Protect yourself at home
Keep entrances
well lit. If normal lighting is not functioning in an entryway, approach with
extreme caution. It is not uncommon for a criminal to remove, unscrew, or break
bulbs in entryways.
Check the
identification of any sales or service persons before letting them in. Ask for a
photo ID. If you have any doubts phone the company for verification.
Equip your
home with peepholes, dead bolts, and chain locks. If you have a child, add a second
peephole at their eye level.
Never give the
impression that you are at home alone if strangers telephone or come to your door.
Advise your children to do the same.
Beware of
potential hiding places and avoid them.
Keep outside
bushes and shrubbery trimmed. Overgrown bushes and trees often provide excellent hiding
places for criminals.
Plant
defensive shrubbery around your home, especially beneath windows. Bushes that feature
thorns, such as bougainvillea, or stiff, spiky leaves are not good hiding places for
criminals.
If you come
home and find a door or window open or signs of forced entry, do not go in. Go to the
nearest phone and call the police.
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Keep your car
in good working order and gas tank at least half full. Make a practice of filling up your
vehicle during the daylight hours. Never let it get so low that you are forced to stop for
fuel, particularly at night in an area with which you are unfamiliar.
Always have
your keys out and ready before leaving a building to approach your car. Fumbling through
your purse for keys after you've reached your car provides criminals with an opportunity
to sneak up on you.
Look around
and in your car before entering. If you are concerned for any reason, simply walk past
your car instead of getting into it.
Lock your car
door immediately after entering the vehicle. Make this your first action - even before
putting the key into the ignition.
When stopped
in traffic keeps doors locked as usual and leave yourself enough distance from the vehicle
in front of you should a criminal attempt to walk alongside your vehicle and gain entry or
attack you.
Park in well
lighted areas and lock the doors, even if you'll be gone a short time. Check your
surroundings before getting out of your car. If something or someone strikes you as out of
place or threatening, drive away.
When you
return to your car, have the key ready and check the front and rear seats and floors
before getting in.
If you are
accosted in a parking lot, away from your own vehicle, consider rolling underneath a
nearby auto. It is difficult to force anyone out from under a car.
If an attacker
does manage to get into your car while you are in it, do everything in your power to exit
the automobile. If you are still behind the wheel, steer your vehicle into a
barricade, a pole, a wall -- any object that will create a minor accident. Take
advantage while your attacker's attention has been diverted and exit the automobile.
Run, yell, scream. Attract attention.
Don't stop to
assist a stranger whose car has broken down. Instead, help by driving to the nearest phone
and calling police to help.
If you get a
flat tire, drive carefully on it until you reach a safe, well lighted and well traveled
area. If necessary, better to ruin a tire than gamble with your safety.
If you are
involved in an accident, stay in your car until police arrive. In minor accidents where
the other driver suggests you exchange insurance information, simply hold up your driver
license and insurance card against the window.
If you are
being followed, don't drive home. Go to the nearest police or fire station and honk your
horn. If that is not possible, drive to an open gas station or other business where you
can safely call the police. DO NOT leave your car unless you are certain you can get
inside the building safely. Try to obtain the license plate number and description of the
car following you.
If possible,
have a cellular phone in your car for use in emergencies.
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Always be
alert to your surroundings and the people around you. Walk confidently and at a steady
pace.
When on the
street, walk facing oncoming traffic. A person walking with traffic can be followed,
forced into a car, and abducted more easily than a person walking against traffic.
Walk close to
the curb or on the sidewalk. Avoid doorways, bushes, and alleys.
Don't walk
alone at night and always avoid areas where there are few people.
Be careful
when people stop you for directions. Always reply from a distance, and never go too close
to the car. Stay far enough away from the car that you can turn and run easily. An
alternative is to simply state, "I don't know" and keep walking.
If you feel
you are being followed, walk to a well populated area.
If you are in
trouble, attract help any way you can. Scream, blow a whistle or yell for help.
Trust your
instincts. If a particular place, person, or group of persons make you feel uneasy, go a
different direction, do not approach.
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Never leave a
drink unattended. NEVER.
Do not accept
a drink from anyone you would not "put your life into their hands." Remember,
any stranger or casual acquaintance could be suspect. Even those people who are mixing or
pouring drinks.)
If you are
feeling sick or dizzy while out socially, go to someone you KNOW and TRUST. If there is no
person you can talk to about your condition, call someone on the phone. Never leave alone.
NEVER. (The intent of date rape drugs is to get you isolated and then to assault you.)
If you think
you have been drugged and cannot tell or call someone, call 911. A blood sample can be
collected and appropriate tests run.
Remember,
alcohol greatly increases the effects of these drugs. The mixture could be lethal.
Why
Rohypnol, GHB and Ketamine are used in Date Rapes:
They are easy
to administer. (Stir and dissolve)
When victims
feel the effects, they often leave and are caught alone and vulnerable.
If victims
'come to' during an assault, the drugs render them totally helpless and unable to do
anything.
When victims
are raped, they doubt their experience because of the impaired memory of it.
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There is no
single strategy that always works, so remember these tips:
Keep your
head. Stay as calm as possible, think rationally and evaluate your resources and options.
It may be more
advisable to submit than to resist. You will have to make this decision based on the
circumstances. Be especially careful if the attacker has a weapon.
Keep assessing
the situation as it is happening. If one strategy does not work, try another. Possible
options, in addition to non-resistance, are negotiating, stalling for time, distracting
the assailant and fleeing to a safe place, verbal assertiveness, screaming to attract
attention and physical resistance.
Stay alert and
observant so that you can better describe the attacker and the assault to the police.
If forced to
get into a vehicle, your life is in danger, so resist at all cost. Attract attention,
cause a disturbance or try to disable your suspect, but DO NOT get into the vehicle.
Scream, gouge his eyes, kick or knee him in the groin, stomp on his feet, use your elbows.
Fight like you never have before. This is the fight for YOUR life and it could become your
last one.
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Always let
someone know where you are and where you may be going. You should report all unusual
stalking or following of you by any suspicious persons.
Maintain your
personal space. Stay alert! If a person moves inside your comfort zone, move away. If that
person persists, run.
Be alert when
leaving stores or shopping malls. This is a time when criminals know you are carrying
cash, checkbooks, credit cards, or valuable merchandise.
Don't use
outside ATMs at night, or in unfamiliar or unsafe surroundings. This is another time when
criminals know you are carrying cash.
Avoid filling
your arms with packages. You might have to make more trips, but keep one arm and hand free
whenever possible.
When friends
drop you off at home or work, ask them to wait until you are safely inside before leaving.
Extend this courtesy to your own friends when driving them to a destination.
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