Common Risks and Crime Rates
- Theft is the Primary Concern: Despite high-tech security, the most common crime in university dorms is burglary or theft of personal possessions (computers, phones, bikes).
- High-Volume Areas: Large, high-density, or urban environments, even at prestigious universities like UC-Berkeley (656 incidents) or Stanford (306 incidents), can have higher crime rates.
- Safety Paradox: Some prestigious institutions in smaller communities (like Dartmouth or Yale) still appear in top-ten rankings for campus crime, partly because they may be better at documenting, reporting, or having a more dense student population.
- Student-Induced Risks: A significant amount of security risk comes from students themselves, such as propping open doors, allowing strangers in, or not locking room doors.
