Linda Fairstein - Five Most Dangerous Places for Women. From the Files of Linda Fairstein

THERE ARE SOME CRIME-FIGHTING tactics that change over the years as law enforcement tries to catch up with creative predators. Our efforts against cyber-crime have been strengthened as identity thefts became more widespread, and DNA databanks can identify serial rapists and murder cases gone cold for decades. But the five most dangerous places for womenthe most likely sites where women can be victimizedare still ordinary locations and everyday situations. While its not the fault of the woman who finds herself in the hands of a violent offender, sometimes using basic safety tipsmany of them outlined in this article from 2007can help keep you safe when you are least likely to think yourself vulnerable.

News stories from every part of this country confirm the hidden dangers in places where we are often most comfortable and off guard, and stories from recent months have been no exception to this rule. In July 2012 in Orem, Utah, a twenty-eight-year-old woman was raped in a parking lot while she was on her way to her car after leaving a movie theater at 9:15 p.m. She encountered a man using a flashlight to look under the hood of his pickup truck, and when she offered to hold the light he slammed her head into the side of the truck. Once hed injured her, he lifted her into the truck and raped her. Its great to be a good samaritan, but not on a dark night in a deserted parking lot. She could have offered to phone for help and kept walking to her own car.

In New York City, around the same time, a twenty-year-old woman hired a livery cab to take her home. Before she could get into her building, the driver called out to ask her to join him for a drink. When she refused, he jumped out of the taxi and ran after her, grabbing her by the neck from behind and attempting to rape herall caught on her buildings video surveillanceuntil she was able to break free. And nearby in Brooklyn, a twenty-six-year-old woman hailed a taxi after leaving a bar, then fell asleep in the backseatintoxicated.. The driver pulled over, got in the rear seat with her, bound her with a scarf, and raped her. Its always a bad idea to ride with a stranger when youve had too much to drink. Better to make a buddy-system plan with your partying friends.

Carjackings continue to be a life-threatening problem as well. Again in July 2012, a twenty-one-year-old woman was driving away from a movie theater in Mississippi when she stopped at an intersection. In the few seconds she was obeying the street sign, a man opened her car door and jumped in, holding a gun to her head. He made her drive to a remote location where he then raped her. When she tried to escape, he shot her in the leg and stomach. She was fortunate to survive, and would have been luckier still had she thought to keep her car doors locked.

Never forget to lock your doors at home, no matter how secure the area in which you live. In March 2012, a thirty-five-year-old woman was housesitting for friends in a gated community in Winnetka, Illinois. She had been lulled into the false sense of security offered by the exclusive area, so she left the sliding doors of the living room unlocked. In the early morning, a strangermost likely a burglar making his way through the upscale condo residenceslet himself in, tied her up, and raped her.

The dangers of places such as your car or a parking lot continue to be as serious a problem today as when I first wrote this piece. All the tips providedmany of them just good common sensewill help protect you when you are more vulnerable than most of us like to think we are.

IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUT when Kelsey Smith walked out of her local Target store in Overland Park, a Kansas City suburb, on a Saturday evening this past June. A vibrant 18-year-old whod just graduated from high school, Kelsey had been shopping for a gift for her boyfriend. What happened when she emerged into the large Target parking lot wasnt witnessed by any other patrons.

But a surveillance video shows an eerie chain of events: A pickup drove into the lot moments after Kelsey arrived, and a man entered the store after her. What appeared to be the same man left the store shortly before Kelsey did and confronted her at her car. Four days later, her body was found in a wooded area about 20 miles from the scene of the abduction. That night, 26-year-old Edwin Hall was arrested, and in July, he was indicted on charges of murder, rape sodomy, and kidnapping. Hall has pleaded not guilty.

Kelseys kidnapping and murder was a horrifying reminder of this reality: Some of the most ordinary day-to-day activities can provide the perfect set-up for predators. Many abductions occur, as Kelseys did, in such common situationsgoing to and from work or running errandsin which women seem completely safe.

That misguided comfort level is exactly what potential abductors know how to exploit. Meanwhile, media coverage of the kidnapping of children sometimes obscures the fact that young adult women remain a popular target of sex offenders.

As a sex-crimes prosecutor in New York City, I saw certain spots crop up as prime locations for abductionsabductions that all to frequently ended in murder. Here are the most dangerous placessome of which may surprise youand how to protect yourself against a perpetrator who is counting on your assumptions of safety.

Parking Lots

All across the country, stores, schools, and office complexes are surrounded by parking lots. These vast, often empty spaces make a kidnappers job easyespecially if hes targeting an employee. Some businesses may encourage their workers to park at the far ends of the lots, leaving spaces near the entrance more accessible for customers and clients.

So someone leaving workor shoppingat the end of the day often has a long walk to her car, and the familiarity of the terrain may make her unwary. She may be talking on her cell or listening to tunes on headphones, counting on the fact that there are surveillance cameras posted (though no one is watching them 24/7).

Dru Sjodin, 22, a student at the University of North Dakota, found herself in precisely that situation one day in November 2003. She clocked out of the shift she worked at Victorias Secret in the busy Columbia Mall in Grand Forks at 4 p.m., then stopped at another store in the mall before heading for her car. She was talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone. Suddenly, he heard her say to someone, Okay, okay! Then the line went dead.

Drus body wasnt found until the next April, across state lines in Minnesota, when the snow had melted. She was at the bottom of a ravine and had been bound, stabbed, beaten, and, prosecutors believe, sexually assaulted. Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a level III maximum-risk registered sex offender, was later convicted and sentenced to death for abducting and killing Dru.

The simplest safety step you can take in a parking lot is to avoid being unaccompanied, but thats not always possible. If youve parked at a remote corner of a parking lot and it seems deserted, dont be shy about asking security to escort you. Always have your keys at the ready and your eyes scanning the lot. If you seem very self-aware, a potential attacker may be less likely to take you on.

Taxi and Livery Cabs

Most people dont think twice about hopping into a cabin fact, it often seems like a safer bet than walking or taking public transportation late at night. But think about it: Once youve gotten into someones car, youre at that persons mercy. So youd better make sure you can trust him.