Craigslist and classified advertisements are useful tools for students looking to secure the perfect apartment, but they won’t tell you about the prolific burglars lurking outside the window.
That’s why it’s important to consider property crime statistics in your new neighborhood before you hand over the first and last month’s rent. It might just send you back to Craigslist in search of a pad in a different neighborhood.
Although property crime is “happening citywide from the richest neighborhoods to the poorest neighborhoods,” according to Detective Mitch Martin with the Eugene Police Department, EPD statistics cite much higher property crime rates in the West University neighborhood than in the South University area – in fact, almost three times as many such crimes were reported in West University than in South University.
There may be fewer crimes committed in South University, which stretches north to south from E. 18th Avenue to E. 24th Avenue and west to east from Patterson Street to Agate Street, because the neighborhood consists mostly of houses, not apartment buildings.
In West University, which extends from Kincaid Street to Willamette Street and from Franklin Boulevard to 19th Avenue, “you have quads and fraternities and more people in less space like in a city,” Martin said.
In 2007, EPD reported 268 property crimes in South University and 829 in West University. Both sets of statistics were significantly higher in 2006, with 392 property crimes reported in the South University area and 1,300 in West University.
Criminals may target the neighborhoods more than others in Eugene because they know students make up the majority of residents.
“The bad guys know the student schedule well, and that’s why you see so many property crimes, especially during winter break,” Martin said. “They know most students go home over that break and see an opportunity there.”
They also know students “have all the new gadgets” and that many lack experience in guarding them.
“College kids leave their stuff in the car a lot of times, and that’s a big mistake,” Martin said.
In this sense, it may be more important to know the fundamentals of guarding your property than to know crime statistics.
“Each neighborhood is kind of different and unique. Which is safer? I don’t know,” Martin said. “But anywhere, you want good lighting, deadlocks, and to keep valuable items out of sight.”
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