Students warned: don't walk home alone

8:42am Wednesday 6th February 2013 in News By Paula Roberts

Students warned: don't walk home alone Students warned: don't walk home alone

POLICE have been visiting university students in Bournemouth to remind them not to walk home alone following a vicious late-night sexual assault in the town.

A terrified 20-year-old woman was attacked by a man as she walked through a subway, which links Holdenhurst Road with the travel interchange and town centre, at around 1.30am on Friday.

The victim, who is a student in the town, was unexpectedly grabbed from behind by an unknown man and attacked.

She had been out with friends at the Old Fire Station and was walking to get a bus home.

Bournemouth Inspector Dean O’Connor said officers have this week been visiting student accommodation to hand leaflets out promoting their successful Operation Protect initiative.

And yesterday Safer Neighbourhood officers met with Bournemouth University and the Students Union to raise awareness of their safety message.

The hard-hitting campaign, which features a yellow triangle, aims to reduce the number of alcohol-related rapes and sexual assaults in Bournemouth by encouraging people to reduce their chances of becoming a victim of crime.

Police urge revellers to stick with their friends, look after each other, get a licensed taxi or bus home, not to walk home alone or with someone they have only just met and not to get so drunk it affects their judgement.

Insp O’Connor said: “We would like to remind women not to walk home alone following a night out or after work and ask friends to stick together to ensure everyone gets home safely.”

Following the incident police released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to.

Detective Inspector Becky Riggs, of Bournemouth CID, said: “This unprovoked attack left the victim very shaken and frightened “I would urge the man pictured, and anyone who recognises him, to contact me in confidence as soon as possible.”

To date no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting incident number 01:20 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

 

Comments(12)

mudeford7 says...
9:25am Wed 6 Feb 13

While the police are at the Uni remind the students to put lights on their bikes wear visi jackets so they can be seen ,not to ride on the pavements.And cross at the correct crossing . They are now grown up or are they still acting like small children

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Morrigan says...
9:34am Wed 6 Feb 13

So this so called hard hitting campaign aims to teach people not to become victims of a rapist?

Why don't they spend time out there catching those b@stards who think they can just attack young girls whenever they feel like it instead?

Young women should be able to walk home alone if they choose - we should be teaching our sons not to even contemplate sexual assault in the first place - not telling girls to go home in groups :o/

Here's a novel idea for Dorset Police ..... Instead of spending your time our chasing motorists, perhaps you could - and *should* be spending time in town centres to protect people's safety?

Now there's a novel idea ......

I

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Arthur Maureen says...
9:50am Wed 6 Feb 13

mudeford7 wrote:
While the police are at the Uni remind the students to put lights on their bikes wear visi jackets so they can be seen ,not to ride on the pavements.And cross at the correct crossing . They are now grown up or are they still acting like small children
You sound really old....

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Old Colonial says...
10:11am Wed 6 Feb 13

More CCTV cameras! They really act as a deterrent....don't they?

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speedy231278 says...
10:18am Wed 6 Feb 13

Why not stop letting clubs open until 1, 2, 3am and shut them at 11pm like civilised places do? We're always told how hard up students are, yet they can always afford to go out and get smashed every night! If they weren't staggering around under the influence in the early hours, there would be less fighting, less criminal damage, less urinating in alleyways and shop doorfronts, and you wouldn't get nasty people like this bloke hanging around wanting to try and take advantage of young women figuring there's a good chance they'd be too inebriated to put up a fight.

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jeebuscripes says...
11:16am Wed 6 Feb 13

Morrigan wrote:
So this so called hard hitting campaign aims to teach people not to become victims of a rapist?

Why don't they spend time out there catching those b@stards who think they can just attack young girls whenever they feel like it instead?

Young women should be able to walk home alone if they choose - we should be teaching our sons not to even contemplate sexual assault in the first place - not telling girls to go home in groups :o/

Here's a novel idea for Dorset Police ..... Instead of spending your time our chasing motorists, perhaps you could - and *should* be spending time in town centres to protect people's safety?

Now there's a novel idea ......

I
1,901 people died on British roads in 2011.

That is why the police are out 'chasing' motorists.

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Clunge says...
11:34am Wed 6 Feb 13

Morrigan, until this sicko is caught, and no doubt with DNA etc he will be eventually, don't you think it would be wise for females not to walk around alone at night? Especially when blind drunk.

It is unrealistic to expect the Police to catch every single sex offender out there, and its a bit late for some simplistic argument that somehow teaching sons not to abuse if going to help. Everyday people are let out of prison, everyday people are abused to go on and become the abuser, and an alarming number of people are walking about everyday with mental health and drug problems. Any female (or male) who thinks they can walk around without risk is stupid.
If you went to Kenya on Safari and decided to walk around the bush alone, in the dark, sooner or later something scary will eat you. Can we educate the lions to be vegetarians?
Life is full of risks, and to ignore that risk because society should be nice and fluffy is daft.

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BIGTONE says...
12:58pm Wed 6 Feb 13

Get more coppers on the beat instead of relying on CCTV and squad cars.

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Seabeam says...
1:07pm Wed 6 Feb 13

A serious story and somebody uses this to express bigotry towards cyclists! Shows the mentality of the weird anti-cyclist brigade.

Could the police let us know when the curfew for single people out alone begins.
What time do the streets of this town become the property of sexual perverts and muggers?

We expect the law to protect us and if it fails then all the law does is stop us from protecting ourselves. The police would be better giving out tazers to the students, but of course then we would be in possesion of a weapon.

So the law might in fact be partially to blame for our vulnerability when walking alone at night

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ashleycross says...
12:00am Thu 7 Feb 13

Isn't it the thin end of the wedge telling us not to walk home alone at night? This is the wedge that at the other end tells us not to leave the house at any time of day without a male relative with us, and wearing black and a veil from head to foot, and walking behind him to show how much we appreciate his protection. I have to park in the road at night then walk home through pub goers returning from an evening out. I also live between a park and a church yard so rough sleepers use our road. And frankly, I am blowed if I'm going to stop going out in the evening on my own because it means walking down my own road at night to my house from my car. If I want to go out without my husband any day at any time I will. I pay my taxes for the police to do what they can to keep the streets safe but I don't pay them to tell me to be a prisoner in my own home.

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Bournesouthmouth Downpokes says...
12:04pm Thu 7 Feb 13

Police are not very artistic are they? What on earth is that picture supposed to be?

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JuliannaSmith says...
4:21pm Thu 7 Feb 13

One of the challenges of being a parent is arming your kids with the skills to handle the obstacles life presents. And letting them walk home alone might be the largest decision we could ever be made. And so teaching them how to use 911 in an emergency could be one of the simplest — and most important — lessons you'll ever share. However, pressing 911 alone for me is still not enough to assure my heart about the security of my child whenever I’m away. Therefore, I’ve searched security devices that will notify me whenever emergency arises and can quickly reached 911 with all the information needed. And then I found this link from a blog I am reading http://www.tsue-that
swhatshesaid.com/201
1/08/your-childs-saf
ety-your-piece-of-mi
nd.html

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