Critics Fault St. Joseph’s on Crime | Inside Higher Ed

Critics continue to fault St. Joseph’s University on crime, even after the university has boosted security, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Aggravated assaults, robberies with a firearm and thefts have increased near its main campus, and at a higher rate than in the city as a whole, according to an analysis of police data.

Tommy McBride was scheduled to serve as a coordinator at freshman orientation. He didn’t serve because he was shot by two men in ski masks.

He spent 12 weeks on crutches and is still waiting for another surgery. He and his roommates left their house near campus. “We all decided it was not safe physically and mentally to live there anymore,” he said, “especially with that not being the only incident of gun violence and crime” in the neighborhood. Other students have left the university.

“Many of you have heard from your children or through our safety alert notifications that there has been a pattern of robberies and attempted robberies in recent weeks,” Cheryl A. McConnell, St. Joseph’s interim president, wrote to parents last month. “We have been very fortunate that none of our students have sustained life-threatening injuries, but these incidents are highly troubling.”