As dangerous as on campus living can be off-campus is much worse I’m sad to write. Your daughter must be aware and ready to defend herself against crimes such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and mugging. Too many parents think that when they send their daughter off to college, the campus and surrounding neighborhoods are safe and free of crime. This naive assumption is also shared by many students so their guard is always down making them a perfect target to be victimized. Remember, every type of crime is possible on campus but especially off-campus where campus police can’t protect you and the surrounding neighborhoods may be the responsibility of multiple police departments. For example, Washington University St Louis, MO is part of an urban community that include WUPD, Clayton Police, University City Police, St Louis County and St Louis Metropolitan Police depending on what part of the surrounding campus community your traveling at the time. So, in the event of crime. There is often confusion which municipality has responsibility for patrolling a specific part of town. Since many college students living off-campus are transient, they may not be aware of these facts. University students that commute via walking, bicycling or use public transportation need to be vigilant when it comes to safeguarding their personal safety. Parents can’t always expect university authorities or local law enforcement to be candid about the real dangers of thugs and sexual predators stalking new freshman class of women. Parents please do what you can to inform your child of the realities of living away from home and purchasing non-lethal self defense items such as MACE pepper gel or Stun Master Pen 1.2 Million Volt Rechargeable Stun Gun as a close encounter self defense weapon. These are just a couple of many non-lethal personal protection products that have proven effective in stopping an attacker in his tracks.
Crime Is Real, Don’t Be a Victim!
Gerald Urban