Don’t worry, parents. Your child is in good hands.

University Police have many measures in place to promote a safe environment. But crime is bound to happen every now and then, and when it does occur, the police take appropriate steps to notify the University community.

One major tip: Avoid walking home alone. For those late-night walks from the library or another dorm, there’s a couple of options students can choose from.

During the semesters, University Police offer SafeWalks, a free service to members of the University community, so they don’t have to walk home alone. While this service is limited within the campus area, walking from the Undergraduate Library to the Florida Avenue Residence halls can be a bit intimidating at night.

SafeWalks is available from 9 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. 

Another option is SafeRides, which is operated by the Champaign-Urbana MTD. It serves almost the same purpose as SafeWalks, but here a mini-bus will pick students up within the designated boundaries if there are three or fewer people in the group and the route can’t be completed via a normal bus route.

But this service runs longer during the semester. During the fall and spring seasons, service begins at 7 p.m. And during winter, MTD begins taking calls at 5 p.m. During all seasons, service continues all the way through 6:30 a.m. Let’s hope your student never needs to study into the early morning, but if that’s ever the case, MTD’s service is there.

Also, one more thing: from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., students can board busses at designated locations, such as Illini Union or the Main Library. For a complete schedule, checking MTD’s website.

Police also send out Crime Alerts to notify the campus community via email about a crime on or near campus with additional safety information related to the crime.

Another type of alert, Illini-Alert, doesn’t necessarily have to do with crime, but anything on or near campus that could pose an imminent danger. Previous examples of Illini-Alerts include attempted sexual assault in Allen Residence Hall (the suspect was later located) and an armed robbery. So as you can tell, these types of alerts are more serious, so it’s important to make sure students sign up.

Darshan is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @drshnpatel.