“I do not feel safe [living in Downtown San Jose],” said Ashley Guerrero, a San Jose State political science junior. “Back in my hometown Livermore, I can walk out at night without feeling worried that I’m not going to make it back.”
Guerrero and other SJSU students living downtown near the university said they don’t feel safe because of a recent spike in crime, but also said that’s the sacrifice they make to live close to campus.
“I always make sure when I go out to let someone know because I live alone,” she said. “I have roommates, but technically I’m somewhat by myself out here.”
According to San Jose Police Department crime statistics, there were 18,531 crimes reported in 2020 from January to August. Of those, 2,872 were violent crimes, including 21 homicides and 1,672 aggravated assaults. There were also 15,659 property crimes.
Child development junior Edith Urbano said that she chose to live downtown because walking to campus is easier than having to drive. “You really have to pick and choose what’s best for you if that means possibly risking your safety and stuff like that just to be closer to campus.”
The recent homicide in front of the 27 North apartment building and the shooting on South Eight St. that left two dead and four injured are some recent examples that make students feel that downtown is a dangerous place to live.
Urbano said she didn’t know downtown was dangerous before living there, but now all she hears is the constant sound of sirens.
“Especially now [with recent kidnappings and human trafficking reports], everything is super scary,” she said. “I carry a taser at all times just in case anything happens. It’s better to be prepared.”
Guerrero said walking downtown at night is scary even when she’s with a group of girls. According to the SJPD crime statistics report, a total of 390 rapes were reported in San Jose in 2020.
“I guess you can say [I’ve been] verbally assaulted, being catcalled or being offered a ride back home or back to campus, just weird stuff,” Guerrero said. “Since I started here [at SJSU] that’s always been a common trend, especially for girls.”
Guerrero said young women basically can’t go out on their own.
“Going out late at night is not something that I do consistently anymore,” Urbano said. “It’s scary to know that even if I want to buy something at the corner store, something could happen.”
Guerrero said SJSU’s University Police Department needs to respond faster to escort calls from blue light emergency phones located on campus. But more so, she said she wants UPD to extend its escorts further downtown so students can have a safer option to get to their off-campus housing at night.
UPD Capt. Frank Belcastro said an overwhelming majority of the crimes on campus are from outside sources and UPD officers constantly patrol the university and have extra officers at construction sites, which are typically targets of theft, vandalism and trespassing.
"A lot of times we are at the same individual . . . and the criminal justice system is really not prosecuting as much so that does affect crime,” he said. "The main thing that we need is for our community to help us."
He said students and residents need to report if they see something because, “together we can make everything a lot safer.”
