Even with low crime rates, you can never be too safe
- posted: 25 Mar. 2008
- scrollopinion@byui.edu
The state of Idaho ranked forty-first for violent crimes in the 2004 F.B.I. Census Bureau.
That means in forty other states there were more incidences of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault per 100,000 people than in Idaho.
Idaho had “merely” 245 reported cases per 100,000.
Boise, Idaho, has a population of approximately 200,000 people. If we were to lightly toss around statistics, we can conclude that in 2004, there were 490 violent crimes in Boise alone. That’s 1.3 crimes per day.
This rate looks small when compared with the crime rate of the District of Columbia (1,371 violent crimes per 100,000 people), and there is a general tendency to think that within the predominantly Mormon states of Utah and Idaho there exists a protective bubble, sheltering each individual from the devastating choices of others.
Unfortunately, this protective layer isn’t impenetrable and for many it takes a violent crime against a neighbor, family member or friend to burst the bubble illusion.
Making safety a priority is the responsibility of the individual.
According to the BYU-I Safety office, “Safety really starts with each idividual and is not to be left up to the ‘other person.’ We are all held accountable for our actions and for our lack thereof.”
This means that a lack of preparation can be just as dangerous as acting irresponsibly.
Lock your doors. Guys, don’t let a girl walk home to her apartment alone after dark. Girls, don’t let your roommate go jogging alone, even on campus. Take a cell phone with you if you must go out after dark — borrow one if you have to.
The miracle of cell phones is that with them, a person is never alone. This phenomenon has debatably had an impact on crime over the last several years.
But even if you don’t have a cell phone, there are approximately 25 emergency phones intermittently placed on campus. Find out where they are before you need one.
A map of the emergency phone locations can be found at www.byui.edu. This is an extensive Web site focused on the physical safety of students.
One student ward in Provo, Utah, is making physical safety a priority.
The ward’s Elder’s Quorum created a “Safe Walk” list. The girls in the ward sign up on the list when they are going to be alone on campus after 10 p.m., and a designated guy meets up with her to walk her home.
While some people might abuse this privilege (for obvious reasons), this is a compassionate service that makes each ward member’s safety a priority.
However, no one should have to live life looking over his or her shoulder.
In 2 Nephi 2:25, the prophet Lehi counseled, “Men are that they might have joy.” A paranoid people are not a joyful people.
D&C 38:3 reads, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”
We have been warned by modern prophets to prepare for all types of emergencies, not limited to natural disasters.
Any fantasy we may have that we are immune to danger needs to be knocked out once and for all. Prevention is always better than regret.
Maybe it is because of the spirit of community that Idaho has ranked so low on the crime list, but maybe with more precautions we could do better. Let’s strive for last place 
