We're taking bets that we take our safety for granted...

We all take our safety for granted. It is sad to say that bad stuff happens everywhere. At the college where I work at the campus community woke up to the e-mail below. Sadly things like this are happening more and more on college campuses and in places that were considered safe before. I included the e-mail because I want people to read the safety tips because they are very important. Males should follow these rules as well although we usually think we are tough enough to handle these types of situations we are not. Please don't take your safety for granted. Bad things have happened for centuries upon centuries, but we should educate ourselves and our children so that we can lessen the potential bad things. I hope this is helpful for people or at the very least scares you into being safer.


To: All Members of the College Community
From: Chief of Campus Police
Date: April 18, 2006

All members of the College Community are alerted of the following incidents that occurred on campus between late last night and early this morning:

A female student was abducted at knife point from the Evergreen Village parking lot at approximately 11:00 p.m. last evening. The student was forced to make an ATM withdrawal and the perpetrator stole her money.The student was sexually assaulted before being returned to campus approximately two hours later. She was treated for injuries sustained during the incident. Later, a Gateway Village apartment was entered through an unlocked door. A female student wakened to find the intruder holding her at knife point and demanding money. She struggled with the offender and called out to her roommate causing the intruder to flee the area. The student sustained a minor cut to her neck during the incident. Also, an incident of breaking and entering through an unlocked door was reported in Gateway Village in which two laptop computers were stolen. No one was injured in this incident. The College’s Police Department and the Springfield Police Department are conducting a joint investigation. These incidents are believed to have been committed by the sameindividual. He is described as a white male between 20 and 30 yearsold, wearing dark pants, gray shirt, and an olive (green) cap.

IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDERS
1.) Be sure to keep your doors locked.
2.) Do not travel alone at night. We encourage you to use the “BuddySystem.” Please remember the Campus Police Department also offers a24-hour escort service
3.) Blue Light Emergency Call Boxes are located throughout the campus toreport suspicious activity.
4.) Be alert to your surroundings. If you notice any suspiciousactivity, please report it to the Campus Police Department immediately.
5.) Remember that the College offers personal safety programs for all members of the College community through the Office of Residence Lifeand Campus Police.
6.) Accurate, firsthand information reported to Campus Police is encouraged and will assist in the investigation.
ADDITIONAL COLLEGE INITIATIVES
1.) The College’s Campus Police Department has increased foot, bike, and cruiser patrols throughout the campus.
2.) Additional Residence Life Staff will be on duty.
3.) The security cameras throughout campus have been useful in providing details for the joint investigation and will continue to be used by the police departments. Anyone having any accurate, firsthand information regarding these incidents should contact Campus Police immediately.