By Julie Morgan

Published at 16:03, Wednesday, 03 September 2008

POLICE are urging women to keep vigilant following this week’s attack on a teenager.

The importance of increased personal safety is the message after the 19-year-old woman was forced to flee her attacker in the early hours of Monday in Whitehaven town centre.

Det Supt Cath Thundercloud is heading up the investigating team. She stressed the rareness of the attack, which is possibly linked to two sex assaults in Workington, but has urged women to be aware of potentially dangerous situations.

She said: “It is extremely rare for three incidents of this nature in West Cumbria.

“All three incidents involved young girls walking home alone in the hours of darkness so we are urging women across West Cumbria to be mindful of their personal safety when out and about.’’

Local women worried about their safety – or that of their daughters, sisters and friends – can access safety tips from The Suzy Lamplugh Trust website.

As well as being useful to women following these current attacks, the information is also relevant to Copeland’s students as they head off this month to colleges and universities across the country.

The Trust was established by Suzy’s parents, Paul and Diana, following the disappearance of their daughter who was last seen heading for a work appointment in 1986.

Its website sets out a wide range of advice for men and children, as well as women, on personal safety.

Advice can be simple, such as shouting and screaming to draw attention to an attacker, through to choosing the right personal alarm.

All information below is taken from The Suzy Lamplugh Trust site at www.suzylamplugh.org

Avoid danger spots like quiet or badly-lit alleyways, subways or isolated car parks.

If you do have to pass danger spots, think about what you would do if you felt threatened. The best idea is to head for a public place where you know there will be other people, for example a garage or shop.

If you are at all worried, try and walk with a friend or stay near a group of people.

Avoid passing stationary cars with their engines running and people sitting in them

Try to keep both hands free and don’t walk with your hands in your pockets.

Always take the route you know best.

Walk facing oncoming traffic to avoid kerb crawlers.

Keep your mind on your surroundings – remember if you are wearing an MP3 player you will not hear trouble approaching.

It is a good idea to have a mobile phone, a phonecard or some spare change with you to enable you to make a phone call.

Be careful when using cash point machines. Make sure nobody is hovering nearby and do not count your money in the middle of the street.

If you think you are being followed, trust your instincts and take action. As confidently as you can, cross the road turning and look to see who is behind you. If you are still being followed, keep moving. Make for a busy area and tell people what is happening. If necessary, call the police.

The purpose of a personal safety alarm is to shock and disorientate an attacker, giving you vital seconds to get away.

The most important feature of an alarm is the sound it emits. If an attacker is to be shocked enough to pull away from you, this sound needs to be as loud and as shrill as possible.

It also needs to be different from those which are commonly heard. For example, if a personal alarm pulsates like many car alarms, the sound may not be as effective as it is not so shocking. The most effective sound is continuous and over 130 decibels.

Your alarm needs to be easy to carry, but it is important to consider whether a very lightweight and tiny alarm will be as loud as you need it to be (and whether it will get lost at the bottom of your bag).

Some small alarms can still be very loud – although the sound may not last for very long – and can be easier to handle for some people. The best compromise is in an alarm which can fit easily into the palm of your hand but is still very loud (even if perhaps it isn’t as small and ‘dainty’ as you would like).

Ease of use also needs to be considered: how would you operate the alarm in an emergency? There are many different ways to activate different types of alarms.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust offers alarms through its website.

Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk