Carson Bonner, Campus Carrier news editor
In a smaller college town like Rome, it can be easy to think that crime may be less active than somewhere like Atlanta. This misconception can be dangerous, as it may lead people to lapse in what they would normally do in terms of personal safety. While certain areas of Rome are advisable for students and tourists, like Broad Street, others are less welcoming.
According to John Walters, assistant commander of the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) of the Rome police department, Rome is divided up into sectors, and each sector has varying degrees of criminal activity.
“Sector five, which is the East Rome area where the Texas Longhorn is, accounts for 25% of our calls,” Walters said. “Sector two, which is from Division Street on Shorter Avenue all the way west to the city limits, accounts for 26% of our calls for service. In sector five, it’s more aggravated assaults and simple assaults or thefts. We had 61 aggravated assaults from that sector last year. Simple assaults, we had 180. Thefts was 140. That particular area of housing had a lot of drug dealing, and we’ve had some drive-by shootings and some fights.”
In 2023, there were a total of 1,519 violent crimes in Rome, including 748 simple assaults, 243 aggravated assaults, 7 murders and 46 kidnappings or abductions. There have also allegedly been cases of people being drugged at several establishments on Broad Street, including the Dark Side of the Moon, Peaches and Mellow Mushroom. While these cases were all investigated, in most instances, drug tests were not done soon enough after the incidents for it to be established if or what drug was in each person’s system.
“Someone seemed so inebriated at the establishment that she passed out at Mellow Mushroom and was taken to the hospital,” Walters said. “She said she only had one drink so there was no way for that to happen to her. By the time that the hospital pumps fluid in them and time passes, if they don’t suspect something like that to begin with, they don’t do the blood test, so we don’t have any way of proving it happened.”
Broad Street has also recently been met with large groups of shoplifting teenagers. Some groups will go into stores and while several of the individuals talk to and distract the employees, other individuals will take things from the store and then leave.
“Those groups get dropped off by their parents and then kind of just wreak havoc on the stores on Broad,” Walters said. “Most of the time they aren’t causing a lot of harm other than just running around, but we do have some shoplifting. Broad Street in general in the evenings on the weekends pick up and get pretty busy with the bars and restaurants that are there and with that comes tension and crime so we’ve added some police presence there. Businesses will hire off-duty officers to patrol as well, just to keep people safe during the day too.”
Walters said that there are indications of active crime in an area. Some areas of Rome have recently experienced gang activity. There can be indicators of this, such as graffiti tags or other markers that would indicate gang affiliation. Other signs of crime would be bullet holes. In a neighborhood in sector two, many houses that are used for drug dealing have bullet markings on exterior walls. He advised that if students see buildings that look like this, they avoid the area.
Freshman Amber Wilkin works at the North Broad Youth Center and according to Wilkin, she feels safe inside the center, but outside playing with the youth who attend the center, she can be uneasy, as there are often people who may live in the area who look at the kids or her.
“It can make me a bit nervous sometimes,” Wilkins said. “If I’m inside the building and know that the doors can be locked or I could yell for help when I need it, I feel fine. It’s when we’re outside and people can come up to us or something that it can be a little nerve wracking. It’s in a more sketchy area so sometimes I’m nervous. I feel like I’ve gotten to know what paths in Rome to go or not to go and if I’m in an unfamiliar place I try to get out of it as much as possible.”
Sophomore Amelia Ousley, much like other Berry students, prefers to visit the Truett’s Chick-fil-a and areas surrounding it, as she feels it is a safer place in Rome for visiting. Even though this area may be known as a safe place for students, there was a murder suicide in the parking lot of the Chick-fil-a last year. Even in safe areas, there can still be crime, so vigilance and awareness is important in all locations.
“I frequent the Chipotle and Barnes and Noble shopping area, Publix, Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-a pretty often,” Ousley said. “I feel fairly safe. Some parts of Rome are more sketchy than others, but I mostly attend places I’m comfortable. I would go out at night if I knew where I was going and had people I trusted with me, but I probably wouldn’t go out by myself.”
One way students can protect themselves is by taking the women’s self defense class offered at Berry. The course curriculum is seven weeks of in-class instruction and seven weeks in a physical course. During the class portion, students learn about scenarios they may have to respond to, such as being grabbed in a parking lot, and how to respond in those situations. They also learn about what to do in the event that they are not able to protect themselves, such as how to report to Rome or Berry police. The course features guest speakers from various community services, such as the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia and the Hospitality House.
One lesson taught in the course is the value of getting help when you are going to be harmed. Many have the misconception that if you are being grabbed, you should yell “fire” rather than “help,” however in the self defense course, students are taught that this will push assistance away, rather than draw it near. Students should instead yell for someone to save them, or that they are being kidnapped or someone is trying to hurt them.
“People always think you should yell fire,” Walters said. “But no one is going to run toward a fire if they think it’s in a particular direction. Yell for what you need, and if you need help, yell for help.”
Walters advised students to take precautions to keep themselves safe, especially in higher risk areas and at night. According to Walters, the best method of safety is self-awareness and being proactive.
“Stay off your phones when you’re walking so you can see around you,” Walters said. “And choose a method of protecting yourself. Some people like to have pepper spray, others carry a knife. You just need to commit to choosing and using whatever method and being prepared to use it in the event that you have to protect yourself. And really just avoid areas that are known for more crime. Be smart and be safe.”