More Personal Safety Advice

Living in a bad neighborhood might make it more likely for someone to break into your home or attack you on the street, but there are a lot of ways for you to stay safe. Many victims of crimes in this day and age were either somewhere they should not have been, with someone they should not have been with, or doing something they should not have been doing. Do your best to avoid these situations and it will help keep you safe, but a lot of people still become victims even when they are doing nothing wrong or unsafe at all.

If you are worried about someone breaking into your home, have bushes with thorns growing underneath your windows. It might make for an inhospitable area for children to play, but a few pricks and they will learn to steer clear of them. So will thieves.

Have a deadbolt for all of your doors, even if you do not live in a bad neighborhood. This gives you another line of defense against someone breaking in.

Speaking of doors, those fancy front doors with a big single pane of glass on them are easy to break through. Avoid having one if your area is known for break-ins and although it is less likely to happen in some areas, they still can pose a safety hazard.

One of the best investments that you can make is a home alarm system that you can set when you go to bed. You can not only use this to keep people out, but also to keep troublesome kids inside at night and away from gang activity and other hazards.

Vehicle safety is another concern. If you think someone is following you while you are driving, take a calculated series of turns. If they continue to follow, pull over somewhere safe where there is a lot of people and stay there until you are certain they are gone. Call the police if you feel threatened.

Lock the doors to your vehicle while you are pumping gas. It is easy for someone to sneak into the back seat while you are inside paying for it if the doors are unlocked.

Never leave valuables exposed inside your vehicle when you leave it. Put everything you can under the seat or in another compartment if you cannot take it with you. As long as it is not visible, most thieves will not bother breaking into a seemingly empty car.

Jennifer Fairbanks is a community supporter and researcher in violence against women along with her side business family violence prevention fund.