LOCK UP!
Lock your residence hall or apartment door, even when you're home. Lock your car. Lock your bike. Lock your purse in a drawer in your office. Use the lockers at the bookstore.
Lock your door when you leave, even if you're only leaving "just for a minute." It only takes a thief 10 seconds to take something from your room or office.
Lock your door when you sleep, even in a residence hall.
Don't hide the key to your room or apartment outside. Thieves are more experienced than you at inventing—and discovering—such hiding places.
Lock your bike to an immovable object with a maximum security bike lock.
DON'T LEAVE YOUR PROPERTY UNATTENDED . . .
in the library, dining hall, classroom, restroom, or any campus facility. Theft of backpacks and textbooks is common—the resale value of books makes them attractive targets for petty thieves. If you're leaving for a minute, take your things with you.
Don't leave notes on your door announcing that you aren't home.
Don't leave things in the laundry room.
IDENTIFY YOUR BELONGINGS.
Put your name and address on textbooks—inside the cover and on an inside page or two. Engrave your Social Security number on items that might interest a thief—television sets, stereo equipment, radios, cameras, computers, appliances, sports equipment, bicycles, auto tape decks, CD players and anything else that's portable and valuable.
The police department will also provide a property registration sheet to record your valuables. Keep it in a safe place, away from the valuables themselves. If your property is stolen, your written inventory helps you provide a detailed description of what's missing, and if the property is recovered the police can easily identify the owner by the engraved Social Security number. Furthermore, marking valuables is a proven way to discourage theft in the first place.
BE A LITTLE SUSPICIOUS.
You may know your neighbors in your residence hall or apartment building are fellow students—but what else do you know about them? At best, most of the people in your building will be acquaintances. Until you know them well enough to be friends, don't take chances.
Don't lend your keys, student ID, driver's license, or meal ticket to anyone.
Don't open a building door for a stranger who doesn't have a key. Don't prop open a door either—and if you see one that is propped open, close it.
Report suspicious behavior immediately to the campus police.
If you are sexually assaulted on campus, report it to the University police. An off-campus assault should be reported to local police at 911; if you wish, campus police will assist you in notifying the local police department.
Calling the police does not commit you to pressing charges against the assaulter. That choice can be made later. However, reporting the crime may help prevent the attack from being repeated: it may help to prevent a rape, it may save a life, it may save someone else pain and anguish.
Try to remember the physical attributes of the attacker and the details of the attack. If the attack occurred somewhere other than your residence, try to leave a personal item that can be traced back to you.
Because it is important to preserve as much physical evidence as possible, do not bathe, douche, or change clothes. Call 911 immediately for further instructions. The 911 operator will ask you questions to help determine if you need emergency medical care for physical injuries and will arrange transportation to either a local hospital emergency center or a Sexual Assault Center. If physical injuries are not involved, the 911 operator will arrange for you to receive care at a Sexual Assault Center. where a "rape examination" will be performed by a registered nurse with special training in working with sexual assault victims. The nurse will be contacted in advance and will be expecting your arrival. Evidence concerning the assault will be obtained and preserved for court purposes.
It is important to have the rape examination immediately following the assault in order to obtain useful physical evidence. Although some evidence can sometimes be obtained for as long as 72 hours following an assault, the likelihood of obtaining helpful evidence decreases with each hour of delay.
A registered nurse at the Sexual Assault Center will talk with you about follow-up medical precautions you need to take, especially in regard to testing for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. You may be able to obtain these medical services on campus.
There is no charge for the sexual assault services provided by a Sexual Assault Center. Medical and counseling services provided by your University Health Center are made available to students at reduced charges.
A Sexual Assault Center may provide trained volunteers to accompany a victim through the medical and legal procedures.
|
|
