== Update - 12/22/2008 == My car was broken into last night. They busted out the back right window. They made a mess looking around the glove compartment, but looks like they only got away with my change drawer. They made $1.50 and further proves my point that Clifton sucks. == end update ==
I have been thinking about writing a post like this for some time, but with recent events, I decided now is the time.
Let me ask you a question… what is wrong with people? Why do people think that they can be more important than you and take things that don’t belong to them. What am I talking about? I am talking about the quality and safety of living in Clifton, OH near the University of Cincinnati campus.
As I have stated in a previous post, we as students at the University of Cincinnati receive periodic (about one per week) emails telling about the crime around the campus area. They mention what the crime was, any description of suspects involved, and other such information. Let me give you a quick summary of the last few “Safety Notice” emails…
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November 15, 2008 @ 3:00am :: In one of the campus dorms, a girl was raped
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November 11, 2008 @ 11:30pm :: A girl was sitting in her car when two guys with a gun got in her car and demanded her property
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November 8, 2008 @ 7:00pm :: A girl was sitting on the back porch of her house when two guys came up and told her they had a gun and demanded her property
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November 3, 2008 @ 7:50pm :: A guy was approached on the street by 2 men with a gun. The guy tried to run away but was shot in the leg
And that’s just a taste of some of the recent emails we have received. You wanna know something real awful though, the descriptions of the suspects about half the time are said to be around 16 years of age… just the right age where they are stupid enough to think that shooting someone over a wallet that isn’t theirs to begin with is fine. Now let’s run down a few things that have happened to either myself or family/friends while attending the University of Cincinnati
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Brother’s apartment was broken into and they stole items such as computer/game system/movies
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Roommate’s car was broken into, bashing the back window where his server’s apron with some cash was stolen
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Yesterday my driver side mirror was either stolen or used as a baseball
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This morning our down stairs neighbor’s car was broken into, bashing in the back window. I don’t know if anything was stolen or not
Thankfully the worst that has happened to me personally has been a car mirror gone missing. But it is the culmination of everything that happens down here. Email after email after email about these robberies. What is wrong with people?!? Why do they think they are all powerful when they have a gun in their hands, taking whatever they want.
So what can be done about all this crime on and near the University of Cincinnati? First and foremost, the University needs to purchase the surrounding houses and properties. Much of the surrounding apartments and houses are occupied by who we like to refer to as ‘locals’. Many of the locals in this area tend to be low income and apparently not helping the ‘quality of life’ here at UC. The University shoud purchase these houses and rent them as they are rented now to students. I believe there needs to be more security around campus as well. There is rarely an incident on the campus itself, but in the surrounding streets that is a different story. Whether this means cameras on street corners, or that more police officers have a more dense route to patrol, something needs to change.
I honestly have never been a fan of the Cincinnati Police. Too many times have I been waiting at a red light when a CPD car is almost behind me, slowing down… and they flip on their sirens and lights going through the red light only to turn them off again on the other side of the intersection. But lately, I have been welcoming the sight of the CPD near campus.
With all this nonsense, I really have to wonder, if there is this much crime being reported… how much crime is being caught?