002 CAMPUS CRIME PREVENTION STARTS WITH STUDENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu


Common-Sense Precautions Significantly Enhance Students’ Safety, Says Chief

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)–A window of opportunity. That’s all those who commit campus crimes need, advises Police Chief Carl “Buddy” Peaster Jr.
As director of Middle Tennessee State University’s Department of Public Safety, Peaster is in the know when it comes to crime, including campus-based crimes and what students should be aware of as they embark upon leaving the safety of home and family for life at college.
“The most important thing to remember is LOCK YOUR DOORS. Lock your residence hall room door; lock your apartment door; lock your car doors; lock up your bike,” warns Peaster, who’s been involved with law enforcement and campus safety for more than 20 years.
In fact, according to one report, young people age 16-24 are three times more likely to be victims of burglary than any other group; plus, college students typically own more expensive consumer goods per person than the rest of the population at large. And criminals know this.
“While people spend a lot of time being concerned over violent attacks, the truth is that most campus crime is about opportunistic thefts than it is about violent crimes,” he says. “So the first thing to do when you arrive in your dormitory or apartment is to lock up everything.”
Security On Campus Inc., a brochure containing campus safety tips, reports that, statistically, college students are one of the most likely groups to fall victim to crime—especially mugging, burglary and vehicle-related thefts.
However, if students, both seasoned and incoming freshman, take preventative safety part of their college curriculum and implement some common-sense precautions, they can significantly reduce their chances of becoming a crime statistic, acknowledge law enforcement experts.
Oftentimes, though, students who are joining campus life and leaving home for the first time are unaware of the dangers. Further, parents frequently are unsure of how to best protect their children so far from home.
Single-parent Shelly Graham, for example, said that when it came time for her own two daughters to go away to college, the only thing she knew to do to try and ensure their safety was to arm them with pepper spray and “tell them to scream, even if they felt foolish when confronted by a stranger who they deemed questionable.
“I also told them to never go places alone,” she adds. “Of course, they didn't listen to me (but) I found that just repeating safety information whenever possible, and still doing it when they complained, was the best I could do.”
For starters, though, students living away from home can help promote their own safety by keeping valuables close at hand, notes Peaster.
“If you went to a restaurant, set your cell phone down, forgot it and walked out of the restaurant without it, and then realized two hours later you had left it, you wouldn’t be surprised that it was gone when you went back to the restaurant to retrieve it,” he reasons.
Similarly, when it comes to the campus environment, “You should not leave your book bag, your CDs, your keys, your wallet or purse, or any other thing of value lying around and then expect to come back to find it still there (because) there’s no magic aura that permeates campus and keeps people from stealing items left unattended.”
Moreover, don’t “mistake monetary value for importance,” observes the MTSU police chief.
“A graduate student once had his book bag taken and was not as upset about the fact that his wallet had been in the book bag as he was about the fact that a computer floppy disk had been in the book bag,” Peaster explained. “Why? Because he had a 35-page homework paper on the floppy disk–and he had no back-up of it.”
Keeping personal information personal is also vital for safety reasons, warns Peaster, who’s well aware of how much students enjoy blogging, online Web sites and e-mail communication.
“Some people,” he says, “find that they are comfortable putting personal information on the Internet; others do not. But whatever your choice about personal information such as name, address, phone number, etc cetera, remember that sensitive information—including social security numbers, account numbers, passwords and dates of birth—is better left off Internet sites.
“Keep your sensitive information confidential,” he urges. “Lots of people enjoy writing about themselves online, and plenty of people keep a profile online.” However, “it is also vital that people shred letters, offers and other papers and mail that have these personal identifiers on them.”
Most people would be amazed at how many would-be criminals turn to the garbage and trash cans to find personal information that they can use, Peaster notes, and the college-campus environment is no expectation.
“Alcohol problems and sexual assaults occur to people all the time, too, and the statistics are alarming, troubling and scary,” confirms Peaster, who notes that one survey suggests that the average age of alcohol intake in the U.S. is 13 years of age, with an average age for first consensual sexual intimacy of 14 years of age.
Coincidence?
“Probably not,” Peaster confirms. “Sexual assaults can vary greatly in shape, form and fashion, but there are some common traits many times. Most sexual assaults for people between the ages of 17 and 24 involve the use of alcohol—usually excessively by at least one or both of the parties—as well as drug use and familiarity, meaning that the victim actually knows the offender.
“While some might believe that most assaults involve offenders that victims do not know, that is not typically the cased for most college students,” he continues. “And the number of women who are assaulted at some point in their live is alarming: one in three. Not to mention the number of men assaulted—an astounding one in six.”
Regarding sexual assaults among college students, Peaster said most begin as a consensual encounter and end “in a bad situation.”
Most such assaults, he adds, take place in either the victim or the perpetrator’s own residence. Thus, “Add to all that the specter of having drugs put in drinks and of having drunk sex, and the possibilities just get worse.”
Although there’s no fail-proof way to ensure one’s personal safety on campus, a key component to helping enhance the odds of not becoming a statistic are relatively basic.
“If you go out to have fun, make plans ahead of time, leave with who you planned to leave with, do not get excessively drunk, and do not invite guests into your bedroom alone unless you are willing to engage in sexual intimacy.
“Trust your gut feelings and instincts,” counsels Peaster, “and if you do become a victim, contact the police as soon as possible.”

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with Police Chief Buddy Peaster Jr. regarding campus crime, crime-prevention tips or other crime-related topics, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-2919.