Taking Control of Your Safety

Minmin Chen, whose husband is a Duke graduate student, honed her crime prevention skills during a recent Duke University Police Department workshop.

"As an international spouse, I want to know everything possible about remaining safe," said Chen, a Beijing native whose husband, Dan Fu, is a graduate student in Duke's chemistry department.

Chen was among about two dozen Duke community members who skipped an afternoon of sunshine March 14 to attend the "Personal Safety and Security in Transit" workshop. Topics included personal safety tips such as not walking alone to procedures for reporting a crime in progress and offering a suspect description.

The SafeRides program, which provides transportation to off-campus locations within designated boundaries, also was discussed. SafeRides expanded this week from four to six vans, and a review of the service is underway.

"The key to preventing crime is being alert and aware," David Williams, crime prevention manager for Duke Police, told the audience in the Fitzpatrick Center's Schiciano Auditorium. "The farther you get from campus, the closer attention you need to pay to where you're at, who's around and what are their intentions."

The workshop is the first in a series of forums for graduate students being organized by Duke Police, Graduate Student Affairs and the Pratt School of Engineering. The meetings are open to the Duke community and upcoming topics will address home safety, crime prevention resources, reporting and responding to crime, crime-related communication, advanced safety training and Duke and Durham crime statistics. Dates and locations for the upcoming safety workshops are being set.

One safety tip from police: Use the buddy system when traveling at night around campus. Photo: Duke University Photography

"We want to help spread the word about safety to as many people as possible, and we can tell from the feedback we received after the first workshop that people think this is important information," said Tomalei Vess, assistant dean for graduate student development.

During the March 14 workshop, Williams offered advice on dealing with issues from panhandlers to people attempting to enter a building without a DukeCard. His message: "When it comes to personal safety, don't be afraid to be rude."

"If someone approaches you for money, the best tip is to say, ‘I'm sorry; I don't have any money,' " Williams said. "Don't be afraid to tell people to get away or to blow your horn, make a spectacle out of yourself or close a door in front of a person who's trying to walk through the card reader behind you. If you let someone into your building without a DukeCard, you've just made your building unsafe."

Another tip: Remain alert, even when traveling in a group. "It's definitely a good idea to use the buddy system, but don't think if there are three or four of you, that you're still not vulnerable," Williams said.

"At Duke, the biggest threat is theft and crimes of opportunity, such as someone leaving a laptop unattended in the library," Williams said. "People will put convenience ahead of security, and that's a bad combination."

Williams answered about a dozen questions from the predominantly graduate student audience.

In response to a query about carrying mace, Williams said North Carolina law allows people to carry pepper spray containers that are a maximum of 150cc. Although mace can be an effective deterrent in many cases, Williams offered caution: "If you carry mace, you must be willing to use it. If not, someone's going to take it from you and use it on you."

Duke Police in recent months has enhanced patrols in areas near campus, including LaSalle and Anderson streets. University officials have also met with local landlords to discuss ways of enhancing tenants' security.

Williams and other Duke police officers are available to lead crime prevention workshops for any faculty and staff departments and student organizations. Along with workshops tailored to specific audiences, Duke Police can perform security surveys, engrave property such as iPods and laptops and analyze and track crime reports to determine specific crime prevention initiatives. For information, contact Williams at 681-4370.