CSULA PEEPs

Student safety at CSULA



The CSULA campus is very safe, especially for a city college campus. It is important to remember that college is voluntary, not mandatory like high school -- everyone at CSULA is there by choice. There is virtually no violent crime in college (0%), and little non-violent crime (1% theft).

2008 CSULA campus crime rates per 1000 students
The crime statistics on the graph at right are expressed in terms of a rate per thousand students. In the year 2008, the most current year for which statistics are available, it is quickly apparent that there are few crimes on campus. By far the most frequent crime is theft, which has a rate of 12/1000 students -- which can be thought of as 1% of the students experiencing theft during 2008. All the other gathered statistics are at a rate of 0%. (Click on picture for larger view.)

Cal State University-Los Angeles is five miles east of downtown Los Angeles, however, it is safer than University of California-Los Angeles which is located 12 miles west of downtown Los Angeles next to tony Bel Air.

The second graph examines the rates for the same crimes for 2008, comparing the rates for CSULA with those of UCLA. The blue bars again are the same CSULA numbers, and the red numbers indicate incremental UCLA crime rates. It is clear from this graph that UCLA students experience higher levels of all crimes compared to students at CSULA. In tabular format, these statistics are:

2008 CSULA (blue) vs UCLA (blue plus red) campus crime rates per 1000 students -
CSULA is safer
Crime Rates Per 1000 Students in the year 2008:
CSULAUCLA
(blue)(blue+red)
Murder00.0000.00
Rape00.0500.27
Aggravated Assault00.1900.56
Arson00.0500.11
Robbery00.1000.72
Burglary01.3305.10
Car Theft00.4801.15
Theft11.9716.30

It needs to be pointed out again that serious crime is virtually non-existent on both campuses -- less than 0.0%. The primary crimes committed on both campuses are crimes of opportunity -- theft of unsupervised property (burglary, car theft, and primarily theft). Thus, all students are advised to not leave their property unattended, such as objects left in plain view in cars, or purses or backpacks in places such as a classroom or library desk or cafeteria table.

The above 2008 information was obtained from stateuniversity.com, and for the statistics on 47 California public Universities, click here.

CSULA (blue) vs Middle School/High School (yellow) crime rates per 1000 students -
CSULA is MUCH safer
College versus Middle School/High School

Perhaps the more important comparison is not between universities, but between universities and high school. The difference in crime is astounding; Public Middle School and High School have significantly more crime than college -- the yellow bars on the graph at right compared to the blue ones.

Violent crime is 65 times more frequent in (public) Middle School plus High School than at college: 26.0 violent crimes per 1000 students ages 12-18 (3%) vs. 0.4 at CSULA (0%).

Non-violent crime is 2.5 times more frequent in (public) Middle School plus High School than at college: 31.0 thefts per 1000 students ages 12-18 (3%) vs. 12.5 at CSULA (1%).

Other statistics for (public) Middle and High School for 2007 are expressed in percentages because of their frequency:

10% of boys and 5% of girls in MS/HS were threatened with a weapon at school in 2007
22% of all children ages 12-18 were offered or given drugs at middle/high school
23% of all children said there were gangs at middle school or high school
32% of all children ages 12-18 reported they were bullied at MS/HS in 2007

The above 2007 statistics for children ages 12-18 were obtained at http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/violence-in-schools/national-statistics.html, which is based on information from the U. S. Departments of Education and Justice. Note that these are 2007 numbers for all American schools, not California schools. This website has information on annual trends too, and by sex and ethnic origin.

In summary, while parents should counsel their children about how to protect their property, as well as basic safety precautions, it is clear that EEPsters are much safer at CSULA than in the high school they would have attended, and probably even safer than at the mall. Serious crime is virtually non-existent; approximately 1% of the total student population will experience theft of belongings.

The extreme difference in crime at middle school/high school versus college is due to truancy laws. By law, children must attend school until age 18 (in California, or 16 if earned GED and have parental permission); thus, many kids are in high school and middle school because they must be, not because they want to be. College is not mandatory. Every student at CSULA is there by personal choice, and at personal cost. Each student chose to go to college, and chose CSULA. They are there with the goal to learn and earn a degree. Gang members do not go to college!