SELF
DEFENSE BEGINS WITH AWARENESS
With the holidays almost upon us, there is
a great need for your being more
aware of pickpockets, purse-snatchers, muggers, and car-jackers
after your
valuables. You will find below a list of things to watch for and
ways in which you
can to caution yourself against unnecessary provocation.
PROTECTING YOUR POCKETBOOK AND BELONGINGS
Your handbag is the likeliest target of young muggers, many of
whom now
speed up from behind you on bikes, skates and cars.
1. The most theft proof pocketbook features a sturdy strap and a
heavy flap
that covers the top so that there are no open pockets.
2. Turn the flap in toward your body to discourage anyone from
reaching in.
3. If walking with someone, carry your handbag between you.
4. If your pocketbook lacks a shoulder strap, tuck it firmly up
under your
armpit, pressed to your side with your hand clutching it.
5. Consider carrying it upside down with your hand ready to open
the clasp,
then if someone grabs it, you may be able to open it spilling
out the contents.
6. Keep your pocketbook on the floor while driving with your
windows up and
the doors locked especially the passenger side. Many losses
occur at red lights
with the reach in and grab approach.
7. If you use public rest rooms, keep your handbag on your lap,
not on the
floor or on the door hook where a thief can reach it. Remember
girls steal too!
8. Do not leave your pocketbook unattended in the supermarket
basket while
you reach for an item or check the meats in the case. Most
thieves know just
when to strike and have already followed you and know your
habits.
9. PICKPOCKETS
1. Men should note that the wallet is most secure in the inside
jacket pocket
or front pants pocket.
2. To reduce vulnerability of a wallet being lifted out of the
back pocket,
lay a comb in the fold of the wallet, keep your hands on it in
crowds, place
the wallet sideways in the pocket making it fit tight.
3. Be aware and cautious of being bumped in crowded areas such
as shopping
malls and sporting events, immediately check to make sure your
wallet has not
been lifted.
4. If you should spot a pickpocket at work alert his victim and
others around
you to what is happening.
9. CAR JACKING
A new epidemic to plague us in the world of crime is the
dangerous game of
car jacking. This takes place as you are forced either by
gunpoint, knife or
just threats, to turn over not only your car but also
possessions as well in
exchange for your life. This is a fair exchange. Your car is
replaceable, as are
your valuables so give them up without a struggle. Do not resist
if you are put
in danger. Your life is too valuable, if not to you, there is
someone out
there that will argue that point with you. Do not try to be a
hero. What gives
these road bandits the right to take your possessions? We may
not have the
solution to this problem but avoidance and awareness can
decrease your chances of
being a victim.
The highest incident of recent car jackings is taking place at
shopping mall
parking lots. There are many reasons associated with why this is
a " hot "
spot. 1. Thieves know you have cash or credit cards with you to
do holiday
shopping. 2.Thieves can pick and choose the type of car they
want just by walking up
and down the rows; they are shopping for a victim. 3.Thieves can
sell not
only your car for parts but the holiday gifts as well.
Don't carry large bulky loads that will attract attention to
yourself
indicating that you couldn't respond properly if approached.
Remember that in parking
lots victims are approached as they enter their cars.
1. Keep your car doors locked at all times, night or day.
2. Become aware of your surroundings when stopped at red lights,
look between
parked cars, beside buildings and in the shadows.
3. Leave enough room between cars to make a quick escape if
necessary. When
approached if you are in the first car remember right turn on
red, use caution,
do not panic.
4. Do not roll down your window to give directions to someone
that walks up
to your car.
5. If driving on a darkened deserted street and you are
approached, or
flagged down drive around that person in the road.
6. Use extreme caution in shopping malls, the scene of the most
recent deadly
car jackings, do not shop alone, become overly aware of people
in the parking
lot, and look for suspicious characters hanging out in the
parking lot.
It is most unfortunate that we have become a society of
mistrusting people.
There are still far more good people around than bad, but
unfortunately we must
become cautious and more suspicious of strangers than ever
before. We can not
lock ourselves in the house and stop living a normal life, but
we now have to
become more aware of what is happening to others so that it
doesn't happen to
us.
Okinawan
Karate Club
45C
Tosca Drive
Stoughton, MA
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