Girls Staying Safe,..Walking home late at night..etc

[jacy85]

Thinking of keys, always have them out before you get to your apartment.  Standing in a vestibule or outside your building rooting in your bag for them screams "I'm not paying attention to what's going on!"  If you drive, find your house key before you get out of your car.  If you take public transportation, get them out before you get off at your stop, even if you have to walk a ways holding them.

Always deadbolt your door behind you.  If your apartment doesn't have one, insist one be installed or you install one yourself.  Keep your windows locked.  If you live on a floor with a fire escape right outside your window, NEVER sleep with that window open.

Also, never rent an apartment on the ground floor.  It's the easiest access for theives and rapists.

[zakrob]

I was a little concerned about this because Hastings is in a dodgy part of SF, but I found out that they offer a shuttle service from 6:00 - 11:30 pm that will take you anywhere within a mile of campus, including student housing, parking garages, the BART station or MUNI stop, or your apartment if you live that close. Since I plan to live in student housing, this made me feel much better. I imagine many urban schools might offer something similar. They have also recently started offering free self defense classes.

[BAFF213]

F this - I'm staying in the country land out here.

Thinking of keys, always have them out before you get to your apartment.  Standing in a vestibule or outside your building rooting in your bag for them screams "I'm not paying attention to what's going on!"  If you drive, find your house key before you get out of your car.  If you take public transportation, get them out before you get off at your stop, even if you have to walk a ways holding them.

Always deadbolt your door behind you.  If your apartment doesn't have one, insist one be installed or you install one yourself.  Keep your windows locked.  If you live on a floor with a fire escape right outside your window, NEVER sleep with that window open.

Also, never rent an apartment on the ground floor.  It's the easiest access for theives and rapists.

[missvelociraptor]

oh for chrissakes, you all are making cities out to be gang infested hellholes. I lived in DC for most of my life, and I've been fine.  Only one of my friends has been mugged, and that happened when a group of homeless guys approached and they got scared and her boyfriend ran off.  If they had kept their cool it wouldn't had happened In short, you're most probably not going to get  mugged if you're assertive looking and not looking scared.  I've walked across DC and Manhattan in the middle of the night coming home from shows and I haven't gotten killed, there is a danger of course but it's not as high as people seem to make it out to be. Quit watching so many cop shows. 

BUT if you want to stay safe staying on main streets is a good idea when walking home. Wherever there are large streets with cars and people, you are most probably not going to get mugged.  Muggings happen when you are lazy and take shortcuts through backalleys and side streets. As for the advice of getting a gun, well, carrying a gun is NOT a good idea in many major cities because they tend to be banned there ( DC for example). you damn better check your gun laws before you move to a city, or you'll be in for a surprise.  Plus you need a concealed weapons permit as well.  In addition, when you're lugging home a backpack in the middle of the night, where are you going to keep your gun?  in a holster? chances are the gun is going to be sitting in a backpack or handbag and will not be conducive to you getting it out. In addition, many muggers act in pairs, and most are armed.  So what if you have a gun, 2 guys with a gun will still beat you, especially if you are taken by surprise and get jumped. Also, lots of schools have metal detectors in the libraries, so you bringing your gun to the library and then going home probably isn't going to sit too well with people.   

In addition, most crime happens between the hours of 1 to 4 am.  Subways (with chicago L and NYC subways being the exceptions in the US from what I remember) generally close around 1 or midnight and reopen at 5 or 6. You're not going to get mugged on the T, esp. if you're living on the red line, which is always packed. especially the Harvard Square one.  you usually dont get mugged on subways anyways, the muggings generally happen when you're walking from the subway back to your house, although yes, attacks do occur on the subway, but it's a LOT rarer than you think.  Probably as statistically high as getting hit by a car on the interstate,

Walking with the keys in my knuckles is something I also do, and thankfully i've never had to use them as weapons.  And also good for not fumbling around.  From anecdotal experience, most of the people whom I have heard get mugged (at my school and others) at their front doorstep or in front of their house while they were fumbling around for their keys.  so having your keys on hand is a really good idea.  And if you live in a house, make sure your porch light is functioning.

self defence courses are also a good idea, but use common sense, go for the nuts.

you'll be fine, cities aren't scary like everyone makes them out to be. 

[SLSdodgeball]

I agree - if you're taking the time to think about this ahead of time, you'll be aware of your surroundings and you shouldn't have a problem.

Unless, of course, you are considering moving to Baltimore.  Baltimore really IS as scary as everyone makes it out to be, in that muggings often occur in relatively good neighborhoods and not just super late at night.  (I keep hearing that I haven't had the full Hopkins UG experience because I haven't personally been mugged, although six of my friends have been.)

[CheezWiz]

Yeah, Provo Utah can be a bltch too!

[Gilraen]

This should be obvious, but I had a friend get mugged a couple of weeks ago becaue he was walking home along (in Berkeley) at 2AM half drunk and carrying his nice digital camera in his hand.  I suppose it's possible he would have been mugged anyway, but they didn't even bother to get his wallet.  For God's sake, don't visibly carry expensive electronics around at night, especially when you're by yourself.  I'd include iPods in this category.  And if you're planning on having your laptop with you late at night you might want to carry it in a backpack or a bag that doesn't scream "laptop."

[ormachea]

Buddy system!

[AubZamZam]

This should be obvious, but I had a friend get mugged a couple of weeks ago becaue he was walking home along (in Berkeley) at 2AM half drunk and carrying his nice digital camera in his hand. I suppose it's possible he would have been mugged anyway, but they didn't even bother to get his wallet. For God's sake, don't visibly carry expensive electronics around at night, especially when you're by yourself. I'd include iPods in this category. And if you're planning on having your laptop with you late at night you might want to carry it in a backpack or a bag that doesn't scream "laptop."

More like don't carry visible electronics around, ever.  I got mugged for my iPod on the NYC subway at 8:45 in the morning!

[jacy85]

Ice scraper sounds good.  A little much, for most areas, but your prof. sounds like a cool lady, and knows how to take care of herself.  If I ever find myself lost in a bad neighorhood while driving around, I'll remember to take my ice scraper with me!