The majority of Auburn students enjoy the perks of living in local off-campus housing.
Several factors go into choosing where to live off-campus -- safety among them.
However, shootings at Tiger Lodge over the past two years have some students questioning the safety of their surrounding area.
Despite these events, the city of Auburn has had decreases in many crime rate categories, according to Auburn Police Chief Paul Register.
"From an overall standpoint, our crime rates are down of the last several years, including 2014," Register said. "We were down in the number of burglaries we had and down in thefts and down in several of our categories that we are concerned about."
Many off-campus locations, such as Creekside, take measures to ensure a safe and secure environment for residents.
Gates with clickers or coded entry, a front desk monitor, in-home security systems and security cameras are some safety precautions local housing options provide.
"Each unit has its own security system with different pin numbers for each resident," said Jessica Lucio, leasing manager at Creekside. "We also have an on-site security guard that sits up at the gate and monitors those driving through throughout the night, and we are also a gated community."
One college-rating service, Niche.com, uses student opinions and reviews of the area by site users to rate the many categories on the webpage.
Auburn received a grade of "A" by the users in the website's health and safety category.
"The off-campus housing around town is very safe," said Bill James, director of public safety for the city of Auburn. "The stats for thefts and burglaries and those type (of) instances have been going down over the last few years."
Burglaries have decreased by 17 percent from 2013-14, according to Register. However, there are still many security concerns individuals for which must remain accountable.
"To some degree, we are all responsible for our own security," said Tim Andrews, owner and manager of the Auburn-Opelika Apartment Guide. "Lock your doors, walk in groups and just be aware of your surroundings."
According to Register, students should feel comfortable in Auburn.
"I think that if you look at Auburn in comparison to other cities of its size and even other cities in the state, I think we are one of the safest cities anywhere," Register said.
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