Safety Tips for Seniors

By: Skip McGrath
Head Geezer

Don't be a victim. Ten tips that can save your life

As seniors we often find ourselves the target of thieves and even worse - criminals who think just because we are older we are defenseless. There are many things we can do to protect ourselves. Here are ten tips culled from law enforcement and personal security experts:

Ten Tips for Personal Safety

1. If someone grabs you, the elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it you can swing your elbow at almost any part of the body and it will hurt the attacker more than you.  The groin is a sensitive area but actually very hard to hit. Kicking or scraping the side of your foot along the shin will work just as well.
   
   
2. If a robber demands your wallet and/or purse, do not hand it to him. Toss it away from you. Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse.  When you throw your wallet or purse, then start running in the other direction.
   
   
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This technique has saved several lives.
   
   Also most cars built since 2000 have an internal trunk release. Just feel around for it and pull to unlatch the trunk. Just open the trunk a few inches so the driver doesn't see it in the rear view mirror and stick your hand out and wave.
   
   
4. If you get into a car in a parking lot and see a piece of newspaper or flyer on your window, lock your doors and drive away as best you can. What the criminals do is put a piece of newspaper on your window. You don't notice it until you get in and start your car. Then when you get out to remove it, your keys are in the ignition and the door open. A criminal can either steal your car or carjack you.
   
   
5. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit doing their checkbook, adjusting makeup or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!
   
   Predators watch for this behavior. This is the perfect opportunity for a predator to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.
   
   When you get into a car in a parking lot, lock the door and drive away. You can always stop down the road and do what you need to.
   
   
6. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF. Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead, gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your air bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.
   
   
7. Parking Lots and Parking Garages
   • Be aware: Look around you. Look into your car. Look at the passenger side floor and in the back seat
     
     
   • If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
     
     
   • 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, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.
     
     
   • ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at night.
   
   
   
8. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely will not be a vital organ. RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern.
   
   
9. Women tend to be sympathetic. That's good in most circumstances but it could get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He would walk with a cane, or a pair of crutches, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his victims.
   
   
10. The Crying Baby scam. Police in Florida report the crying baby scam has been used by predators to rob and rape victims. Here is how the police reported it:
    
    A woman heard a crying baby on her porch. She called 911 because it was so late and she thought it was strange. The 911 operator told her "Whatever you do, do not open the door."
    
    The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The 911 Operator said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door."
    
    He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night. When the police car started down the street, the crying stopped and no one was there -but there were footprints under the window.
    
    
11. The Water Scam - If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear water outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE. Home invasion robbers turn on all your outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and then they attack.

Some elderly have turned to www.homesecurityteam.com to help ensure the safety of them self and their home.