Carla Thompson - The Busy Womans Pocket Guide to Safety: Safety Tips for Busy Women on the Go

Carla M. Thompson

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2009 Carla Michelle Thompson

Ladies First Publishing, LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in anyform or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording or otherwise without prior written permission, exceptfor the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

For information about this title or to order otherbooks and/or electronic media, contact the publisher: Ladies FirstPublishing, LLC PO Box 772 Garden City, MI 48135 www.thebusywomanspocketguide.com 734-326-2544

ISBN: 978-0-9843287-0-3 Printed in the United Statesof America

Cover and Interior design by: 1106 Design

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

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This book is dedicated to my mother DeborahEdison, who is one of the busiest women I know and who still tooktime to teach me how to be safe. Thank you, too, to my husband,Andre Thompson, who encouraged me to write this book.

WOMEN NEED THIS BOOK. Yes, women. Accordingto the US Department of Justice:

* Females were more likely than males to be victimsof rape or sexual assault.

* Female victims knew the offenders in approximately70% of assaults against them. Offenders known to the victims weremost often identi ed as friends or acquaintances.

* Robbery was the crime most likely to be committedby a stranger compared to other violent crimes against women.

In short, women are more vulnerable in theseareas. And we should be constantly thinking about how we can besafer. Most of us are busy very busy. But we can't afford to beso busy that we don't think about how to be safe. Too many womenhave been robbed, beaten or assaulted when a little watchfulforesight might have prevented the unfortunate from happening.

This book is designed to show women who aresqueezed for time how to keep themselves safe from being robbed,beaten up or assaulted. I know how tough it is to nd the time tothink about safety. Believe me, I have been through that meatgrinder and I continue to go through it. I have a job that consumesa lot of hours. I've also had plenty of practice I've lived inDetroit most of my life, I've lived in apartments, worked midnightshifts, taken evening classes and traveled abroad. I've had plentyof reasons to focus on how women can think about being safe. I knowhow to watch out for myself. I have learned how to be alert inunsafe situations and how to keep from being injured orassaulted.

In fact, the need for women to think abouttheir safety is the reason I wrote this book. There are lots ofbooks and publications showing you safety tips. This book isdifferent. This book gives you tips that I picked up just in theprocess of living my life, but using these tips will also help youfocus more on being safe in general as you go through your day.Nobody can write enough safety tips to cover every situation you'relikely to run into. The tips here, and you'll nd plenty of them,are examples of how to think about safety as you live your life.Though I can't claim that this book will inoculate you against allharm, I can say that the things I encourage you to do in this bookare time-tested tips I've used for years and (knock on wood) I'venever been robbed, attacked or stalked.

Please note: A few pointers will be repeatedbecause you can get double duty out of them. Most importantly,these tips should become a part of your everyday way of approachingany situation. The goal is to always be in a safety frame ofmind.

YOUR HOME IS YOUR central place of peace,your refuge from much of the world. Here is where you should feelthe safest. When you live alone, you often have to be extracautious.

It doesn't matter who you are or how busy youmay be. We all need a place to live. Find one that gives you betterodds of being safe. There are several different angles from whichto approach your safety at home. Following you'll nd ve veryimportant ideas:

* When I lived in apartments, I generally chose aunit that was directly in front of the parking lot, near theentrance. It's noisy, for sure, but the more trafc near where youlive, the safer you're likely to be. Trafc means lots of people,and lots of people means getting to you or your place is going tobe a lot tougher for bad guys who might be trying to sneak up onyou.

* When approaching the place you live, always lookaround the parking complex as you drive into the parking lot. Lookout for people walking aimlessly or just hanging around. Beparticularly suspicious if you see people wearing dark clothing orwho have hoods or caps covering their face.

Just because you're arriving at your place,doesn't mean you should let your guard down. Plenty of women havebeen attacked right where they live. Below are several precautionsyou can take if where you live has only a covered parking space oran unattached garage. The key is getting into the house as quicklyas possible while being alert to what's going on around you as youwalk into your home.

* Practice the same technique you used when you wereapproaching the lot. Look around the parking lot and be wary ofpeople walking with no particular purpose or dressed in darkclothing or clothing that hides their face. If you see someone whodoesn't look right, look them in the eye while you're in the car sothey know you've seen them. If these people are wanderingaimlessly, turn around and slowly circle the block. Then return tosee if the person is still there. Probably, whoever it was willhave moved on.

Remember that sometimes people hanging around can begood for you. I had a neighbor once who loved to party and threwsome kind of bash almost every night. Yes, it was noisy. But healways had lots of trafc nearby, and knowing that a lot of peoplewere within sight and shouting distance, I felt safer.

* Never use your cell phone when getting out of yourcar in the dark. You're a lot less likely to be a victim if youlook like you're alert.

* Have your keys in your hand before you leave thecar. You don't want to be standing outside your door fumbling foryour house keys. This will make you an obvious target.

* If you are out at night alone and you've got pilesof groceries or other bags you're taking in, depending on thedistance between your car and front door as well as your comfortlevel, you may want to lock your car before you take your groceriesinto your apartment. Then when you reach your door slide the bagsinside the door fast. If you need to make another trip to yourcar, shut the door and look around. Keep in mind if your car is notclose to your apartment you should lock your apartment door andyour car doors when you leave because someone could sneak into yourapartment or steal your car while you are going back and forth.

Basically, you want to make the fastest,smoothest transition possible between your car and your frontdoor.

If your home has an attached garage, thenyou're a little safer from prying eyes and prowling offenders. Theprecautions you need to take are similar to those you'd use if youhad an unattached parking area, but you'll do things just a littledifferently.

* As you approach your home, be aware of yoursurroundings. See if anyone is walking past your home and lingeringa little too long. If you have bushes or trees in front of yourhome, try to look through them. You don't have to stare at yourhome for 20 minutes, but just be sure to look around at theimmediate area for suspicious characters before you enter thegarage.

* When you are entering the garage, wait until thedoor is down before you get out of the car. You should always closethe garage door immediately after you've entered the garage,particularly from dusk onward. No telling who could be hiding inthe shadows. If you leave the garage door open, someone could runin as you're getting out of the car and force you to let him intoyour home. If you see someone nearby, stay in your car. You'll havea better chance of getting away.