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USF ranked as most unsafe college campus in Florida, study finds

The study factored several criteria when trying to rank the safest schools in America, including data from law enforcement, FBI reports, crime rate and police adequacy.

TAMPA, Fla. — The University of South Florida in Tampa ranked last in safety among Florida college campuses at 382nd among 490 schools nationwide, according to a new study.

Alarms.org factored several criteria when trying to rank the safest schools in America, including data from law enforcement, FBI reports, crime rate and police adequacy.

Florida SouthWestern State College ranked No. 20 in the nation and ranked as the safest college in Florida. The security system website listed Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee as the safest college in America.

The USF Police Department issued a response to the report, saying the website didn't offer a detailed definition of its criteria. It also pointed out the authors of the report conceded that “due to the many different variables in play such as campus size, location, and culture, coming up with an accurate and fair ranking is a challenge.” 

Read the full USF response below.

USF Police annually publishes an Annual Safety Report, and submits a Uniform Crime Report (UCR) to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) semi-annually and annually. Our crime statistics reported to FDLE show a significant decrease in crime from 2017 to 2018.

How Florida colleges ranked in Alarms.org’s study:

No. 20: Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Florida

No. 50: Sante Fe College in Gainesville, Florida

No. 118: University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Florida

No. 130: University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida

No. 201: Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida

No. 207: University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida

No. 258: University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida

No. 265: Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida

No. 271: University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

No. 313: Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida

No. 316: Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida

No. 338: Pensacola State College in Pensacola, Florida.

No. 342: Florida International University in Miami, Florida

No. 382: University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida

The University of Miami and Florida State University were not ranked in Alarms.org’s list.

Go to the security system’s website for the full rankings.

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