Yale’s campus is distributed over a few square kilometers of New Haven, and this area is very safe. It is patrolled by Yale’s own police team, and generally well lit. The reality is that Yale has gentrified the area surrounding campus–it’s full of froyo stores, restaurants, and designer shopping. Whether Yale’s gentrification of New Haven is moral is a whole other debate (this is frequently discussed by students). When you look up statistics regarding crime in New Haven be careful to remember that this data is for the entire city, not the area that students reside in. That said, I frequented a supermarket outside the “Yale bubble” and was just fine. A lot of students make a specific effort to engage with greater New Haven, but Yale’s layout certainly doesn’t necessitate it.