Personal Safety

BASIC COMMONSENSE

1. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. That’s what they’re there for, to alert you to danger and help you keep yourself safe and alive. When you sense something is not right, you’re usually right. Get out of the situation as quickly as you can. If you feel uncomfortable, scared or threatened, you ALWAYS have the right to say ‘NO.’  This works for anything in your life such as pressure to have sex, use drugs, or just do something your instincts tell you is wrong or bad.

2. Be responsible for yourself. Take care of yourself. Don’t assume someone else is going to keep you out of trouble or protect you from harm. Don’t lose self awareness and control of your faculties through alcohol or drugs

3. Know your parents’ phone numbers by heart.

4. Always tell someone where you are going and when you’ll be back so if you don’t get there, they’ll know when and where to start looking for you.

5. DON’T GO ALONE. Bring a buddy or go out in groups, especially if you’re going somewhere you’ve never been before.

6. Project confidence AND A HEADS-UP ATTITUDE. Walk steadily, with your head up, paying attention to what’s going on around you. Stay where others can see you.

7. Be aware of & alert to your surroundings & the people around you, even those you know. Criminals exhibit predatory behavior in preparing to attack. They pick casual locations to spot targets and avoid witnesses. They watch their targets for longer periods of time than social norms, move when their target moves, and often make several passes by the target in a sort of 'dry run' to see if she will react and/or to get a sense of how the attack might work. Pay attention! Is someone watching you? Has the same person or car passed by you twice? Does someone appear to be moving with you?

8. VARY YOUR ROUTINE. Don't be too predictable.

9. Be watchful on elevators and stairCASES. Stairwells are the perfect crime spot. If a man or men are already in the elevator when you go to get in, wait for the next one. If a man gets in when you are alone, get out.

10. Stay in good physical condition so you can run, resist an attacker, and react quickly if necessary.

AT HOME

• Get a security alarm system.

• Get solid core doors with dead-bolt locks, even in the bedrooms.

• Don’t open the door to strangers.

• If you’re in the back of the house, keep the front doors are locked.

• Keep a portable cellular phone in the bedroom.

• Don't use your name or phone number on your answering machine

• Never tell someone--either in person, on the phone, or via the Internet--that you’re home alone.

IN THE CAR

• Park in a well lit and well supervised parking lot close to the building you will be entering.

• Don't park next to a van or vehicle you can’t see into. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the victims are attempting to get into their cars.

• Always lock the car when you leave it.

• When you return to your car, have your key ready to unlock it. Practice unlocking your car door by touch so you can remain alert to your surroundings.

• If your car has an automatic lock that unlocks all doors at once, change the system to one that unlocks only the driver's door.

• Keep car and other keys on separate rings, so that you can throw car keys onto the ground and get away if an attacker goes for them.

• Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, walk back into a public place and get a guard/policeman to walk you to your car.

• If you return to your car and a van has parked next to it, get in the car via the door farthest away from the van.

• Before getting in, look underneath and inside your car to make sure no one is hiding there.

• Lock your doors as soon as you're inside your car, start the ignition, then put on your seat belt.

• Keep car windows closed, especially when stopped—even at stoplights.

• Keep your purse or wallet close and out of sight when possible.

• Try to leave yourself an escape route, when parking—and even at stoplights.

• Check your mirror for someone following you. If you think you are being followed don't go home. Drive to a police station or a public place and call the police.

• Don't hesitate to drive off or use your car as a weapon, if necessary.

BABYSITTING

• Know your employer. Babysit only for people you or your parents know, or for whom you have a personal reference.

• Answering newspaper ads may not be safe.

• Know what time your employers expect to be back.

• Give your parents the name, address and telephone number of where you'll be babysitting and let them know what time your employers expect to be home.

• Know how to reach your employers in an emergency. Keep this information, along with the address, nearest cross streets, phone number and a pencil near the phone.

• Before they leave, have your employers do a safety check with you throughout their home. Locate emergency exits, burglar alarms, flashlights, smoke alarms and fire extinguisher. Know where all the phones are.

• Know how to operate the door and window locks in the home, and use them. Leave at least one outside light on.

• If the phone rings while you're babysitting, don't tell the caller that you're alone. Say you're visiting and the residents can't come to the phone, but you'll give them a message. If the caller persists or gets rude, hang up.

• Don't open the door to strangers, even if they claim to be relatives of the children or friends of the family. Don’t  tell anyone who comes to the door that you're there alone. Again, say you're visiting and will deliver a message.

• During the day you might have the children out in the yard. If you're in back, make sure the front is locked - and visa versa.

• If you take the children out to the park or anywhere else, make sure you have the house key with you when you leave. Double check to be certain all doors and windows are locked.

• Let your parents know where you are going and get clearance from your employer first before taking the children anywhere.

• Have the children go to the bathroom before you leave the house to avoid having to use public restrooms.

• When you are out with the children, don't talk to strangers. If you suspect you're being followed, go to a nearby home, store or gas station and call the police.

• When you get back to the children's home, if anything seems unusual--a broken window, an open door, a strange car parked outside--don't go in. Go to a neighbor's and call the police.

• Be sure you are escorted home. If your employers won't drive or walk you home--or seem intoxicated--ask someone at your home to come and get you.

• If, at any time while you're babysitting, you're uneasy or suspicious about anything, don't hesitate to call the police for help.

IN CYBERSPACE

• Keep your identity private. When you’re online in any kind of a public forum, anyone can read whatever you post. There’s no way to “take back” something once you enter it. Don’t giving out your full name, your mailing address, your telephone number, the name of your school, or any other information that could help someone determine your actual identity. The same applies to your family and friends. Choose a gender-neutral nickname – like your initials or a word – to use in a chat room. Be sure it doesn’t identify you and doesn’t have any meaning or implication that might encourage others to bother you.

• A web site may ask for personal information before letting you in. It may entice you to provide information in exchange for sending you a free gift or entering you in a contest. Never enter any information about yourself without first checking with your parents.

• If you do post something on the web, don’t include your personal information, i.e., home address, phone number, or photograph. If you want people to contact you, just give an E-mail address.

• Check with your parents before downloading anything. Some of these programs can track what you’re doing online. They can also plant viruses or increase your risk of a “hacker attack.”

• Text messaging can be dangerous. Be extremely careful about whom you are “IMing” with and what you are saying. Never give out any personal information unless you are 100% sure of who is connected. Be aware that some IM services make it possible to exchange messages with several people at once — just like a chat room. Anything you type could be forwarded to other people. If you have any type of camera attached to your computer, it might be possible for others to send you unwelcome images. Be especially careful about using video or digital cameras during an IM session.

• Be careful how you respond to E-mail from people you don’t know. Remember, the sender might not be who he or she seems to be. Never send a photograph of yourself or any personal information to someone you don’t know. Also, E-mail can easily be copied and forwarded to others, so if you do send personal information to friends, be sure that they are willing to respect your privacy. E-mails contain return addresses that can be fake. So, just because you get a message from “grandma@cottage.com” doesn’t mean it’s really from grandma. It could really be from wolf@bigfangs.com.

• Never Get Together with Someone You “Meet” Online.   The biggest danger to your safety is if you get together with someone you “meet” online. Remember, you never know for certain if people you meet online are who they say they are. To put it bluntly, chatrooms – especially those used by teenagers – are sometimes also used by child molesters to find victims. If you do feel it’s appropriate to meet with someone, discuss it with your parents. Have your parents talk with the parents of the other person and both of you to bring your parents along on the first meeting.  Never go alone.

•  Never Respond To E-Mail, Chat Comments, Instant Messages Or Other Messages That Are Hostile, Belligerent, Inappropriate Or In Any Way Make You Feel Uncomfortable.   Sometimes people you know will try to harass or bully you. It isn’t your fault, so don’t take it personally, but refuse to accept abuse from anyone. The best thing to do is to ignore it and delete it. However, if you get messages or images that are filthy, indecent, lewd, or obscene with the intent to abuse, annoy, harass, or threaten you, report it to your Internet service provider and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline® at www.cybertipline.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678. You should also report it to school authorities if the incident takes place at school or involves other students from your school.

• Talk with your Parents About Internet Ground Rules.   It’s important that you and your parents are on the same “channel” when it comes to when, how long, and what activities you can do online. Communicating with them doesn’t mean that you have to give up your privacy. It just means that you come to an agreement based on mutual trust and understanding.