Category Archives: Information

If you are going on vacation, you need to be aware that burglars love homes that are vacant.  This article will show you some tips to prevent burglaries while on vacation.

An empty house is a tempting target for a burglar.

Use this checklist of tips to help safeguard your home while you’re away:

• Have good locks on all doors and windows and USE THEM!
• Ask a neighbor to watch the house while you’re away. It’s a good idea to leave your vacation address and telephone number with a neighbor so you can be reached in case of an emergency.
• Never leave your house key hidden outside your home.
• Stop all deliveries, or arrange for a neighbor to pick up your mail, newspapers and packages.
• Arrange for someone to mow your lawn, rake leaves and maintain the yard to give the home a lived-in look.
• Plug in timers to turn lights, a radio or television on and off at appropriate times. This helps to disguise the fact that you are away.
• Don’t announce your absence on answering machine messages.
• Leave your blinds, shades and curtains in a normal position. Don’t close them unless that is what you do when you are home.
• Close and lock garage doors and windows. Ask a neighbor to occasionally park in your driveway. If you leave your car at home, park it as you normally would. Vehicles parked outside should be moved occasionally to appear that they are being used.
• Tell your local police you plan to be away. Patrol officers may have the opportunity to periodically check your home.
• Engrave your valuables as recommended in Operation I.D. This simple step will allow your stolen property to be identified and returned to you if recovered by the police.

If you are robbed, do your best to remain calm.  If you can’t remain calm, at least ACT like it.You must decide in advance your belief in resistance.  Personally I believe in the morality of self-defense but everyone must decide for themselves.

Decide what you will fight for.  If do not know what you are willing to fight for, you will not be able to act fast enough to do any good.

Common Sense Tips to Use If You are Being Robbed:

• Be identification conscious. Observe the holdup suspect carefully for future identification.
• Report the robbery immediately-dial 911 and don’t hang up.
• If possible, protect the crime scene: do not let anyone disturb it. Wait for police.
• Cooperate with police. By doing as they request you will help solve the crime.
• Reduce Criminal Opportunity
• And Protect Your Business

I personally have decided I am not gong to shoot someone over stuff.  If I am robbed and I feel, based upon the circumstances, that cooperation will cause the robber to leave then I will give up my wallet.

As a government employee I never have money in it anyway.  However, if I feel that my life, or the life of my loved ones are in danger, I will fight.

You can’t ever be 100% sure you are doing the right thing for holdup prevention, criminals are individuals and individuals can’t be lumped into an all or nothing formula.

However, in my experience as a prison guard that liked to talk, I learned a lot about the mindset of those criminals that got caught.

If you want to do some things for holdup prevention I have some common sense measures outlined in this page.

• Call the police at once if you notice suspicious strangers loitering near or in your place of business.
• Never block the view into your store by crowding display windows. It is important to maintain visibility into your business establishment at all times.
• Secure your teller and cashier operations. Install barriers to keep unauthorized persons out of these areas.
• If practical, mark doorways at varying heights to allow proper identification of robber’s height.
• Install a holdup alarm system.
• Install a timed delay switch to turn off exterior lights after your employees have gone for the night.
• Use two people to open and close your business. Establish a system of prearranged signals. One person should stay outside until the other gives the all clear signal.
• Keep cash on the premises to a minimum. Make frequent pickups of money from registers and make regular bank deposits.
• Do not establish a habitual routine when making bank deposits. Robbers will soon learn it.
• Keep the safe in your place of business locked at all times.
• Check the references of job applicants before you hire them.
• In the event you are contacted about an emergency at your business, and the call is of questionable validity, please verify the call with the police dispatcher, before going to your business.
• Have frequent meetings with your employees in order to familiarize them with holdup prevention measures, which you have initiated.

Home repairs and improvements can be costly. Watch out for home improvement fraud if:

• Somebody offers to do an expensive job for an unusually low price
• A company offers to make a “free” inspection
• If the person wanting to do the repairs “just happened to be in the neighborhood”.

The most popular home improvement frauds are roof repair and painting, driveway sealing, and termite inspection.

If you want some common sense tips to keep from being a victim of home improvement fraud, keep reading:

To avoid home improvement and repair fraud, try the following:

• First, always get several estimates for every repair job, and compare prices and terms. Check to see if there is a charge for estimates.
• Then, ask your friends for recommendations. Alternatively, ask the firm for reference –and CHECK THEM!
• Next, check the identification of all “inspectors.”
• Call the loan Consumer Affairs office or the Better Business Bureau to check the company’s reputation before you authorize any work.
• Be suspicious of high-pressure sales tactics.
• Pay by check -never with cash. Arrange to make the payments in installments.
• If you have problems with you refrigerator, you can save money by getting a refrigerant link detector rather than buy a new one.

A clean and safe hotel room should be easy to find, but they are not always as prevalent as they should be.

It’s a scenario familiar to any business traveler. Your airline flight was delayed, the cab line at the airport was endless and check-in was a mess. Jet lag has struck. It’s very late, you’re tired and you have a breakfast meeting with a key client at 6:30 AM. You grab your key, avoid the bellman and head to your room to collapse into bed. Stop. Take the next 5 minutes to perform these safety, security and cleanliness checks and prepare for the next day.

These “how to’s” will save you time the next morning, they could even save your life some day.

1. When you enter your room, prop the door open, turn on the lights, and check the closets, bathroom, under the bed and behind the drapes. Mistakes do happen and sometimes someone else has been assigned to your room. This happens more frequently in suites with adjoining bedrooms that can be sold as separate rooms. Or there could be a thief. In any case, don’t close the door until you are sure the room is empty.

2. Check that the connecting doors, windows and sliding doors are locked. In general, avoid first floor rooms with sliding doors.

3. Once you lock the door and attach the safety chain, check the diagram on the back to review the nearest exits and mentally plan your escape route. Look out the door to check that the exit signs are illuminated. If the lights are out, be helpful and contact the front desk to let them know. The few seconds that it takes to review the exit information can save your life in the event of a fire, earthquake or other emergency. Just do it. FYI, most fire engine ladders can only reach up to the 6th floor.

4.  Make sure that the heat or air-conditioner, lights, phone, radio and television are working. Turn on the shower and sink to check the water pressure and temperature. If they aren’t working, switch rooms now. It’s not worth waiting for someone to fix the problem, especially late at night.