Five cases of rape were reported in Pacific Beach during the first two months of 2009, according to San Diego Police Department reports. Sexual assaults, date rape and acquaintance rape rank high as some of the most underreported crimes, according to Northern Division Police Capt. Shelley Zimmerman. Allegations of rape could not be proven in one case and three of the cases ended in a “refusal to prosecute,” according to San Diego Police Det. Gary Hassen. The fifth incident involved two consenting 17 year-olds and is not illegal, he said. Medical staff reported the incident involving the teens, he said. Police have now collaborated with the San Diego City Attorney’s Office and the Center for Community Solutions, a sexual assault prevention group, to train Pacific Beach bartenders and staff to recognize and possibly stop potential sexual assaults and rape in a bar or nightclub. “We’re showing them ways to where – if you’re observing inappropriate behavior – how you can appropriately intervene,” said Angela Geisler, deputy city attorney for the criminal division. Called the No Bystanders program, bartenders and servers are taught to recognize intoxicated people who may be putting themselves at risk of being sexually assaulted by leaving the bar or club with a person they don’t know. The training includes situational role-playing where representatives from the Center for Community Solutions train bartenders and staff to separate potentially intoxicated people and ask them if they know the person with whom they’re leaving. Center for Community Solutions loosely defines sexual assault as any unwanted sexual contact, said spokesperson Kat Wager. That includes touching under clothes, lewd or obscene behavior, unwanted oral copulation or rape. Wager said the message to staff and bartenders is simple. “It happens a lot in a nightclub,” said Estefanìa Vila, a server at Johnny V nightclub on Garnet Avenue. “Girls get a little tipsy and don’t always make the best decisions.” Police encouraged servers to protect intoxicated males as well. But while the local government and agencies attempt to prevent sexual assault, Johnny V manager Emily Chambers has a different piece of advice for patrons. “Take care and responsibility for yourself and don’t drink too much because ultimately it’s your own responsibility,” she said. The two Johnny V workers joined about 25 other staff, servers and bartenders from other local bars and nightclubs for the training on May 20 at PB Bar and Grill. Community leaders decided to start the program because of the high rate of sexual assaults and rape in the Pacific Beach area, Geisler said. One particularly horrifying sexual assault occurred in October 2006, when three men robbed a home on San Fernando Place with semi-automatic weapons and sexually assaulted two female University of San Diego students. The three men were sentenced to life in prison, according to the Union-Tribune. The incident sparked the San Diego City Attorney’s Office to develop the No Bystanders program. Since April of 2008, representatives of the Center for Community Solutions and City Attorney’s Office have educated college students on the issue. The No Bystander training aims to prevent similar crime as well as acquaintance rape, date rape and other sex crimes. Zimmerman said it’s important to report these crimes. “Anytime you have heightened awareness you have to increase reporting,” she said. “And it’s important to report these crimes not only to catch the suspect but to get the victim the help and to offer them the resources they will need.” The next No Bystanders training takes place June 23 at the Catamaran Hotel, 3999 Mission Blvd. The Center For Community Solutions offers a victim’s hotline: 4508 Mission Bay Dr., (858) 272-5777.