is crime. There have been robberies, muggings, assaults and petty stuff forever and will be here for years to come. I would have to believe there have been more gun related incidents on or around campus over the past few years than anytime in my memory. That is the crime, along with the reckless driving due to car thefts, that I am concerned about.

Any idiot committing the crimes I am concerned about is not swayed by camera or armed MU police. I hope my fears are proven wrong for the next fifty years, but I am not going sugarcoat and make comparisons to “when I was at MU”.

[Scoop Snoop]

Please base this claim on statistics.

Unless you're the type of dentist that would rather crown teeth and fill cavities rather than have his clients brush their teeth.

Have you considered, for even a moment, that perhaps we should brush society's teeth rather than filling it's cavities.

While I am usually not too quick regarding suggesting following examples in other countries, Germany's recidivism rate is well below ours and other countries. They spend a lot of time and money on rehabilitation. I'm not saying all can be rehabilitated, but many are. And...it's a whole lot cheaper than having them back in prison repeatedly.

[Shooter McGavin]

I think some on here are missing a point. There is crime and there is crime. There have been robberies, muggings, assaults and petty stuff forever and will be here for years to come. I would have to believe there have been more gun related incidents on or around campus over the past few years than anytime in my memory. That is the crime, along with the reckless driving due to car thefts, that I am concerned about.

Any idiot committing the crimes I am concerned about is not swayed by camera or armed MU police. I hope my fears are proven wrong for the next fifty years, but I am not going sugarcoat and make comparisons to “when I was at MU”.

I’m not missing it.  I actually appreciate the honesty.  Obviously it should be a huge concern for MU.  It will effect future students decisions to attend.  As I said previously my son has not expressed any concerns to me.   I’ll make sure he is aware but I’m relying on what I hope is a good head on his shoulders.

Crime has gone up in our area as well.  I don’t think there are any easy solutions. Thoughtful discussion of this topic is always good.

[Uncle Rico]

If your only solution is more incarceration without addressing the fundamental causes of crime, you’ll never address crime seriously

[Goose]

Shooter

I definitely see your point and I am talking bigger picture. As I noted, I had two kids at MU in the last decade and I did not lose sleep worrying about the potential crime on campus. If I had kids there today, I do not think I would lose any sleep either, but I believe the odds of something happening is more likely today than even a few years ago. Again, like everyone on here, I pray that I my concern proves to be unwarranted, and nothing happens. I will add, I am more concerned about winning the transfer portal at the moment.

[🏀]

If your only solution is more incarceration without addressing the fundamental causes of crime, you’ll never address crime seriously

More incarceration!

Less immigrants, build the wall!

Fix the potholes!

Don't you dare raise my taxes!

The Boomer Contradiction.

[79Warrior]

Wrong, cameras don't mean a thing. Otherwise criminals wouldn't rob banks, gas stations, or convenience stores, all of which have cameras. Also, see the Beverly Hills jewelry store heist this week in broad daylight. A tough criminal justice system, with real penalties would do a lot more to deter this activity, aina?

Actually you are wrong.  Cameras have caught many after the fact and have assisted in catching the criminals and prosecuting them.  The schmuck who was killing the homeless recently in NYC  is one example. Caught by cameras. They are very valuable.

[JWags85]

Actually you are wrong.  Cameras have caught many after the fact and have assisted in catching the criminals and prosecuting them.  The schmuck who was killing the homeless recently in NYC  is one example. Caught by cameras. They are very valuable.

I think both can be true.  I think cameras are valuable, but I don't think their mere presence deters criminals as much anymore.  Thats not to say I'm advocating for mass incarceration either.

[real chili 83]

I think both can be true.  I think cameras are valuable, but I don't think their mere presence deters criminals as much anymore.  Thats not to say I'm advocating for mass incarceration either.

This ^^^^^

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Cameras might help catch the perp after the fact. But does very little from saving me from a bad guy.

[jficke13]

Cameras might help catch the perp after the fact. But does very little from saving me from a bad guy.

Well unless the cop is standing literally right there, the police serve the exact same purpose.

[Mu8891]

And … right on Cue … while this
conversation was going on:

Yesterday on Campus a student was robbed at gun point, and another
person was SHOT by the same alleged offender. In the middle of the day

( Incidents on 17th / 15th and Kilbourn)

Crime in Milw is bad, and getting worse.

[panda]

And … right on Cue … while this
conversation was going on:

Yesterday on Campus a student was robbed at gun point, and another
person was SHOT by the same alleged offender. In the middle of the day

( Incidents on 17th / 15th and Kilbourn)

Crime in Milw is bad, and getting worse.

This reads a lot like the campus security warnings I’d receive when I was in school….15 years ago.

[Shooter McGavin]

Bump. Not a good look for Milwaukee last night.  Lots of MU kids in the Deer District who still have finals this coming week.  Scary.

[We R Final Four]

Why? The Bulls are out of the playoffs.