HOME SECURITY TIPS

In Plantation, Florida successful labor attorney, Melissa Lewis, was recently found floating dead in a canal less than two miles from her home. Evidence spoke of a violent struggle in her garage. The victim was known to be a vigilant, security conscious individual, who prepared herself by carrying pepper spray everywhere she went. Copious amounts of pepper spray residue were found in her garage, as well as in her abandoned vehicle.

Details of the investigation have not been released, so we do not know how the pepper spray was used. It could have come from the victim's defensive use of pepper spray or it could have resulted from the murderer's attempt to subdue her. We know the victim was not murdered by a firearm or a knife. We also know that as a result of the use of pepper spray, it appears there was a struggle and she had notice of an imminent attack.

After days of investigation we now know an alleged killer has been arrested. It turns out he was the estranged husband of a friend. He is a strong and fit man, who has been accused of being violent and aggressive toward his family in the past. It appears the victim in this case was physically overpowered by the murderer. If she used her pepper spray, it was useless. What could she have done to prevent her tragic death?

Sadly, carrying pepper spray, taking self defense classes, and even carrying a firearm all provide a false sense of security. It is my professional opinion, however, that only a firearm would have prevented this murder. Pepper spray did not stop this intruder's attack. Even if it was the attacker's pepper spray, the description of the scene leads us to believe he would have been exposed to it. If it was the victim's pepper spray, we can conclude she had time to pull it out, ready the cannister, and spray it. In this same amount of time, with proper training, she could have pulled a firearm and shot the killer, thus effectively ending the attack.

However, even guns provide a false sense of security, since we can still be at risk while carrying one. How many police officers are killed every month across the country, firearm at their sides or in their hands? There is no way to eliminate all risk or to provide absolute physical security.

With this in mind, here is a list of things to consider to remain safe at your home:

• Keep your garage door down and locked at all times.
• Utilize deadbolts on all exterior doors.
• Securely lock windows and consider the use of a "pin type" or wedge device to provide extra window security.
• Install the best security system you can afford.
• Lighting deters criminals. Install adequate outside lighting, preferably with motion detection capability.
• Keep your bedroom dark but consider background lighting in other rooms to provide illumination of an intruder.
• Sleep with a cell phone near the bed. Home phone lines can be cut by an intruder.
• Locate "equalizers" in various locations in the home. Conceal firearms or other weapons in strategic locations, which allow quick access when needed. Other equalizers include, knives, baseball bats, pepper spray, golf clubs, or anything else which can level the playing field. When placing weapons, ensure children, burglars, and others are unable to get immediate access to them. (We teach our clients means of securing firearms and other weapons).
• Keep a bright ("blinding") flashlight near your bed.
• Have a "panic room" or other area designated as a place to hide.
• One should practice responses in the event of a security breach. For example, one should have a plan for locating and protecting chidren and other family members. They should know and rehearse this plan. (We teach this as well).
• In general, let an intruder come to you, unless you have to secure loved ones.
• Ensure the outside of the home is free of obtrusive landscaping or other items that might provide concealment for an intruder. Privacy fences protect your privacy but they also allow intruders to operate out of sight of neighbors or passersby. Trees and shrubs can also work in the intruder's favor. Be sure to keep all shrubs properly trimmed and make sure that they don't block the view of doors, windows, etc.
• Do not hide a spare key outside.
• When returning home, do not let your guard down until you know you are alone and the house is secure.

This list is by all means not conclusive. Rather, it is just a sample of areas covered in our interaction with clients and it provides you with a good starting point for remaining safe. For a complete Home Security Assessment and training program, call us at 256.679.7405 or email us at knmconsultinggrp@aol.com. We teach about specifics such as types of doors, locks, windows, security systems and other hardware. We also practice and role play home invasions and defense against burglary, robbery, and abduction attempts. We help you come up with a plan to stay in charge and SAFE!!!!!

Copyright 2008 KNM Security and Risk Consultants

Disclaimer: KNM is not a law firm and does not render legal advice or engage in the practice of law. KNM Consulting and its employees shall have no liability to any persons or entities with respect to any loss, liability, or damage alleged to be caused by the application of information or opinions expressed in accordance with a consulting contract, its website, blog, or via complimentary marketing survey reports (MSR’s).

Cardinal Rules of Personal Safety

One cannot turn on the television or computer without being subjected to various news reports of physical harm linked to crime. Not only do we have to be mindful of our physical safety in public, but we must also be prepared to be victimized in our own homes. Home invasions have become common occurrences across the country. There will be a separate article on "Home Safety," but for today's purposes a simple bullet list of Cardinal Rules of Personal Safety should apply anywhere:

• Situational Awareness -- being keenly aware of one's surroundings


• Assessment -- being able to quickly determine threats to security/safety while planning a course of action


• Distance -- being able to keep distance between yourself and a potential attacker


• Action rather than Reaction -- reacting is a last resort and puts one at a disadvantage


• Use of an "equalizer" -- having an object to even the odds and being competent in its use


• Use of barriers -- keeping a barrier between yourself and a potential attacker


• Training with a communication device -- cell phone, air horn, etc.


• Use of Lighting -- powerful flashlight, flood lights, street lights, etc.


• Physical fitness -- consistent exercise and strength training


• Avoidance of Danger Zones -- large shrubs, large vehicles in parking lots, dimly lit areas, isolated areas, etc.


• Common Sense -- applies to all areas of self preservation

Situtional Awareness and Assessment go hand in hand. With each, one must practice skills of observation and couple them with a thought process, which will allow one to avoid becoming a victim or to plan a course of action to escape the threat.

Distance, Use of Barriers, Use of Lighting, and Avoidance of Danger Zones fall into the same categories. Each requires a behavioral element coupled with a thought process. It takes time for a human to react to a stimulus. This reaction time is exemplified by trying to catch a dollar bill between a thumb and forefinger when someone else drops it. Your brain must process the fact that the bill was dropped, then your central nervous system must communicate your response from your brain to your fingers. Although all of this takes a fraction of a second, it is long enough to cause you to miss catching the bill. Another example would be recognizing a criminal with a knife. It is a proven fact that human reaction time limits one's response time. A perpetrator with a knife can be standing as much as 21 feet away and start running at you with the knife. He can cover the entire 21 feet by the time your brain processes this fact. You must also plan an adequate reaction during this timeframe.

For this reason, distance and use of barriers are your friends. Try to keep cars, people, or other objects between you and someone you consider a threat. Walk in well lit areas and carry a powerful flashlight. Name brands such as Surefire and Streamlight make small, concealable personal defense flashlights. These are so bright you can blind your attacker by shining it in his eyes. One cannot attack what he cannot see. Many of these lights are made of hardened aircraft aluminum and contain "striking edges," with which you can hit someone during an attack. My personal favorite flashlight for this purpose is the Executive Defender made by Surefire. It is bright enough to blind an attacker and it contains sharp edges which will inflict damage if you hit someone. It is a little pricey but well worth the cost. How much is your life worth?

Use of an Equalizer and Training with a Communication Device fall into the same category because each requires the citizen to carry an item for self preservation purposes. Since people's values, level of training, and phsyical attributes all vary, there is no right answer for this category. Everyone needs to carry a cell phone and practice utilizing it under duress. For instance, how many of you have "911" programmed into your speed dial? Consider programming your phone so you can push one button and call "911." Practice calling "911" while you have a friend or family member engage in a mock attack. (Please do this without actually calling your local "911" service!) You might be able to call emergency responders immediately prior to or even during an attack if it only takes pushing one button. Some of my clients choose to purchase an air horn, which they can sound if threatened. Air horns are readily available in the marine section of your local "Supercenter" type department store. An air horn will bring attention to your location and to what is going on, and it is deafeningly loud. It has the potential of scaring the attacker off and it definitely makes others aware of your location. Again, practice, practice, practice with a friend or family member.

Examples of other equalizers include: pepper spray or mace where legal, knives, guns, sticks, chinese throwing stars, or other objects (even ones found on the scene). For example, I had enough notice prior to an attack on me, which allowed for me to arm myself with a large rock off the ground where I was standing. I placed the rock in the palm of my hand with an edge sticking out approximately an inch or so. On this occasion, I successfully fought off three attackers after striking the first one in the forehead with an overhand punch style swing. Without this equalizer, I have no doubt I would have suffered great bodily injury at the hands of these three attackers. I have also successfully used a handgun and a police style baton to subdue attackers and criminals. Although I do not recommend that everyone carry a handgun, I have no problem with someone who is properly licensed and trained doing so in concealed fashion. The key word that applies to carrying a firearm is CONCEALED. No one should ever brandish a weapon or even allow another person to know about it until it is time to use it. When considering your options for carrying an equalizing device, make sure you check your local laws and do so only in safe and legal fashion.

Physical Fitness and Common Sense apply to everyone, no matter their body type or cognitive ability. People need to practice moving and moving as quickly as their bodies allow. A daily walking or treadmill regimen will allow you to become conditioned to moving and breathing. Self defense classes are fine and a good way to keep fit, but please choose a reputable instructor and do not fall into the false sense of security that self defense training provides. Practice observation and making common sense choices when in public. Observe parking lots before you even park and when you come out of a store or other location. Keep distance between you and strangers. Groups of people are your friend. Walk near other groups if possible. Go places with a companion. Practice the use of profiling even if political correctness discourages it. Fortunately, many criminals actually look like criminals, although this is often not the case. After awhile, the practice of good common sense breeds better common sense.

Copyright 2008 KNM Security and Risk Consultants

Disclaimer: KNM is not a law firm and does not render legal advice or engage in the practice of law. KNM Consulting and its employees shall have no liability to any persons or entities with respect to any loss, liability, or damage alleged to be caused by the application of information or opinions expressed in accordance with a consulting contract, its website, blog, or via complimentary marketing survey reports (MSR’s)

If you would like to receive personalized training or to schedule a seminar or group training, please contact Ken at 256.679.7405 or by email at knmconsultinggrp@aol.com

Refuse To Be a Victim

This week's news brings more tragedy which could have been prevented. Two Georgia families will bury beloved college students, both strikingly beautiful, talented, and in the prime of their lives. Eve Carson, Student Body President at the University of North Carolina (bottom), and Lauren Burk of Auburn University (top), came to their sudden demises at the hands of brutal killers. The North Carolina killer remains at large, while a suspect has been arrested in Phenix City, Alabama, charged in the death of 18 year old Lauren Burk. The suspect remains jailed, not only a suspect in Ms. Burk's death, but also suspected of kidnapping and attempting to rape her, as well as of robbing several individuals.

When parents send their children off to college they expect late nights spent studying, socializing, and meeting the demands of college life. They do not expect their worst nightmare: a late night body in a morgue, awaiting identification. Sadly, each became a victim of fate by being woefully unprepared and at the wrong place at the wrong time. Many details have yet to come out, and when they do, we will see that each tragedy could have been prevented. Security at Auburn University has already been publicly criticized, but random acts of violence and crime are often only prevented by the victims themselves.

A previous article on this site, titled "Safety While Shopping," highlights many questions we can ask ourselves. Although details remain sketchy, circumstances surrounding each crime depict stranger abduction scenarios. My "Cardinal Rules of Personal Safety" would apply to both crimes. Going out alone at night, not carrying an equalizing implement (such as a tazer, stun gun, handgun, pepper spray, etc.), and allowing a stranger within close proximity are just a few of the "Cardinal Rules" that seemed to have been ignored. When all details are finally released, I have a high level of confidence that effective skill sets could have prevented such tragic endings.

American citizens, I plead for you to wake up. Realize the state of modern society and the unique set of dangers we all face on a daily basis. This is no longer the era of Andy Griffith and Leave It to Beaver. We face gangs, drug violence, and toxic unadulterated evil.

"On the Record," Greta Van Susteren's nightly show on Fox News, should be more aptly titled, "In the Grave," as she profiles similar crimes on a nightly basis. Everyone needs to get training to improve their skills at recognizing and confronting danger. Reading how to protect oneself is one thing, but practicing and implementing ways of living, which will serve one's self preservation needs, are paramount.

Copyright 2008 KNM Security and Risk Consultants

If you would like to receive personalized training or to schedule a seminar or group training, please contact Ken at 256.679.7405 or email him at knmconsultinggrp@aol.com