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1.
Understand how criminal predators think.
Why do some criminals want to harm you? For many,
it's a sense of power. Often, their control over you during a rape or attack is
in direct response to the shortcomings in other areas of their lives. The NRA
Refuse To Be A Victim Course teaches precautions you should take to avoid
criminals' predators and what steps to take should you come in contact with one. |
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Home Security |
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2. Never
open your door to a stranger.
Criminals can get a good look
at you and your home by posing as a door-to-door
salesperson, a neighbor who has lost a pet, or a
floral deliverer at the wrong address.
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3. Install a wide-angle door viewer.
These
are an inexpensive aid for identifying people at
your doorstep. If children are allowed to open the
door under certain circumstances, install a second
viewer at your child's height.
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4. Never tell a stranger that you are home alone
If they ask for your husband or the man of the house, tell them he is taking a
nap and cannot be disturbed. |
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5. Do not broadcast your plans in public
where others can
overhear. Burglars can use this
information to determine whether your home might be
an easy target in your absence. |
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6. Keep your house or apartment well lit,
Use exterior sensory
night-lights and interior lights plugged into timers
to create the illusion of an occupied home at all
times. |
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7. Do not leave windows open or uncovered.
Prevent
casual observers from looking directly into your
home. During the day, draw drapes or position blinds
to allow only enough light for plants. At night,
cover your windows completely.
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8. Keep
trees and shrubbery around your home well trimmed.
Overgrown bushes and trees often provide excellent
hiding places for criminals.
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9. Plant "defensive" shrubbery around your home, especially
beneath windows.
Bushes that feature
thorns or stiff, spiky leaves are not good hiding
places for criminals.
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10.
When moving into a house or apartment, always change
or re-key the locks or have the tumblers reset.
Otherwise, the previous resident - and anyone they
supplied keys to - has unrestricted access to your
home,
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11.
Never hide an extra key under a mat, in a flowerpot, or in
any other easily accessible place.
Criminals know all the hiding
places. |
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Phone Security |
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12.
Lock your doors when working in your yard, attic, laundry
room, or any place away from your home's entry areas.
While you are busy elsewhere, burglars could easily
enter your home unnoticed.
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13.
Do not give information to strangers on the telephone.
Thieves often target homes using information
obtained from "telephone surveys."
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14.
If you use an answering machine, do not announce
your name and number as part of the message.
Avoid giving
criminals any information about you. A common
mistake is revealing your exact whereabouts in a
message.
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15.
Consider keeping a separate line or cellular phone as a
security device.
Taking one phone off the
hook renders other units on that line inoperable.
Using a separate line or cellular phone in your
bedroom is a good precaution.
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16.
Never give important information like travel plans or credit card numbers using
a cellular phone.
For under one hundred dollars, anyone can buy
scanning equipment and listen in on your cellular phone conversations. |
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Automobile
Security |
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17.
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 an excellent opportunity
to sneak up on you.
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18.
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. |
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19.
Use a two-piece key ring with your car keys separate from your other important
keys.
Give parking valets or mechanics your car keys only. Supplying
your entire set of keys creates an opportunity for duplicates to be made. |
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20.
If your vehicle has tinted windows, use the reflection to
scan the area to either side and behind you.
By being alert to
your surroundings you could avoid a potentially dangerous situation.
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21.
Lock your car door immediately after entering the vehicle.
Make this your first
action - even before putting the key into the
ignition. |
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22.
Check your surroundings before getting out of your car.
If something or someone strikes you as out of place or threatening, drive away.
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23.
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. |
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24.
Consider acquiring a cellular phone.
Using a cellular
phone is an effective means of keeping help close at
hand during accidents, breakdowns, or other roadside
emergencies. |
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25.
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.
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26.
Make a practice of filling up your vehicle when your gas
tank is about half empty.
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. |
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27.
Lock your car and take your keys when you get out to pump
gas.
Leaving the door unlocked and the
keys in the ignition invites a carjacking.
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28.
Never pick up hitchhikers.
It is never safe to
have a stranger in your car. |
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Physical
Security |
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29.
Maintain your personal space.
Stay alert! If a
person moves inside your comfort zone, move away. If
that person persists, run.
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30.
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.
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31.
Don't use outside ATMs at night, or in unfamiliar or
unsafe surroundings. This is another time
when criminals know you are carrying cash. |
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32.
Avoid filling your arms with packages.
You might have to
make more trips, but keep one arm and hand free
whenever possible. |
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33.
Avoid stairwells in parking garages.
Try
walking down the auto ramp instead. As long as you
watch for cars, the ramp is much safer.
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34.
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. |
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35.
If asked for directions by a driver, 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.
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36.
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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37.
If you are on an elevator and someone threatening gets on,
quickly step off the elevator.
Otherwise,
press several buttons for upcoming floors and get
off at your first opportunity. (Do not press the
STOP button.) |
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38.
Approach with extreme caution any entryway where normal
lighting is not functioning.
Removing,
unscrewing, or breaking bulbs in such places is a
common tactic of criminals.
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39.
Carry several dollar bills folded inside a ten-dollar
bill.
If accosted in a robbery, you can
throw the "chump change" several feet away and the
robber may scramble after it, allowing you a few
moments to escape. |
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Self Defense Physical
Training |
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40.
Consider taking a self-defense course.
A wide variety of courses are
offered for self-defense and each should be considered carefully for relevance
to your own personal situation. The NRA Refuse To Be A Victim Course discusses
the pros and cons of many training options. |
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Personal Protection
Devices |
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41.
Choose a personal protection device best suited to your situation.
Personal protection
devices range from sophisticated alarms for your
home and car to defensive sprays and key chains you
can carry in your purse. Options and the advantages
and disadvantages of each are discussed in detail in
the NRA Refuse To Be A Victim Course. |
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42.
Make an informed choice about firearm ownership.
Firearm ownership is a deeply personal and profound
decision. NRA does not promote firearm ownership. We
only advocate your constitutional right to choose
whether to lawfully own a gun. For women who do
choose to exercise that right, NRA offers
information on the pros and cons of ownership, types
of firearms, legal issues, and education and
training for responsible use and safe storage of
firearms with children in the home. |
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