Whenever I speak about staying safe in dangerous times, I remind people that my purpose is not to scare them. Whether I am giving my seminar, Refuse to Be a Victim, or teaching women how owning and carrying a handgun fits into their defense of family and home, I try to empower rather than frighten.
Carjackings, muggings, home invasions, and even squeegee encounters can be scary and demoralizing. We may not be able to stop these situations, but there are often ways to avoid them – and if you cannot avoid them, you can survive them. Situational awareness is your best tool. Keep your eyes and ears open, and keep your head on a swivel. The earlier you recognize a potential threat, the more likely that you can avoid or mitigate it.
Carjacking
According
to the most recent published FBI statistics, in 2019, Baltimore City had a
population of almost 600,000, and there were 11,101 violent crimes. Almost
4,000 of these crimes were vehicle theft. You have most likely heard that there
is an increase in carjackings. In the past, criminals stole cars in the middle
of the night; now they are stealing cars via armed carjackings during the day.
What changed? Newer cars have better security features that make them difficult
to start if they are not already running. Thieves are now stealing cars that
are turned on, which means that someone is inside.
Check
out the YouTube video, “How to Survive a Carjacking.” This six-minute video
explains how carjackings occur and how to react to being carjacked. First, to
deter a carjacking, it is important when entering and exiting your car to walk
with purpose, get in and lock doors, walk away, or drive away promptly. If you dawdle, you provide
carjackers with a longer window of opportunity. If you should find yourself in
the middle of a carjacking, here are three important tips: 1) get out of your
car and let them have it, 2) make sure to get children out (let carjackers know
if there is a child in the car – they want the car, with as few strings
attached as possible), and 3) don’t let a carjacker take you with them.
Mugging
Muggings at gunpoint are especially scary. When you
are out walking, there are things you need to do to make yourself a bad target.
Don’t look at your phone or rummage through your purse. Walk with purpose. A
large man distracted by a smartphone is a more attractive target than a smaller
woman striding down the block aware of her surroundings. Make eye contact with
people you pass. This says, “I see you.” Criminals rely on your not being able
to identify them and often use guns simply to distract your attention away from
their face. If you must listen to something on headphones or earbuds, always
keep one ear free. If you cannot avoid a mugging, give the mugger what they ask
for – throw it as far as you can and escape in the opposite direction. Be a
good witness – the more precisely you can describe what happened, the better.
Home Invasion
Is
your home lit at night? As much as you might hate light pollution, do not have
the darkest house on the block. The darkest house is the one most vulnerable to
home invasion or burglary. Install
lights and cameras; every individual who passes by your house will be recorded,
and you will be alerted, day or night. The Ring system (available on Amazon)
offers doorbell cameras and floodlight cameras, and there are many other
options as well, including those from Google (the Nest system), Blink, and
Arlo. It was the homeowners’ Ring camera footage that helped lead to the arrest
of Ephraim Gordon’s killers. Check with your rabbi for what you should do
regarding motion-detecting cameras on Shabbos.
Make
a plan with your family so that they know what do in case of a home invasion.
If possible and safe, you and your family should leave your house. If you
cannot leave, retreat to a designated “safe room,” one where you can lock the
door and where you will always have an accessible phone to call 911.
Squeegee Kids
In
Baltimore City and Baltimore County everyone knows the phrase “squeegee kids” or
“squeegee workers,” and while our political perspective may influence what we
think about proposed solutions to the problem, everyone agrees that it is a
problem. I lived in New York for most of my life, and during that time, at
entrances to bridges and tunnels and at busy intersections I encountered people
who wanted to wash my windshield. A simple “no” or turning on my wipers was
enough to deter a confrontation. In 2022 Baltimore, people do worry about what
might happen if they don’t want their windshield washed or if they don’t carry
the cash that seems to be the ransom for passing safely.
The
absolute best way to avoid a squeegee encounter is to take a different route. I
no longer take the JFX all the way to the bottom. I exit the highway one exit
early and let my GPS get me to my destination.
Squeegee kids are in sales. Their goal is to complete
the sale by choosing the most likely client, the one who looks as though he or
she can be intimidated or “guilted” into paying. Employing standard situational
awareness techniques often causes them to choose someone else. Keep doors
locked and windows closed. Make eye contact with anyone approaching your car.
Don’t smile. Shake your head “no” but only once. That makes you seem assertive even if you don’t feel that way. If you
avert your gaze, or keep shaking your head, you are sending a message that you
are afraid and therefore vulnerable. That might encourage them to just start
messing with your windshield because they will assume that you can be
intimidated into paying them. If you should find yourself in an
encounter with a group of teenagers surrounding your car, don’t put your car in
park, and do not run over anyone. Use your horn to deter them and to attract
attention. Take out your phone and call 911.
How to Avoid Crime
There
are several things that you can integrate into your life to help you avoid
crime:
·
When you are out in public, always remain aware. Save
distracting activities such as calling, texting, and emailing for when you are
in a truly safe place. The earlier you recognize a potential problem, the
easier it will be to avoid it altogether. You’ll never know what you might have
avoided, but isn’t that the best outcome?
·
Think about situations that you might encounter and
develop mental plans for handling them. You can make these mental plans at home
sitting in your favorite chair or in conjunction with a loved one. If you find
yourself in a dangerous situation, you don’t want to be planning your reaction
on the spot.
·
If you have a smartphone, download the Citizen
application. (Search for “citizen” in your app store). This application will
alert you to incidents that are happening in your area and allow you to avoid
that location.
·
Look around your home and note where your home and
property might be vulnerable. Is it too dark at night? Are there places for
people to hide? Do you have shrubs that block your home from the street and
possibly provide cover for someone with bad intent? Is there a way that you can
add lighting and cameras or make landscaping changes that will make you more
secure in your home?
While
there will always be situations that cannot be avoided, staying alert and aware
and being prepared can be the key to making the outcome of a bad situation as
favorable as possible.
Esti Rossberg is a mom
of five and a firearms instructor with a passion for teaching Jewish women how
to defend themselves and their families. She can be reached at
womenofffire18@gmail.com or https://www.womenoffire.net
