Studying Dangerously: How Safe are Students in Texas's Deadliest City
- Maddison Freeman
- Dec 5, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 21
Houston is the most dangerous city in Texas, with the Texas Department of Public Safety reporting Harris County and the Houston PD as the highest crime rated jurisdictions among the top 25 populated jurisdictions.
More specifically, the University of Houston is located in the Third Ward, touting an overall crime rate three times the national average according to reporting by Wiechart. Recent troubling instances of crime have spurred student concern and discussion. Earlier this semester, a student was robbed at gunpoint in his own dorm. January, this year, there was a deadly stabbing on the metro-rail. In a survey of 100 university students, 31 percent report using the metro-rail to commute to school.
These safety concerns are not lost upon the students. In the same survey the majority of students reported feeling somewhat safe, or somewhat unsafe on campus.
"Every time I walk to the garage to and from class I always feel in danger," one anonymous respondent adds to the survey.
Car thefts and crimes seem most prevalent among the survey responses. "I park at zone E and around evening/night time is when I feel unsafe. One time I was walking back from cougar woods and saw a car that was on bricks and tires stolen." Another respondent answers.
Students feel even more unsafe in the areas immediately around campus, and on the metro-rail.
"On Scott street, on more than one occasion, I have seen drug users and pistols being flashed." A respondent reports.
Another adds her experience with the Metro-rail, "Metric rail is the downtown transport for crack-heads and homeless, which we students and other intellectuals have to share. But as students we get it the worse because they know we are easy pickings. I am girl and like every other girl who has submitted to this form, have been sexually assaulted on the metro rail."
Despite the grim responses, authorities assure there are safeguards to help ensure student safety. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County responds to questions surrounding student safety on the city's metro lines.
"We have MPD officers and Fare Inspectors riding the system, as well as on fixed post assignments. MPD has officers patrolling the entire rail line." A Metropolitan Transit Authority representative states.
For on-campus safety concerns, Captain Walter Lucas of the University of Houston Police Department responds.
"Our recommendations to help students avoid becoming the victim of a crime always start with being alert to their surroundings and avoiding unsafe situations in the first place." Lucas answers.
Lucas suggests the campus' digital resources are a good way for students to keep safe.
"The UH GO app is a great resource for personal smart devices. The app allows you to share your location with UH Police, and we’re just a tap away."
Students, however, insist that these measures are not enough.
What do students suggest? Lights, camera, patrols:
"More cameras. More patrolling police. I know they can afford it."
"Definitely more police. I see more parking enforcement than police on campus"
"What is the purpose of paying so much for parking passes, getting rid of free parking spots, and ticketing nearly anything on the street if none of the money can be used to keep the campus safe? It really is just a matter of adding more lights, and security during certain hours."
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