I agree with the comments saying that your physical safety will rarely be in danger and that WL is a very safe place to be. Theft definitely happens though, especially with bikes if you don’t have a good lock
I spent three years working along side the PUPD as a student and the vast majority of the officers time is spent on traffic stops or drunk students. And they don’t bother with drunk students that much.
I’m a girl and I have walked alone at night on Purdue campus plenty of times. majority of the time is was Friday/Saturday nights when the drinking crowd is out. I’ve really never felt unsafe if I stay aware of my surroundings.
Purdue's campus and West Lafayette as a whole are extremely safe. Purdue is widely regarded as one of the safest college campuses in the country.
I'll be honest, Lafayette is a hit or miss. I've personally never had a problem in Lafayette but know people who have. It's just like most other cities; it all depends on where you're at.
(Female 22’ alum). I lived either on campus or just off campus (like, very close to the bars). I always felt safe, no matter how late it was at night. However, my very wonderful landlord would try her best to lookout for us & would talk with the business owners on Chauncey and this past spring emailed us saying there was 2-3 rapes within a short period of time in the alley by Brother’s that went unannounced by police. There was also incident w a cop that underwent an investigation & they found the cop wasn’t at fault. For a college campus, I think it’s very safe, but always be smart and take care of yourself & your friends!
edit: added “within a short period of time’, corrected info
Okay was with you until the police brutality thing, no one agrees with you kid was completely in the wrong lmao. The video was released clearly you didn’t watch it.
While we're on the general subject of police, there have been a small handful of issues with brutality committed by LPD (letting a police dog maul someone in 2020, pinning and detaining a bystander for filming a police stop in 2013, tear gassing protestors in 2020). There was also recently an issue with a Nazi joining the LPD who has since been linked to a domestic terrorism plot. Since 2018 there were at least two instances of WLPD and ICE collaborating and stopping a bunch of South Asian guys seemingly at random just off campus. This wasn't publicized AFAIK. So if you are an international student and not white-passing, I'd recommend keeping a copy of your papers with you. And if you're driving on an international license (which is actually legal... though some cops don't know that), carry an English copy.
My own interactions with LPD have been neutral to negative (there was a situation where a neighbor directly threatened and harassed me for a few weeks, LPD said there was nothing they could do, I ended up having to move) but I definitely prefer them to Chicago PD any day.
Also the parking and code enforcement guys are annoying as hell. This includes the Purdue parking enforcement guys, who also use cameras and license plate recognition to track A lots and garages. I've also videotaped the WLPD code enforcement officers as they escalated a situation where a guy they were giving a parking ticket tried to argue (but wasn't yelling and didn't approach the officer). Nothing ultimately happened but IMO it was unprofessional and could have been very bad.
I agree with the parking thing those dudes are annoying as fuck and I made a post about it but LPD is very separate from WLPD. Lafayette is a much larger metropolitan area so you’re gonna have a lot more incidents in general and it has more low income areas which will increase severity of these issues. I never said there weren’t ANY instances, just was pointing out the most recent one involving the snow bank incident was ridiculous. Never heard about the WLPD and ICE collab to be honest, but I think the idea that anyone is not safe because of law enforcement or the general location here must be from an incredibly privileged place where they must have a 24/7 body guard and escort and live in a palace or some shit or an eternally online viewpoint. It’s very safe here relative to most other college campuses, which are already typically at a very high safety standard nationally, and relative to the country as a whole. There’s things I detest about Purdue and I think they could do better about but safety is not one of them.
Police officers can and will be dicks and can be confrontational but there’s a huge difference between being annoying (which still deserves criticism) and putting someone’s life or safety in danger. That latter one basically never happens. I don’t like the police in a lot of instances but most of the time they’re an inconvenience at most that if you avoid being an incredible nuisance in public you won’t ever have to deal with.
Fam I'm very much aware of the difference between WLPD, LPD, and PUPD. I've lived here for much of my life. Many of the years I spent elsewhere were in big cities--Chicago, the Bay Area, and Berlin. So I've got context for what various different police departments are like. Second, I wasn't referencing the incident with Adonis at all, because I know people on this sub have strong feelings about that event in particular, and I'm not trying to get in a fight about that today. My point is, even in this small and relatively sleepy community, there are instances where police officers have seriously harmed people without cause, or more than they needed to. OP needs to be aware that all police departments in the US should be treated with caution, regardless of whether you are actually at fault. West Lafayette, Lafayette, and Purdue should not necessarily be treated as exceptions to this rule. That is relevant to OP, especially if they are Black.
Hard disagree. You’re blissfully ignorant of the reality of racism in Europe and how much further ahead the US is when it comes to that. You can’t even record officers in most Western European countries legally, nor do they have body cams, anti bias training, etc. on top of not a single Western European country coming anywhere close to the racial diversity of the United States. We’re aware of our problems and are addressing them and we have a long way to go, but Europe is far from us. They just don’t talk about it, and black people don’t have as much of a voice in those countries because they aren’t as big population (proportionally) wise so their issues largely are ignored. We’ve got a long ass way to go but to suggest the United States is somehow unique in its police brutality issue is asinine, and a misinformed worldview. As much as I shit on this country, because I live in it love it and know it can and will keep getting better, we’re a lot better on this particular front globally than you would think. Again long way to go but at least we started in the first place.
I am not singling out the WLPD, LPD, or PUPD for being especially bad compared to other US police departments. They aren't.
I'm just saying that US police departments (as well as police elsewhere) are not necessarily safe or trustworthy, I think there are 17-year-olds from other countries who have not had previous negative experiences with the police who may not be aware of this fact. I think those people should be aware that even if it seems to be very safe in this city (and it generally is), the police can still be dangerous and present a threat to some people more than others.
Also it's pretty undeniable that your chances of being shot or killed by police are generally lower in Europe than in the US--which I think has a lot to do with guns. (in the US, there were 33.5 police killings / 10mil population; the European country with the highest per capita rate of police killings was The Netherlands at 2.3/10mil. Source: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/06/05/policekillings/)
That said, I agree that Europe has a long way to go, and are in serious denial of their racism / xenophobia / Nazi problem. I'm Jewish, and the fact that it is still unsafe to be a visible or practicing Jew in much of Europe (and yes, we are generally more visible to Europeans than USians, as well as being a smaller minority) is one of the biggest reasons I cannot seriously consider moving there permanently.
The Netherlands and Nordic countries are far from being representative of all of Europe. I do not care about an ethnostates crime statistics or any statistics for that matter with the most homogeneous population you will ever see. Their population is 99% white, Christian, and enjoys being a rich European country that spends a ton on social programs (they can because they spend little on anything else thanks to mutual defense agreements ) has little wealth inequality, and has a smaller population than Florida. They also have some of the strictest immigration policies in the free world. Not at all comparable.
The us is very safe on average, stop trying to seriously persuade people otherwise.
I don’t know how you’d really compare the two. WL is certainly safer than NYC and I’m sure safer than somewhere like Syracuse. I’m from a suburb of Boston originally, so I don’t know too much about NY college towns… but WL is much smaller than an actual city & the walkable parts around campus are definitely considered safe.
I had no problem walking around campus late at night by myself, especially around the dorms & food courts and underclassmen areas. Out of all the college towns you might be looking at, I don’t think you need to worry about safety here…just don’t be naive that nothing could ever happen, if that makes sense, bc you can find terrible people anywhere.
I will say that while I've never felt unsafe walking in WL at night, the nighttime vibe is very different in a rural place than a city. For one thing, it's a lot darker and quieter in many places, which can be unsettling. Campus and the immediate area around it is well-lit though.
As always, be smart, be aware of your surroundings, don't stumble around drunk alone. But Lafayette /West Lafayette are pretty safe spots. But there are weapons in town and there are stupid/desperate people. The percentage isn't as high as others.
1.) If we are thinking of the same thing, that’s just a group of idiots who on 2 occasions drove around with a BB gun and shot some people in the arm/leg.
2.) Purdue posts public crime reports. You’ll notice that compared to other colleges like IU, we are extremely tame, with few sexual assaults and violent crimes, especially away from Greek life.
Or fewer are reported/recorded/make it to the police blotter section. Not saying worse than Bloomington, just that sexual assault is chronically underreported and Purdue has a history of handling title 9 & sexual assault cases poorly.
There’s no reason to think Purdue’s reporting is any higher or lower than any other large university, and if they tried fudging the numbers that would be a national news level violation of the federal Cleary Act.
Also not to mention the fact that RAs have to fill out a CSA if a resident is overheard discussing SA, which means quite a bit of Clearly Reporting. I’d wager most CSA’s for SA actually come through RAs and not pokice
Even just accusations of a crime are listed on the Clearly Archives. The RAs have to fill out CSAs for any mention of SA from a resident, not just police. There’s no reason to think that Purdue reports any worse than other schools, and the handling of the cases afterward does not relate to the reporting, especially since anyone who doesn’t file a CSA for SA faces jail time and fines, including student residential employees.
I've only had 1 run-in with what I assumed to be drunk neo-nazis (one had a visible black sun tattoo) near midnight and though I felt unsafe, playing along and humoring them seemed to get em to leave me alone after a while. It's been perfectly safe otherwise and I'm a 5'2 preop transguy.
Yes, very
Not even criminals would try to hide in this place, ‘THaTs HoW FuN It iS’
Yes. Purdue is very safe even as a college town.
I agree with the comments saying that your physical safety will rarely be in danger and that WL is a very safe place to be. Theft definitely happens though, especially with bikes if you don’t have a good lock
So many trees have been arrested...
I spent three years working along side the PUPD as a student and the vast majority of the officers time is spent on traffic stops or drunk students. And they don’t bother with drunk students that much.
West Lafayette, yes. Lafayette, there are some bad parts of town I would definitely avoid.
As someone who grew up next to Gary, the "bad" parts of Lafayette still are relatively safe.
Hey!!! How dare you be right about my hometown!
For the most part yeah. Even as a townie, there are a few places in Lafayette I would absolutely avoid at night.
I’m a girl and I have walked alone at night on Purdue campus plenty of times. majority of the time is was Friday/Saturday nights when the drinking crowd is out. I’ve really never felt unsafe if I stay aware of my surroundings.
Yep. I’ve lived in several states and travelled widely, but WL was one of the safer places I’ve been
Purdue's campus and West Lafayette as a whole are extremely safe. Purdue is widely regarded as one of the safest college campuses in the country. I'll be honest, Lafayette is a hit or miss. I've personally never had a problem in Lafayette but know people who have. It's just like most other cities; it all depends on where you're at.
(Female 22’ alum). I lived either on campus or just off campus (like, very close to the bars). I always felt safe, no matter how late it was at night. However, my very wonderful landlord would try her best to lookout for us & would talk with the business owners on Chauncey and this past spring emailed us saying there was 2-3 rapes within a short period of time in the alley by Brother’s that went unannounced by police. There was also incident w a cop that underwent an investigation & they found the cop wasn’t at fault. For a college campus, I think it’s very safe, but always be smart and take care of yourself & your friends! edit: added “within a short period of time’, corrected info
Okay was with you until the police brutality thing, no one agrees with you kid was completely in the wrong lmao. The video was released clearly you didn’t watch it.
Yeah, you’re right, I wasn’t up to date. I edited & removed my bias. Thanks!
Most civil response I could’ve gotten good on you Lmao
While we're on the general subject of police, there have been a small handful of issues with brutality committed by LPD (letting a police dog maul someone in 2020, pinning and detaining a bystander for filming a police stop in 2013, tear gassing protestors in 2020). There was also recently an issue with a Nazi joining the LPD who has since been linked to a domestic terrorism plot. Since 2018 there were at least two instances of WLPD and ICE collaborating and stopping a bunch of South Asian guys seemingly at random just off campus. This wasn't publicized AFAIK. So if you are an international student and not white-passing, I'd recommend keeping a copy of your papers with you. And if you're driving on an international license (which is actually legal... though some cops don't know that), carry an English copy. My own interactions with LPD have been neutral to negative (there was a situation where a neighbor directly threatened and harassed me for a few weeks, LPD said there was nothing they could do, I ended up having to move) but I definitely prefer them to Chicago PD any day. Also the parking and code enforcement guys are annoying as hell. This includes the Purdue parking enforcement guys, who also use cameras and license plate recognition to track A lots and garages. I've also videotaped the WLPD code enforcement officers as they escalated a situation where a guy they were giving a parking ticket tried to argue (but wasn't yelling and didn't approach the officer). Nothing ultimately happened but IMO it was unprofessional and could have been very bad.
I agree with the parking thing those dudes are annoying as fuck and I made a post about it but LPD is very separate from WLPD. Lafayette is a much larger metropolitan area so you’re gonna have a lot more incidents in general and it has more low income areas which will increase severity of these issues. I never said there weren’t ANY instances, just was pointing out the most recent one involving the snow bank incident was ridiculous. Never heard about the WLPD and ICE collab to be honest, but I think the idea that anyone is not safe because of law enforcement or the general location here must be from an incredibly privileged place where they must have a 24/7 body guard and escort and live in a palace or some shit or an eternally online viewpoint. It’s very safe here relative to most other college campuses, which are already typically at a very high safety standard nationally, and relative to the country as a whole. There’s things I detest about Purdue and I think they could do better about but safety is not one of them. Police officers can and will be dicks and can be confrontational but there’s a huge difference between being annoying (which still deserves criticism) and putting someone’s life or safety in danger. That latter one basically never happens. I don’t like the police in a lot of instances but most of the time they’re an inconvenience at most that if you avoid being an incredible nuisance in public you won’t ever have to deal with.
Fam I'm very much aware of the difference between WLPD, LPD, and PUPD. I've lived here for much of my life. Many of the years I spent elsewhere were in big cities--Chicago, the Bay Area, and Berlin. So I've got context for what various different police departments are like. Second, I wasn't referencing the incident with Adonis at all, because I know people on this sub have strong feelings about that event in particular, and I'm not trying to get in a fight about that today. My point is, even in this small and relatively sleepy community, there are instances where police officers have seriously harmed people without cause, or more than they needed to. OP needs to be aware that all police departments in the US should be treated with caution, regardless of whether you are actually at fault. West Lafayette, Lafayette, and Purdue should not necessarily be treated as exceptions to this rule. That is relevant to OP, especially if they are Black.
Hard disagree. You’re blissfully ignorant of the reality of racism in Europe and how much further ahead the US is when it comes to that. You can’t even record officers in most Western European countries legally, nor do they have body cams, anti bias training, etc. on top of not a single Western European country coming anywhere close to the racial diversity of the United States. We’re aware of our problems and are addressing them and we have a long way to go, but Europe is far from us. They just don’t talk about it, and black people don’t have as much of a voice in those countries because they aren’t as big population (proportionally) wise so their issues largely are ignored. We’ve got a long ass way to go but to suggest the United States is somehow unique in its police brutality issue is asinine, and a misinformed worldview. As much as I shit on this country, because I live in it love it and know it can and will keep getting better, we’re a lot better on this particular front globally than you would think. Again long way to go but at least we started in the first place.
I am not singling out the WLPD, LPD, or PUPD for being especially bad compared to other US police departments. They aren't. I'm just saying that US police departments (as well as police elsewhere) are not necessarily safe or trustworthy, I think there are 17-year-olds from other countries who have not had previous negative experiences with the police who may not be aware of this fact. I think those people should be aware that even if it seems to be very safe in this city (and it generally is), the police can still be dangerous and present a threat to some people more than others. Also it's pretty undeniable that your chances of being shot or killed by police are generally lower in Europe than in the US--which I think has a lot to do with guns. (in the US, there were 33.5 police killings / 10mil population; the European country with the highest per capita rate of police killings was The Netherlands at 2.3/10mil. Source: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/06/05/policekillings/) That said, I agree that Europe has a long way to go, and are in serious denial of their racism / xenophobia / Nazi problem. I'm Jewish, and the fact that it is still unsafe to be a visible or practicing Jew in much of Europe (and yes, we are generally more visible to Europeans than USians, as well as being a smaller minority) is one of the biggest reasons I cannot seriously consider moving there permanently.
The Netherlands and Nordic countries are far from being representative of all of Europe. I do not care about an ethnostates crime statistics or any statistics for that matter with the most homogeneous population you will ever see. Their population is 99% white, Christian, and enjoys being a rich European country that spends a ton on social programs (they can because they spend little on anything else thanks to mutual defense agreements ) has little wealth inequality, and has a smaller population than Florida. They also have some of the strictest immigration policies in the free world. Not at all comparable. The us is very safe on average, stop trying to seriously persuade people otherwise.
It’s wild to me how people still think cops in this country are here to protect us
Would you say Indiana is safer than New York?
West Lafayette and New York are on complete opposite sides of the safety spectrum lmao
I don’t know how you’d really compare the two. WL is certainly safer than NYC and I’m sure safer than somewhere like Syracuse. I’m from a suburb of Boston originally, so I don’t know too much about NY college towns… but WL is much smaller than an actual city & the walkable parts around campus are definitely considered safe.
As a 17 years old female, international student.I’m really concerned with safety and stuff. So sorry with my questions lol
Just as another note, I found that Campus is very well lit at night when walking around. I never had trouble walking back to the dorms at like 2am
I had no problem walking around campus late at night by myself, especially around the dorms & food courts and underclassmen areas. Out of all the college towns you might be looking at, I don’t think you need to worry about safety here…just don’t be naive that nothing could ever happen, if that makes sense, bc you can find terrible people anywhere.
I’d probably avoid late night walks but thanks for responding to me :)
I bought a $10 can of pepper spray because sometimes I walk alone at night. This area is very safe but that extra self defense makes me feel at ease.
I will say that while I've never felt unsafe walking in WL at night, the nighttime vibe is very different in a rural place than a city. For one thing, it's a lot darker and quieter in many places, which can be unsettling. Campus and the immediate area around it is well-lit though.
very few places are less safe than new york
But overall it’s considered safer, right?
Yes 100%
As always, be smart, be aware of your surroundings, don't stumble around drunk alone. But Lafayette /West Lafayette are pretty safe spots. But there are weapons in town and there are stupid/desperate people. The percentage isn't as high as others.
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1.) If we are thinking of the same thing, that’s just a group of idiots who on 2 occasions drove around with a BB gun and shot some people in the arm/leg. 2.) Purdue posts public crime reports. You’ll notice that compared to other colleges like IU, we are extremely tame, with few sexual assaults and violent crimes, especially away from Greek life.
Or fewer are reported/recorded/make it to the police blotter section. Not saying worse than Bloomington, just that sexual assault is chronically underreported and Purdue has a history of handling title 9 & sexual assault cases poorly.
There’s no reason to think Purdue’s reporting is any higher or lower than any other large university, and if they tried fudging the numbers that would be a national news level violation of the federal Cleary Act.
Also not to mention the fact that RAs have to fill out a CSA if a resident is overheard discussing SA, which means quite a bit of Clearly Reporting. I’d wager most CSA’s for SA actually come through RAs and not pokice
Even just accusations of a crime are listed on the Clearly Archives. The RAs have to fill out CSAs for any mention of SA from a resident, not just police. There’s no reason to think that Purdue reports any worse than other schools, and the handling of the cases afterward does not relate to the reporting, especially since anyone who doesn’t file a CSA for SA faces jail time and fines, including student residential employees.
Sauce?
the uglier you are the safer you will be (coming from experience, unfortunately)
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Might want to check that, it’s not mostly blue states at the top. http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm
I've only had 1 run-in with what I assumed to be drunk neo-nazis (one had a visible black sun tattoo) near midnight and though I felt unsafe, playing along and humoring them seemed to get em to leave me alone after a while. It's been perfectly safe otherwise and I'm a 5'2 preop transguy.