Crime may be on the mind of Washington University students, but it’s not stopping them from living around the Delmar Loop.

Still, the rise in crime on and around the Delmar Loop during the current academic year is making some residents of the Loop area uneasy and more cautious.

In November 2008, University City Police Sergeant Mike King was murdered on the Loop at the intersection of Delmar Boulevard and Leland Avenue.

Four men mugged a student during the daytime on Melville Avenue two weeks ago just south of Delmar Boulevard. Rashes of car break-ins and other muggings have plagued the area, as well as the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood, where many University students live.

Students who live near the Loop say they feel more mindful of their safety in light of the recent crime occurrences.

“I’m more hesitant to walk home from campus on Melville, just considering that the person most recently I think got robbed during the day in the afternoon,” said senior Jamie Silverman, who lives on Kingsbury Boulevard south of the Loop.

Students say that the risk of crime means that area residents should be more cautious with their belongings.

“You leave a laptop lying in your car open for anyone to see, you’re kind of asking for something like that to happen,” first-year graduate student Jesse Hausler said.

Senior Matthew Watkins, who lives on Pershing south of the Loop and will live there again next year, said, “I make sure to lock the door every night but I’m not all the time worried about people breaking in.”

Senior Lee Cordova lives in the same building as Watkins. He agreed that many break-ins are crimes of opportunity.

“My bike was stolen, and my roommate accidentally left the car unlocked and his stereo was stolen,” Cordova said. “So it’s not an area without crime. If you’re careful and diligent and you really take responsibility, it’ll be okay.”

These students still enjoy living near the Loop, and most students said that the rise in crime has little effect on their decisions about where to live.

“I really still feel pretty safe living there, and I would definitely live there again next year,” Silverman said. “I’ve never had a problem with feeling unsafe in the past. I feel like these incidents are kind of random.”

Hausler, who lives southeast of the Loop along Skinker Boulevard, said the risk of crime results from living in any urban area.

“You kind of run that kind of risk wherever you go to a certain extent,” Hausler said. “You just kind of be safe. Don’t run around in the dark by yourself or anything, and you should be okay.”

The positives appear to outweigh the negatives in students’ opinions. In particular, students who live south of the Loop like the short walk to campus and the sense of independence that comes with living away from the school.

“I like living there because you’re more independent off campus, and it’s a very convenient walk,” Silverman said.

Watkins said the proximity of his apartment to campus is one reason he will be staying in his apartment next year.

“It’s so close to campus. It’s a five or seven-minute walk to the engineering school, which is where I go every day,” he said.

But the most important factor for living off campus and near the Loop may be the money it saves students.

“Size of the apartment, our utilities are included, things like that all play a part, but probably rent [is why I live here],” Hausler said.

Apartments near the Delmar Loop may cost less than $700 in rent per month.

On-campus housing for upperclassmen, by contrast, can range from $8,312 a year for a double bedroom in Millbrook Apartments to $10,900 for a single room in the new Village East Apartments.