XYZ PDQ – examine your zipper, pretty darn quick!  If you frequently carry your purse with the zipper open so that you can easily reach your phone or other items, zip it up!

Your purse can be used as a shield or even weapon if a threat arises.  If your pocketbook, bag or tote is wide open and you need to fling your purse toward someone with ill intentions, the contents will also spew all over the place.

Instead of worrying about your personal safety you may find yourself with skewed priorities concerned about your wallet and newest smart phone.

ZIP IT!

Pay attention to prevent abductions at the beach

I just spent a glorious week at the beach.  I could not have asked for more perfect weather or a more relaxing vacation.  I had lots of time to reflect, dream and watch people.  Though as a crime avoidance specialist, I’m never off the clock.  Unfortunately I witnessed more than a few deadbeat parents at the lake shore.

I realize that typically the term “deadbeat parent” is often used to refer to obligor parents who have freely chosen not to be a financially supportive parent in their children’s lives.  However in this case, I am using the term to refer to parents who are so engrossed in their own tan at the beach that their children become potential victims of abduction.

On any given sunny day, a sandy beach will look like a group of multicolored ants swarming a sidewalk that contains melted drippings from an ice cream cone. Sun worshipers are everywhere and the shore is filled with the jovial noise of laughter and shrills of delight as children of all ages jump the waves and frolic in the water.  It’s the perfect storm for a kidnapper.

I watched in horror the ambivalence of a set of grandparents with their noses in books as their young charge was playing solo down at the water’s edge; a dad chatting with his buddy while they sat facing the sun (all the better to work on his tan doncha know) oblivious  to his elementary aged daughter who was at his back, alone in the water repeatedly whining “dad, dad, dad, dad, you promised to come in and play with me”; and then there was the mother sunning herself with a towel over her face, ear buds in both ears as her young son was at least 75 feet away busy tormenting the seagulls. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently became aware of a situation that bears repeating.  It involves two young children who found themselves lost in the woods and went to a house for help.

Two cousins, an eleven year old girl and an eight year old boy walked back into the woods on the family’s property to go play in their fort.  A while later the father received a phone call from the children that they had gotten lost and were at a house of someone who let them use the phone.

The father was obviously shaken by this event but relieved when he was reunited with the children.  He was also somewhat baffled that his daughter would go into a stranger’s home to use a phone.  This was a topic that they discussed repeatedly, and he was confident that his little princess was well versed in Stranger Danger.

She explained to her dad that they became twisted around in the woods and couldn’t find their way back.  They kept walking until they came to a road, found a house, knocked on the door and asked to use the phone.  It wasn’t until the little cousin walked into the house that the older girl felt responsible to go into the house to retrieve him.

All turned out well in this situation but it could have gone horribly wrong.  It also serves as a very real example that while you may be comfortable that your children know what to do or not to do with regard to interaction with strangers, children are not as equipped to make the best choices in the event of an unexpected occurrence – such as the cousin walking into the stranger’s house.

What could the children have done differently? Read the rest of this entry »