According to the U.S. Justice Department’s annual crime report, released Oct. 28, Madison is consistently the city with the lowest crime rates among cities with a population of 200,000 to 250,000.
Of the 14 cities ranked together, Madison was 14th in terms of overall crimes reported, 13th in violent crimes, 14th in murders and 12th in rapes.
“These figures reflect the community-policing involvements of the police department and the Madison community,” said Sgt. Larry Kamholz of the Madison Police Department. “The Madison Police Department continues to work with the community to provide information to help prevent becoming the victims of crimes.”
Some students, however, disagree with the manner in which the study was conducted.
“I see Madison as a safe city, but I would be very skeptical of the rape statistic — a lot of people don’t report,” said Stephanie Byrnes, the head of Promoting Awareness and Victim Empowerment, a rape-prevention organization.
Other students agreed.
“Rape is an incredible problem that goes severely unreported,” said Timothy Hereid of Men Stopping Rape. “I imagine that the study was done from reported cases. Each year, there are thousands of rapes on campus. In 1995, a study was done that revealed that one-third to one-half of all women had been subject to some form of sexual assault, ranging from forced kissing to forced penetration. That’s quite a lot of women. Men, too, are victims, usually by other males.”
Hereid stressed that most rape victims are assaulted by a partner, friend or acquaintance, though “stranger rape” is a real problem.
“Women can walk in groups at night — it is important that they feel safe. Once again, though, this is looking at victim behavior,” he said.
Some students expressed nervousness about walking on campus at night.
“When I’m on State Street, I don’t feel safe all the time — there’s a lot of people who follow you and ask for money,” said Angela Osthus, a UW-Madison junior. “I worry about my roommate who works until three in the morning. Usually, I take the bus if I’m coming home even at 8:30 at night — I do get worried on campus when there are less people around.”
Other students concurred.
“I’m really cautious at night — if someone is behind me, I’m always a little suspicious, because you just never know,” said Stacey Madison, a UW senior. “I’d say campus is safer than a lot of other areas of Madison — there’s always stuff going on really late, so you’d think nobody would get away with much … There’s also good public services like SAFEride and a good bus system.”
Ellen Conover, a UW senior, felt differently.
“Personally, I’m just very conscious of my surroundings,” she said. “I feel safe enough where I don’t need SAFEwalk, though I’m conscious of walking on busier streets, and I try to walk with a group. I have no problem walking from the Capitol to my apartment.”
