Slippery Rock among safest college towns
SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock Borough ranked among the safest college towns in the United States according to Utah-based SafeWise, a safety and home security company.
Using the most recent FBI crime statistics from 2014, SafeWise calculated the total number of crimes committed in each American town with at least one institution of higher education.
It then weighted those numbers in relation to population statistics and other important factors.
Finally, SafeWise researched relevant safety, health and educational programs that help make each “Safest College Town” safer and more secure.
Slippery Rock was ranked 15th among the nation’s 30 safest college towns.
The report noted, “Nestled in rolling hills, this peaceful hamlet is rich in community spirit. Local community leaders, business developers and artisans banded together to revitalize the downtown district, giving rise to a quaint town center known as the Village at Slippery Rock.”
“This civic enthusiasm extends to public safety, throughout the town and the bustling Slippery Rock University campus. Both safety and sustainability are priorities at SRU, leading the college to be recognized as one of the Princeton Review’s top Green Colleges. The university was also given the distinction of being a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.”
Michael Simmons, chief of the university police department, credits cooperation between the college administration, the borough council and the township supervisors, as well as collaboration between the university, borough and state police and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department for the town and campus safety.
He said his 14-member department mostly handlesalcohol, minor vandalism and petty theft crimes.
“We usually deal with that in the second or third week of the fall semester and in the spring when the weather breaks,” Simmons said.
“In the fall, students are usually getting everything squared away and by the second or third week they have a tendency to explore,” Simmons said. “By mid-October, there’s midterms, then finals and winter break. In the spring semester, it’s quiet until the weather breaks.”
In addition to Slippery Rock, three towns in Pennsylvania made the list: Edinboro is ranked 17th, Clarion is ranked 20th and Millersville is ranked 22nd. Winona, Minn., home to Winona State University, topped the list.
Slippery Rock also was on last year’s list, according to Sarah Brown, a spokesman for SafeWise.
“This is one of our favorite reports of the year,” says John Kinnear, CEO of SafeWise.com. “We are happy to see that so many of last year’s cities have remained on the list and we are excited to see how cities progress over time. We hope that cities will use this award to encourage positive community safety conversations, not just in their city, but their state and the country as well.”
Brown said, “The list of Safest College Towns has been compiled for the past two years, but we have been running our safest cities reports for the last four years.”
“We compile these lists so that communities can be aware of successful safety initiatives in their states and around the country and congratulate the safest cities making safety a high priority,” Brown said.
“Safest College Towns is an especially important list because students, educators, parents and the community are all invested in the safety of their college campuses,” she added.
