Safety tips for ESL students

From the Chinese Community Policing Centre

• Watch your drink. Date rape drug victims can be female or male.
• Walk with confidence. Looking self-assured is a deterrent to potential thieves.
• Don’t look like a tourist. Plan your route before you leave so you don’t have to look at a map.
• If you are being followed, don’t go home, because then the person who is following you will know where you live. Go to a store or restaurant, or the home of a neighbour and call the police.
• Don’t listen to music when you walk. You won’t hear traffic or potential muggers. If you must listen to music, leave one headphone off your ear.
• Don’t talk panhandlers or give them money.
• Don’t make yourself a target for thieves by carrying more cash than you will need.
• Don’t carry pepper spray or another weapon, because it can be used against you.
• If you need to call 911, use a landline if possible so the operator can find out from where you are calling.
• If you need to use a phone in a store, be calm. Don’t yell or shout and scare the proprietor—they might think you are a threat. Politely say “911 please.”
• If you don’t think you can answer the operator’s questions in English, say the name of your language clearly. Wait on the line while you are transferred.

From the VPD

Police spokesperson Tim Fanning said ESL students are more likely to be victims of theft than any other crime, and that ESL students have been robbed on the SkyTrain and around SkyTrain Stations.

The VPD offers their own tips for how ESL students can stay safe in Vancouver.