VSGATES | Crime and Safety

Stop & Search – Know your rights!

Safety tips: Out in London

Safety tips: Getting Home

Personal Safety

Stop & Search – Know your rights

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stop & search - know your rights

Safety tips: Out in London

Be aware. Using a mobile phone, wearing a hood and listening to music all affect your awareness of your surroundings. Don’t draw attention to your valuables (e.g. mobile phone, jewellery). Also, face oncoming traffic when you’re walking to prevent being approached from behind.
Be alert. Alcohol and drugs will reduce inhibitions and reaction times and will also make it harder to assess risks and take effective steps to cope with them.
Be assertive. When you’re out and about look purposeful. Assertiveness in the way you behave reduces any perceived vulnerability.
Safety in numbers. Try to travel with people you know. When you can, stick to routes where other people are and avoid short cuts in deserted places.
Plan for emergencies. Carry a charged mobile phone and some cash, and tell someone where you’re going. Discuss with friends what to do if something were to go wrong e.g. if one of you had too much to drink or you got separated. Do you all know what to do and what to expect from one another?
Trust your instincts. They are there to warn you of potential risks, e.g. avoid short cuts down alleys and across parks and move away from suspicious people. Have faith in your intuition and act on it.

Safety tips: Getting Home

Always use license mini cabs or black cabs. Mini cabs should always be booked in advance. Unlicensed cabs and rogue drivers may compromise your safety. To find licensed mini cab firms in your area, call Transport for London on 020 7222 1234 or visit www.tfl.gov.uk

Text ‘HOME’ to 60835 to get numbers of one or two licensed mini cabs firms from the area you are texting from.

In cabs, sit directly behind the driver and steer conversation away from personal details.

Personal Safety

Consider carrying a personal alarm. It provides reassurance and can deter or disorientate an attacker when activated, giving you time to get away. To find out how to get a personal alarm, go to www.suzylamplugh.org/store and click on ‘alarms’
Keep your bluetooth off, on your mobile phone. This stops people being able to track you have one!
Be vocal and try to alert and involve others around you. Feel confident and assertive enough to say “Don’t touch me”, “No”, “Stop”, “Go away”.
If using simple verbal commands doesn’t work, you have the options of using as much force as you can to get away, so long as it’s reasonable to the threat. You can use everyday items like keys or umbrellas if you need to or cannot immediately move away…
Don’t carry items specifically for self-defence, you could be breaking the law by doing this and in fact increase your risk of being hurt. There is a 2-4 year sentence for possessing a knife in a public area.
In an emergency always dial 999.