Keeping safe or rolling the dice

The News-Gazette's Steve Bauer offers the five smartest and five dumbest things you can do when it comes to personal safety:

DUMBEST

1. Be drunk or distracted by a cell phone, portable stereo or otherwise in another world. If you party until you are incapacitated or intoxicated, you can affect the safety of yourself or others with you.

2. Walk in a dark alley alone late on weekends. Robbers, rapists and muggers look for people like that to pick as victims. Robberies, rapes and assault and batteries around campus most often occur between midnight and 3 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

3. Leave your cell phone, laptop, backpack, iPod, CDs or PDA unattended on a table at the library, Illini Union or local nightspot – or even in your car.

4. Leave doors to your house, apartment, office or vehicle unlocked. Thieves are looking for crimes of opportunity; don't make it easier for them.

5. Walk into traffic because you just know that vehicle will stop for you. By Illinois law, a pedestrian does not have the right of way until he has entered a crosswalk and allowed vehicles adequate time to yield.

SMARTEST

1. Pay attention to your surroundings. Observe people or vehicles around you and stay in well-lit, populated areas. Most crimes against people happen because the victims looked like they weren't aware of their surroundings.

2. Trust your instincts: If you feel uncomfortable about someone near you, go to a populated area or call for help; if you see something you think is suspicious, call police to let them check it out.

3. Be aware of high-theft areas – including any venue with an open environment and many people, where strangers will be less noticed. Travel with a friend when possible.

4. Lock the doors and windows of your house, apartment, office or vehicle; do not leave valuables in sight, including your front yard, driveway, car or near an open window. Good exterior lighting and landscaping helps visibility and reduces crime opportunities.

5. Work with your police department. Call them with concerns or feedback. Police can't solve a crime if it is not reported. They might prevent a crime with a timely phone call. Let them check whether a suspicious person is doing something illegal. If you encounter an officer who makes a lawful request to stop, comply; if the officer asks for identification, provide it.