Off Campus Student Apartment Safety

The total amount of police reports for each off campus student apartment has raised a red flag to incoming residents. Only a handful of off campus student apartments, including The Orchard at West Georgia, The Brumbelow at West Georgia and Haven West have had only minor incidents, or no incidents at all. When deciding which apartment complex is safest, the facts are what come first. According to Carrollton crime log, there have been 63 crimes at off campus apartments reported to the UWG police this past year.

            The Brumbelow is a newly renovated complex that was recently taken under new management. Before, when this complex was called Rivers Edge, there were many reports to the UWG police including robbery, theft, assault and even shootings.

The new manager of The Brumbelow, Britt James states, “We strive to make this complex safe and ensure that only students are living at the complex. We hope with our security cameras and a police presence on-site that it will deter people from coming into our apartment complex to start trouble.”

Within the last year, Haven West has become a much safer environment for students. The crime reports to UWG police have dropped to only one since last October.

“Before this past year it was almost like the police were always being called for either robbery, gun fire or simple assault all the time,” said Haven West resident, John Love. “Now I never hear or see of anything bad happening in Haven.”

Haven West is known to have police stationed by the front gate or next to the guest call box more often than not. This could be the cause of the low crime rate within this past year. Both Haven West and The Brumbelow have a courtesy officer that lives on site who at night walks around and checks the complex for anything suspicious before calling it a night.

Justin Croft, manager of Haven West said, “To manage the safety of each new resident, our locks are electronic and after each lease ends the keys are reprogrammed or disabled.”

The Orchard at West Georgia is a town home neighborhood for students only. There have never been any reports from the Orchard to UWG police. There have been three reports for small incidents occurring within The Orchard since the opening.

The Orchard manager, Hali Young states, “We have had a small domestic dispute, one roommate dispute, and one record of property being stolen. We have an officer that rides through to patrol every week.”

The Orchard does not have a courtesy officer living within the neighborhood. There is a patrol cop that most residents are familiar with. If there are ever any problems, residents know to call him for any assistance needed within the neighborhood.

For incoming students looking for off campus living, knowing the crime rate and courtesy officer if any can become crucial when choosing a complex to live in for a year or more. Feeling safe and also knowing you are safe is the number one priority for all student residents.