After a string of assaults made local headlines this summer, safety is a top concern for many as students prepare to settle in for another year in Charlottesville. Everyone knows the basic rules of general safety: lock doors, avoid unlit areas and never walk alone at night. From the moment they arrive at the University, students are bombarded with simple tips on how to avoid dangerous situations.
Most of the best advice involves finding ways to present a more difficult target to potential criminals, according to interim Dean of Students Allen Groves. But in an imperfect world, no matter how diligently students plan ahead, dangerous situations inevitably arise.
So what should someone do when circumstances create a situation in which personal safety is compromised? Many tips are common sense, but there are still certain options students should keep in mind.
Walking alone
University administrators and police are quick to denounce walking home alone at night as extremely dangerous. Still, whether it's a fourth-year student diligently researching a thesis late into the night or a first-year student who finds out too late that his friends have left him at a party, just about everyone is bound to be forced into taking such a risk at some point.
In such a situation, there are a few options to minimize risk. One of the most obvious is to call a cab or SafeRide. Students using SafeRide are technically not allowed to be intoxicated; however, while sober passengers are preferred, this rule should not deter students from choosing to use SafeRide, according to Groves.
If a student has to walk across Grounds, Groves suggested staying on heavily trafficked, well-lit paths. Students tend to endanger themselves when they leave well-established routes in order to save time, he said.
"When you see some of these [assaults or robberies] happen, they do tend to be those situations where someone is taking a shortcut," Groves said, particularly noting areas such as the railroad tracks in the Rugby Road area and the parking lots near Scott Stadium.
Groves also pointed out the existence of blue police phones on certain paths around Grounds, which make those routes safer than some others.
If a student walking alone does feel like he or she is being followed, the best action to take is to quickly reach a populated area.
"Get to where there are other people, get to a store or a business and call the police," Charlottesville Police Sgt. M.G. Davis advised.
Walking through Grounds, many areas become deserted at night, but there are places where people congregate that could help deter a potential attacker.
"The libraries are always an area of activity," Groves said. "Certainly if it's late enough at night, there might not be activity on the Lawn, but often times there is."
In the unlikely event that an attacker actually approaches a student, Davis said the best response is to comply with the attacker's commands and get away as quickly as possible. If the attacker demands money, he advised throwing the wallet or purse on the ground and running.
Officer Friendly?
Generally, dealing with law enforcement officers poses no threat to personal safety. A traffic stop or a late-night knock on the door is rarely more than inconvenient, yet there are still some precautions that can prevent these situations from turning into dangerous circumstances.
When those flashing lights appear in the rearview mirror, stopping immediately is not always the best option. While Davis said police officers usually wait to pull a vehicle over until they feel the area is safe to stop in, he added that it is a driver's right to wait to pull over until he or she feels the area is safe.
"If you don't feel safe stopping right when the lights come on, don't speed up," Davis said, "Just drive slowly to wherever you want to go to and then let the officer know that."
That knock on the door could be an even more serious threat. Criminals posing as officers could gain entry to a house simply by demanding it. According to Davis, civilians have a right to request identification from officers before allowing them to enter. They can even call 911 to verify that the person at the door is indeed a police officer.
"Real vulnerabilities"
There are a number of small steps students can take to increase their own security. For example, Groves said students living off Grounds should insist that their landlords quickly repair broken outdoor lights and keep hedges trimmed to make the property a less appealing target. Davis also mentioned that valuables left visible in a car make the car a more likely target than it would be otherwise.
While it may sound cliché, the best step a student can take is exercising good judgment and common sense.
"The things we're talking about seem to be intuitive, but that's the stuff that works," Groves said.
Ultimately, no one can be completely safe all the time and it is important for students to keep this in mind, Groves added.
"One of the greatest things about being the age of a college student is that you feel invincible," Groves said. "But the negative side of that is that you don't always think through the real vulnerabilities of being a person."
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