DeKalb police conduct annual self-defense courses

DeKALB – Agnieszka Misiak works until 10:30 p.m. most nights and has to walk from the bus stop to her apartment, which can feel sketchy.

The senior student at Northern Illinois University decided to take a class hosted by the DeKalb Police Department this week, to brush up on her self-defense tactics.

“I took the class through NIU and I really liked it,” she said. “I like to learn the moves and what to do. I kind of walk with my cellphone out a lot too, so if someone grabs it, I know what to do,”

DeKalb police hosted its third annual free Rape Aggression Defense training this week for women in DeKalb. A total of 14 participants took the three-day course, which is intended to teach the basics of self-defense.

Instructors run through basic striking and blocking techniques and allow students a chance to practice against an assailant in a protective suit during a variety of different scenarios, such as being attacked when taking money out of the ATM with their backs turned or fending off unwanted physical contact.

Classroom instruction is also involved.

“The first day is more of a lecture,” DeKalb detective Paul Mott, who led the class, said. “What we do is teach them about the crime triangle which includes a victim, an assailant and an opportunity. A lot of what we teach is about taking out the opportunity.”

DeKalb resident Cindy Clifton said she had never taken self-defense courses before but when she saw it on Facebook, she was immediately interested.

“My significant other isn’t at home,” she said. “So I have three females and we needed more self-defense. It was a great class.”

Heather Byerly signed on for the training for similar reasons.

“I’m a single mom,” she said. “So I have my daughter with me, usually.”

Both women said they felt more prepared after taking the class. Clifton said she would take it again next year.

“Just to refresh my memory,” she said. “To make me remember and know what I learned.”

Scenarios such as getting mugged at an ATM are rare, however. Most of the time, self-defense would need to be used at home in situations like domestic battery, Mott said.

“It’s not going to be a random attack on the streets,” he said. “It’s usually going to be someone you know. Domestic violence is a lot more likely than a sexual assault, but we do train for both. We train to escape any attack.”

Patrol officer Allison Benthusen said the biggest thing that people should do for safety is to pay attention to their surroundings.

“You see people walking around and the only thing they are paying attention to is their cellphones,” she said. “We do a lot of recognizing certain behaviors you have that make it easy to target you.”

The police department offers the training on a yearly basis, but Mott would like to see if offered twice annually if enough people were interested.

He added that there are many safety tips out there for any number of situations. For example, at home, turn your porch lights on, keep your doors and windows locked and keep the bushes around your house trimmed so no one can hide in them.

But that doesn’t mean anyone does anything to deserve an attack, he said.

“Just because we teach you to turn your lights on, doesn’t mean someone has the right to attack you if you don’t,” he said. “I want to stress that.”