Brandon L. Red
Word Count: 835
Often, people walk at night around the small town of Oxford. With the increase in DUI’s, men and women have started walking home to avoid drinking and driving. Others just like to get out enjoying the night air. Though these might seem like normal occurrences, walking at night has found men and especially women in dangerous situations.
According to David Campanella, a member of the Lafayette County Sheriffs Department, Oxford is an ideal place to raise a family or for a student to attend college. He explains that for the majority, criminal activity is rather low.
“I think the majority of Oxford is safe as long as you stay in town,” Campanella said. “There will always be areas that might seem a little worse than others, but overall, I think it’s safe here.”
Taking an in-depth look at Oxford’s criminal records, there are only a few glaring statistics that might worry the residents of the small town. But if you take a closer look you might agree that walking at night might not be the best option.
The Mississippi SOR (Sex Offender Registry) records’ show that at least 67 sex offenders either live in or near Oxford. Granted, seven of those sex offenders are in the county jail in Oxford. Though it might not seem too alarming, according to the 2010 census, Oxford’s population is 18,916. Estimating that around 1 out of 283 people in Oxford have some sort of sexual offense record.
Campanella believes that the increase in DUI’s in Oxford shouldn’t increase walking around the town at night. He believes cab availability should be used more, and is discouraged that more students and residents don’t rely on friends for rides.
“I always recommend getting a cab. If a cab isn’t for you, call a friend. If you’ve been drinking at the bar, you shouldn’t ever drive,” Campanella said. “But also, you have to be very carefully about walking. There‘s a lot of risks involved.”
A big concern for many authority officials, according to Campanella are females walking at night. He said there are people everywhere, including Oxford, that are on the lookout for any women that might be vulnerable for an late night attack.
“Women should never walk alone at night,” Campanella said. “Males, even college students might have targeted them. You never know whose been watching you. It’s very dangerous.”
With the increased awareness of late night safety in Oxford, the website city-data.com informs its viewers to study maps of where sex offenders live.
According to the map, there are certain areas around Oxford that residents should be weary of if they decide to walk at night. While the map doesn’t show many sex offenders in the town, there are plenty on the outskirts. The Northwest corner of Oxford has the majority of its sex offenders living there. It might be recommended to completely stay away from walking around the west portions of Oxford.
Also, there are a couple sex offenders in the heart of Oxford, surround the University of Mississippi. It can be difficult finding patterns when it comes to where an attack might occur. In fact, even the map showing where sex offenders live can seem sporadic at times.
Isaac Moore, resident of Oxford, was surprised to hear about the number of sex offenders in such a small town.
“I didn’t have any idea that there were that many,” Moore said. “After you told me those numbers, I see why walking at night could be considered a bad idea. I’m almost shocked to hear those numbers.”
Moore is now reconsidered walking back from the bars at night.
“The only time I walk around here at night is when I’ve been at the bars,” Moore said. “I usually go have a few drinks and I only live about four blocks from the Square. I wouldn’t dare drive after drinking, but maybe I should consider calling friends more often. More so, those numbers concern me because of all the women I see walking around here at night.”
Ultimately, it’s the persons’ decision if they’ll open themselves up to the “dangers” of walking around at night. If you do decide to walk home after a late night of drinking or a simple social gathering, there are plenty of tips to help keep you safe.
“Don’t walk at night. It’s dangerous. But if you do, maybe these steps can help,” Campanella said. “Try to stay on main streets. Streets that have plenty of lighting. Walk in groups, don’t walk by yourself. Always have your phone handy just in case you need to make an emergency call. And someone in the group needs to be sober at all times.”
Like most towns and cities, it’s easy to be naïve about who might be lurking around the corner or down an alley street. Oxford is no different. Bad things happen there like everywhere else. And like Campanella said “always think twice. We can only hope to make people aware of the dangers every small town has.”
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