Safety Tips from Lt. Dan

Good morning to everyone! I am back at work after a week of training in beautiful Folsom, Calif. That city is getting way bigger than I remember it. I enjoyed my class entitled, "Critical Incident Management" and feel like I am ready just in case.....

So, I pledged to throw out some tip of the week stuff and have failed to deliver for a month or so. One of our faithful readers of this blog reminded me, so here we go...

First off, as far as home safety, I spoke to someone who, for the safety of their family, put padlocks on their gates at home, so no one can simply open their gate and have access to their back and side yards. I understand the concern but remember in case of an emergency such as a fire, you need to be able to get out of there as quickly and safely as possible. The last thing you need to worry about is a combination or a key to unlock a padlock. This is very dangerous and I am guessing in violation of a fire code or two. Think about other crime prevention tools such as motion lighting for the areas near your gates. One of the other things that I recommend is a "Beware of Dog" sign. It really doesn't matter if you have a dog, does a burglar want to take the chance or move on to another house? I am guessing the latter.

The last safety tip for today will be about ATM awareness. I cannot think of a more vulnerable time to be a potential victim. During the day time, be very aware of your surroundings. Make sure there is no one too close to you to either harm you or steal your PIN number. At night, make sure you use an ATM that has good lighting and is not in an isolated area. There are two main points I would like to drive home here. First, your money is not worth your safety. If confronted by a criminal, give them your money. There is no amount of money that is worth your safety. One of my favorite lines, "Your ego is not your amigo!" Lastly, if you think the ATM you want to use might be in a bad spot, if you think someone might be watching you, do not use that ATM. There must be hundreds of ATM's wherever you live, pick one that you feel comfortable using!

That's it for now.....be safe and have a great day!

Lt. Dan