UNM, NMSU dispute Top 10 crime rankings

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - When it comes to Top 10 lists colleges usually clamber to be on them.  But not this one that includes New Mexico's two biggest universities.

Business Insider , an online news aggregator, recently ranked the 25 most dangerous colleges in America.  New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico both landed in the top 10.

"It is kind of shocking," UNM freshman Jazmin Rojo said of the rankings.

NMSU came in at No. 2 with an average of 22 violent crimes and 392 property crimes per year. 

According to the site, the list was compiled by using an average of FBI crime data from 2008 to 2011 for colleges with more than 10,000 students.  The rankings are per capita based on the student population.

The Lobos campus came in at No. 8, but staff and students KRQE News 13 spoke with say that ranking seems way too high.

"I think that's surprising just because there's nothing evident of anything harmful on campus," said UNM freshman Mariah Chee.

According to the site, UNM averages 24 violent crimes and 659 property crimes per year.
Those averages, though, just like NMSU's, include areas surrounding campus, something the Business Insider authors conceded can skew the statistical rankings.

"Since we're near Central (Avenue) where there's a lot of activity, you could cross something that's suspicious or dangerous, but on campus I think its pretty safe," Rojo said.

According to the UNM Police Department's crime statistics there were 16 violent crimes on campus in 2011, 10 of them aggravated assaults.

UNM police said that is not enough crime to warrant a Top 10 ranking for the university, and students agree.

"It's just shocking; it is really not that violent out here," student Marcos Cordova said.

NMSU's communications director said in an e-mail to News 13 that campus safety is a top priority and that the authors of the Business Insider article misused the FBI data.

In fact UNM's communications director said the FBI actually cautions against using the crime stats to put together rankings because there are just too many variables.

Last year neither school was the scene of a murder. There were two sexual assaults reported at UNM but none reported at NMSU.