Point Park’s campus is a sprawling metropolis filled to the brim with diverse people, cultures, restaurants, museums, theaters and so much more. With such a diverse urban area, however, comes a crime rate that is much higher than some new students might be used to. However, Point Park University has implemented several protocols and safety precautions that help contribute to making our campus safe.
As many people already know, you cannot access any of the campus’s buildings except for Academic Hall without a student ID or keycard to grant you access. Point Park University also has an alert system – known as Point Alert – which alerts students, faculty, and staff to any violent crimes that are reported nearby. Plus, Pittsburgh City police have been hard at work cracking down on crime. Murder and assault rates have dropped from 2022 in the first half of the year. Reported in a Council for Criminal Justice Study, there have been 28 homicides from January 1 to June 30, as opposed to the 40 homicides from the same time period in 2022.
Despite Pittsburgh being ranked one of the safest cities in the country in 2022, there are still areas where crime rates are high. According to an article written for TribLive, a news source for western PA, there were two incidents in the last two weeks just on Smithfield Street alone. One incident on August 31 involved a 23 year old man, Lonnie Latham III, who was shot and later pronounced dead. Another man and woman were also injured in the fight.
Random attacks and violent incidents unfortunately aren’t uncommon but they rarely happen to students here at Point Park. Still, that doesn’t mean we’re exempt. Point Park University is required to report all crime that happens on campus, on University owned property, or in the immediate vicinity of campus. According to the crime report, which can be accessed from the University’s website, there were no “illegal weapons arrests” from 2019 to 2021. Along with this, there has only been one report of aggravated assault on campus within the last three years. Despite there being so few cases of aggravated assault on campus, robberies are much more common off campus, with a total of 35 in the last 3 years. There are no reported hate crimes in any of those 3 years.
There are several useful tips that can be used to help keep yourself safe on the streets, and the Crime Report published by the University has more as well. First, limit the amount of interaction with strangers and the time spent outside late at night. If possible, always travel with a friend as traveling by yourself can increase your risk of being targeted. Along with this, try not to look down at your phone while walking on the street, especially at night, because it’s easier to sneak up on someone who is unaware of their surroundings. The University also recommends that you change your routine, including routes to work, class, and home.
If you ever feel unsafe, you can obviously call 911, but you can also call Public Safety and they will send an officer to assist you. The phone number for Public Safety is 412-392-3960. There are also call boxes located in various locations across campus such as Village Park. You can press the button and a Point Park police officer will come to your location and assist in walking with you to wherever it is you need to go. Point Park Police have been sworn in and have full authority to carry firearms and make arrests; they are not a mall-cop equivalent.
