Home to many students, the West University neighborhood is known for its parties and proximity to campus.
It’s also the scene of frequent burglaries, car thefts, break-ins, a recent shooting and a stabbing.
Eugene police say crime in the West University area parallels other Eugene neighborhoods. Some students say the security they feel in their residences has plummeted.
Two weeks ago, a man’s apparent mishandling of a firearm ended with him shooting two acquaintances, killing one, on Nov. 3, police said.
Three days later, a man was stabbed on East 15th Avenue and Alder Street after a dispute with another man.
Eugene police officer Randy Ellis said West University does not generally have more crime than other neighborhoods. The student-populated area, however, ranked among the highest for most crimes of any Eugene area for September.
People reported 12 burglaries, 51 thefts and six car thefts throughout West University, which extends west from Kincaid Street to Willamette Street and north from East 19th Avenue to Franklin Boulevard. Nine assaults were reported that month.
South University, for example, had eight fewer burglaries, 35 fewer thefts, two fewer car thefts and fewer assaults during the same period, according to police.
In 2005, people reported a total of 118 burglaries, 730 thefts, 127 car thefts and 82 assaults in the West University area.
“It’s not because of the neighborhood,” Ellis said, saying alcohol contributes to a majority of the violent crimes and the property crime is simply drug-related.
“It’s everywhere. The only reason (property crime) is more here is because there’s more people. Bad guys go to where the stuff’s there to steal and where it’s easy.”
But do students who live in the West University feel safe?
Some students who have been victims of property crimes wish they lived elsewhere, while others who have not been affected by thieves don’t mind the area.
“I’ve never felt safety was an issue,” said University sophomore Emily Kahn, who usually walks or rides her bike to her Alder Street home from campus, sometimes in the dark. “I didn’t realize crime was so rampant.”
Kahn, a public relations major, said she may be naive, but the student-filled streets make her feel more secure. Her female roommate always carries pepper spray in her purse when they go out, she said.
“We never walk anywhere alone,” Kahn said.
Although University junior Crosby Connolly, who lives on Patterson Street, said he is aware of crimes occurring throughout West University, but feels his masculinity ensures his safety.
“If I was a female, I think I would feel a little uneasy,” Connolly said. “It helps when you live in a house like I do with four guys because somebody seems to always be home … it would be very difficult to burglarize my house.”
University student Jess Andrews, who has not had anything stolen from his 12th Avenue and Ferry Street residence, was at a friend’s house near the apartment where the recent stabbing occurred.
It was “pretty sketch,” Andrews said, but he doesn’t feel threatened by the criminal activity overall.
Some students, however, do not feel so secure living in West University.
Jay Castle, a Ferry Street renter, who attends Lane Community College, said he always hears stories about property crime in the area.
“I won’t even go do laundry without locking my doors,” he said.
Two students are taking precautions to ensure they aren’t victims of property crime again.
University junior Ashley Murray lived alone in her Ferry Street duplex this summer.
Drug dealers lived across the street, she said, and undercover cops would patrol around her residence daily.
“I didn’t feel safe being a young female at night,” Murray said.
One night, Murray was working on homework and heard a woman desperately screaming outside, asking for someone to help her and call 911.
Murray and her neighbors rushed outside and found a blood-covered man lying in the middle of Ferry Street. Police surrounded the crime scene with caution tape, preventing her from leaving her house.
Now, Murray said, she regrets choosing the West University area as a place to live. She keeps her blinds closed all the time and always locks her doors and windows.
University junior Zane Ritt, former photo editor for the Emerald, locked his East 16th Avenue and Ferry Street house around noon Friday and left for a store. His roommate came home to the front door unlocked, the back door open and his laptop missing, Ritt said.
The thief had broken down the kitchen door in the hour and a half period, passed by pricey photography gear and went straight for a computer.
“We’re keeping all blinds closed even when we’re home, always making sure things are locked – and getting renter’s insurance,” Ritt said.
Some students are even warning their female friends about the area, insisting they walk with a male companion.
Valerie Coffey, 20, visited Eugene this weekend from Portland. She “never would have guessed” the neighborhood was unsafe, she said.
Saturday night her male friend refused to let her and another female friend walk to the nearby East Broadway Avenue 7-Eleven. He had heard of recent assaults near his home, Coffey said.
“I don’t need a baby sitter,” Coffey said.
Contact the crime, health and safety reporter at [email protected]