When walking alone at night, stick to well-lit areas. Keep your hands empty. Be aware of your surroundings.
But above all, don't talk on your cell phone, Cpl. Jaime Kurnick of the Gainesville Police Department said at the Safety 101 Panel Discussion at SFCC on Thursday night.
The panel also included speakers on sexual abuse, domestic abuse, UF resources for students and self-defense.
The panel was put on by Dianna Ordway, a SFCC student, as an assignment for the Community Advocates Program, a seven-week course that bridges students to the community.
Her assignment was to do a safety or crime prevention program, she said. Though she's been planning it for weeks, recent assaults in Gainesville have made topics of rape, self-defense and victims' services appropriate, she said.
The program had special meaning to Ordway, who said she was sexually abused as a child.
She said she wanted others to know about resources that she did not.
Kurnick said at the panel that people should not hesitate to call police when they see something suspicious.
"We want to be bothered. We want to know what's happening. We want people to be safe," she said.
Tanja van der Veen, a victim's advocate with UF, brought up safety resources offered by the university, such as the Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol van service and the blue-light poles on campus.
Women can also participate in a free three-day Rape Aggression Defense course, she said, offered once a month through the University Police Department.
Denise Guerin, a self-defense instructor at SFCC, also suggested a self-defense course being offered at Unified Training Center.
Laura Kalt of the Alachua County Rape Crisis Center, suggested what to do in case a crime does occur.
"First and foremost is to believe that person," she said. Victims also need to know the crime is not their fault, talk to a professional and see a doctor, she said.
The first 48 hours to 72 hours after the crime are the most crucial for getting evidence, she said, when many victims are still unsure of whether to report the crime.
In Alachua County, she said, victims can now get a forensic exam immediately and take 90 days to decide whether to submit any evidence.
Policies have also changed in regards to domestic violence, GPD Detective Bruce Ferris said.
"There was a time when an officer would show up and there'd be a woman beaten up, and he'd say, 'Johnny, quit drinking and go stay at Bubba's house tonight,'" he said.
Now, GPD has a Domestic Violence Unit, which Ferris works with, dealing only with domestic abuse.
"Nobody has the right to hurt anybody else," he said.
