SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Sales of a new personal safety device, the "Sound Grenade," are up in San Diego as students and others look for ways to stop attacks before they start.
The device emits a 120 decibel shrieking sound when the top is pulled off. That's enough, the company says, to call attention to an attacker and keep victims safe.
The company, BASU.com, tells 10News they noticed a spike in sales over the summer.
Police at major universities around the city say they don't endorse any specific devices, but noise makers can be effective.
"Anything you can do to distract an attacker is a good thing," says Corporal Mark Peterson with the San Diego State University Campus Police.
Recent crime reports from all three major universities around San Diego showed a handful of violent crimes on campus. In 2015, SDSU reported 22 sex crimes. UC San Diego had 14 and University of San Diego had 3. SDSU had 5 robberies, UC San Diego 2 and USD none. As for assault, SDSU had 7, UC San Diego 4 and USD none.
You can find the full reports here for SDSU, UC San Diegoand USD.
Meanwhile, each of the three universities offers several safety options for students and staff.
SDSU has self-defense classes and active shooter classes through the campus police. They also offer Safety Escort services where a student can have someone walk them from one location on campus to another. And the library shuttle gives rides from the library to other campus locations late at night.
UC San Diego has similar options including Campus Service Officer Escorts and Triton Ride, a free nighttime shuttle.
Campuses also have blue light emergency phone boxes, which call 911 directly and tell dispatchers the location of the call. They have blue lights that flash whenever a call is made.
UC San Diego police also hold Rape Aggression Defense classes.
As far as safety devices, tasers and other weapons are illegal on campus. Tear gas like pepper spray has specific rules for different locations on campus. Police say any noisemaker is allowed.
BASU.com says their Sound Grenade is also TSA compliant and safe on airplanes.
You can get more information about it here.
