By By Lauren Sheffer, News Correspondent

Hollywood films can sometimes portray cities as dark, devious and dangerous ‘- dens of conniving criminals and wicked intentions. Yet those who live in any given city ‘- like Boston ‘- for even months realize cities have more to them than their one-dimensional reputation might suggest.
However, few can refute the statistics that show that cities are more crime-riddled than their rural counterparts. Northeastern University Division of Public Safety (NUPD) Associate Director Jim Ferrier said there have been approximately five to nine muggings annually for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years, citing the annual report of on-campus incidents that the NUPD compiles and disperses every year. Prior to 2006, Northeastern saw two to three muggings a year. Yet when this school year is broken down, roughly six muggings occurred during the past four months, but no muggings happened during the prior four months.
‘Over a semester or a yearlong basis, [the crime rate at Northeastern] has been pretty consistent, yet over the past couple of months, there’s been a little spike, which we hope is temporary,’ Ferrier said.
Beyond numbers, other patterns emerge from police reports. Ferrier said most of the muggings have several factors in common.
‘There’s a person who’s walking while talking on their cell phone, or obviously displaying their I-Pod,’ he said. ‘They’re usually walking alone late at night, and somebody snatches their phone or their iPod.
‘ Ferrier said the best protection against mugging is prevention. He noted that there is an uptick in muggings between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., and that Thursday is usually the least busy night mugging-wise.
‘ Students like Laura McCarthy, a sophomore criminal justice major, have experienced muggings first-hand.
Around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, McCarthy was walking in the North Lot behind her apartment building, she said, when two teenagers confronted her.
‘There were a girl and a boy, about high school age. … The girl was walking toward me and wouldn’t let me pass her, and she took my purse,’ she said.
McCarthy said the boy popped out from a car and came up behind her.
‘I was worried. … I had my iPod, my cell phone and camera in my purse. I had heard about the girl who got punched in the face,’ McCarthy said, referring to another recent mugging in a parking lot on Gainsborough Street. ‘Since the guy was so huge, I was worried that he could hurt me.’
Consequently, McCarthy grabbed her purse back and ran, she said.
Later, McCarthy contacted NUPD. They suggested that McCarthy attempt to identify the culprits in a line-up but she refused, she said, because the male had been wearing a hooded sweatshirt and she was unsure that she could correctly identify him.
Since the mugging, McCarthy said she walks through Stetson East instead of the North Lot and has called the NUPD escort system a couple of times.
For students who feel uncomfortable walking through campus alone, Ferrier offered some advice. He said if any student feels threatened on campus, they should call 617-373-2121, and request a campus personal safety escort.
The Escort System was praised by Mark McLaughlin, a senior journalism major.
‘ ‘Generally, if you stay on campus, NUPD does a really good job of providing security on campus with the Escort System,’ he said.
McLaughlin also shared a story of his own:’ In September 2005, he was mugged one night while he was walking home through the Fens after a late night working at a movie theatre.
‘I had figured I wouldn’t have any trouble because a lot of people walk there to get to clubs,’ he said. ‘[After the mugging], I contacted Boston Police. … I had a miserable experience. [The Boston Police] told me to wait there. Those were really stupid instructions, to tell someone who has just been mugged to stay there.’
McLaughlin said the police took hours to respond and then never got back to him. He said if he is ever mugged again he will probably call NUPD.
Most students, however, said issues about on-campus safety rarely worry them.
‘There’s a really friendly atmosphere here,’ said Jelissa Grant, a freshman undeclared major. ‘I feel really safe walking around. I’m a really small person, and I walk around at 2 in the morning from dorm to dorm.’
Chrissy Bulakites, a sophomore music industry major, expressed similar sentiments.
‘I have work study, and I have to take the T [back home] to Allston at 10:30 at night, and I feel pretty safe on campus,’ she said.
Bulakites said she does take precautions later in the day, however.
‘I’m definitely more alert when I’m coming back at night ‘- I take different routes between day and night, and stick to more main streets,’ she said.