This refers to some discussion a few pages back - the idea that 'she should have let someone walk her home' You all know, I assume, that women are far more likely to be assaulted by someone they know than by a stranger. Therefore statistically a woman is in more danger being accompanied by a male acquaintance than she is alone. I would never let a man I didn't really know and trust walk me home, because that is LESS SAFE. And the more he insisted, the less I would trust him.
As the police said, it's an area they would generally consider safe. Thousands of women walk from the many bars in that area to the train station to their home every weekend, and have done for years and years, and almost none of them have come to any harm. Driving, especially on Friday nights when there are drunk drivers on the road, kills heaps of people every year, and nobody stops driving because of that. The murder rate us much lower than the road toll. It's safer to walk than drive/get a taxi.
So on the balance of probability, she did the most sensible thing by walking home alone. Unfortunately it doesn't matter how sensible you are, bad things can still happen.
(please note that i signed up using my usual username and only just realised it might seem inappropriate. Just a coincidence I promise)
