UCI Police Department
Community Service Officers (CSO)

(949) 824-SAFE

CSO’s Safety Escort Program provides free escort service as a safe alternative to walking alone at night.

                      

General Safety Tips

On Campus

  • Be especially aware of your surroundings at times when you may be less alert and more vulnerable to an attack, e.g. when you are upset, sick, tired, or when you have been drinking.
  • Use discretion and caution when taking shortcuts through isolated parts of campus.
  • If you must be in an isolated area, e.g., working or studying alone in labs or offices, lock the doors and tell a friend or campus police where you are and when you plan to return.
  • Know the location of emergency phones on routes to and from class
  • Keep personal belongings in view while in class, the library, or lab.
  • Wherever you are, on or off campus, if you see or hear someone who might be in trouble, your options include running, yelling, confronting, and calling the police.
  • Use the CSO Safety Escort Program (824-SAFE)
  • Always have a cell phone

 

In Residence Halls

  • Remember that residence halls are public places.  Contact residential staff regarding your security/safety concerns.
  • Keep doors locked even if you are only going out for a few minutes.
  • Ask people you don’t know to wait outside.
  • Notify your R.A. or other residential staff of suspicious individuals who appear to be “hanging around.”
  • In a residence hall, screaming can sound like horseplay.  In an emergency, be specific by shouting “Help,” “Police,” or “Fire.”
  • If you feel uncomfortable with a friend’s or date’s behavior, you can: confront the person, and say “Stop, I don’t like that”; be assertive, tell the person to leave; leave.

 

In an Apartment or at Home

  • Install and use locks on your doors and windows
  • Have your locks changed, re-keyed or add a new lock when you move into a new place
  • Keep doors locked day or night whether you are home or not.
  • Know who is at the door before opening it.
  • If someone comes to your door and asks to use your phone to call for help, offer to make the call instead.
  • If you live in an apartment, avoid being in the laundry room or garage area by yourself.
  • Close your blinds or shades at night.
  • Know your neighbors and know which ones you can trust in an emergency.

 

*Information adapted from UC San Diego Student Safety Awareness and Sexual Assault Resource Center

 

Minimizing Risk

Tips for reducing the risk of sexual violence

  • Know your boundaries and express them assertively and clearly.
  • Trust your instincts.  If you feel uncomfortable, remove yourself from the situation.
  • Know your limits when using alcohol and other drugs
  • Prior to going out at night, determine your plan for your return home.  let someone know where you’re going when you leave.
  • Go out in groups and do not leave a group member alone at a party or bar.
  • Never leave your drink unattended or drink from an open container or punch bowl.
  • Try not to walk alone at night.  If you must walk alone, walk in well-lit areas.

Communication

  • Communicate your sexual desires and limits clearly.  If you feel uncomfortable about a behavior, someone is crossing your boundaries.  Verbal cues are the most direct way to  let someone know your limits.
  • Be assertive and direct.  Forget about being nice if you feel threatened.  You have the right to protect yourself.
  • Say what you are thinking, what you really want.
  • Be an active partner in relationships and share decisions about what to do, where to meet and when to be intimate. 
  • Never take silence as consent.  If you feel you are getting double messages, speak up and ask for clarification.
  • Accept a person’s decision.  Respect the word “no.”

Assessment

  • Trust your instincts.  If you feel uncomfortable or think you may be at risk, leave the situation immediately and go to a safe place. 
  • Exercise caution when dating.   Have first dates in public places.  Let someone know where you are going and when you will return.  Try to provide your own transportation.
  • Avoid anyone who puts you down, talks negatively about women in general, is physically violent or does not respect you or your decisions.
  • Do not assume that a person wants to have sex just because they are drinking heavily, dressed in a particular manner, or agrees to go home with you.  Do not assume that if a person agrees to kissing or other sexual intimacies, that they are also willing to have sexual intercourse.
  • Know your limits when using alcohol or other drugs.

 

*taken from NYU website: