How to reduce crime risk when traveling

DALLAS, March 10 (UPI) -- Whether it's spring break or just taking a trip, young people traveling need to take precautions to ensure a safe time, a U.S. criminology expert says.

Dr. Denise Paquette Boots, an associate professor in University of Texas at Dallas, said young women who travel with friends can reduce their opportunity for vulnerability.

"Young men who care about women can help by escorting them to their rooms and limiting opportunities for offenders to target women who are alone or are otherwise vulnerable because they're in an unfamiliar place or intoxicated," Boots says in a statement.

Boots suggests student travelers:

-- Leave behind a detailed itinerary, avoid traveling long distances alone and don't tell anyone you meet on the road where you're going or staying.

-- Safeguard money and travel documents, and keep them out of sight. Buy travelers checks, register the numbers in a safe place and carry only what's needed instead of cash.

-- Choose a hotel that offers a safe for valuables, make a copy of your passport photo and carry it in your wallet. Don't carry a passport unless heading to the airport.

-- Get an international calling card and carry it with you, along with a note listing the address and phone number of your hotel, next of kin contacts and insurance information.

-- Recreational drug use and alcohol intoxication raise the risk of victimization. About two-thirds of all crimes against females, and as much as 90 percent of sex crimes, are committed by someone known to the victim.