Research shows that would-be abductors spend some time hanging around women’s public restroom facilities studying the lay of the land.

First, they look for a place that has an easy escape route, preferably one that is in the back and is located next to or reasonably close to the restroom.

Second, the bad guy will be checking to see that you are alone in the restroom. He doesn’t want witnesses. He doesn’t want to have to deal with two women, either. He wants to catch her alone and subdue her in as private a setting as he can manage.

Third, the would-be assailant doesn’t want anybody to make enough noise to attract attention. That means that yelling and screaming can help your position. Failing that, carrying a safety alarm that makes one heck of a noise can help by summoning help at a critical juncture.

Fourth, arming yourself is good common sense. Few would-be abductors can or will even try to stand up to a woman who is armed and prepared. The variety of non lethal self defense weapons available these days makes finding something that works for you a sure thing. Decide on the type of weapon you want (Taser, stun gun, Mace, or pepper spray) and your price point. Then get one and learn how to use it.

The fifth and most important point is to keep it with you at all times. Having a pristine stun gun waiting for you in the car won’t help if you are abducted before you get there!

Women who have been to an appointment or meeting in an office building, especially a high rise, have passed through at least one of the high risk locations for being assaulted, abducted, or raped.

The most vulnerable time is when she leaves the building and walks toward her parked vehicle. Virtually every parking area, whether a garage or a parking lot, provides places for would-be assaulters to hide. Any car, even a compact, can keep an assailant hidden until it is too late to elude capture – unless the woman stays alert and is prepared to repel boarders, things could go very badly for her.

Arm yourself. This does not mean just keeping your keys positioned in a particular way in case you need to defend yourself. If an assailant gets close enough for you to use your keys on him, the odds of your surviving the encounter are pretty slim.

Non-lethal weapons are particularly useful in these situations. Mace and pepper spray come in dispensers that are designed to attach them to your key ring. That means your self defense weapon is close enough for you to get to it and use it.

Another option is some form of stun gun. These come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes that range from an 18 inch stun baton to a mini stun gun smaller than a pack of cigarettes.

1. Get one.
2. Learn how to use it.
3. Live to tell other women how you prepared and survived.

Anyone – man or woman – who works in an office building or goes to various appointments in an office-type building needs to pay attention to increased security concerns. Women, in particular, are at much greater risk in the parking lots and garages attached to and adjacent to buildings.

Would-be attackers, abductors, and rapists are specifically looking for unescorted women in unguarded, secluded places. Poorly lit, otherwise deserted garages and parking lots are popular places with bad guys. They typically offer lots of hiding places, making it downright easy to grab a woman. The most common next step is to force her into a nearby van. To make it worse, there are lots of exit routes that make it easy to leave the area.

The third most popular place for bad guys to assault women is in public restrooms. Unfortunately, most women need to make use of public facilities from time to time, making it an ideal target area. Bad guys hang out in the general area, watching for vulnerable-looking women to enter the restroom when no one else is in there to hear the scuffle. His goal is to grab a woman, subdue her in some manner, and then move her to an area where he can take his time and reduce the likelihood of being discovered.

In Self Defenese Tips Part 2 find ways to reduce the chances of assault and abduction.

Your local law enforcement officers are dedicated to keeping people safe, but the sad truth is that after the fact, all they can do is investigate and try to bring the bad guys to some kind of justice. In short, prevention is the responsibility of each individual and it starts with being informed.

A recent study of assaults in metropolitan and urban areas revealed that more women are abducted from or attacked in is the grocery store parking lot. Think about it. You usually have to juggle your purse, keys, cell phone, grocery cart and bags after bag of purchases. Paul Bunyan could walk right up to most women before they would even notice his blue ox, Babe.

What can you do? Stow your money while in the grocery store. Get your keys out and ready. If you have a self defense weapon, make sure you have it close to hand. Pay attention to everyone and everything around you when you leave the building and head for the vehicle. If you see something suspicious, go right back inside. Tell someone what you have seen and ask for an escort to your car – preferably a big male.

Check out the vehicle. If it’s a van, take a peek underneath to see if someone’s feet or shadow might be visible. Look inside the vehicle, including in the back seat. If you see anything questionable, go back inside and get help.

Once you load the car and get in, lock the doors, start the engine, and drive away. Don’t sit there chatting on the phone, checking your makeup and hair. The longer you stay in the parking lot, the more vulnerable you are. Leave. Immediately.

Research shows there are some specific things rapists look for when choosing a target. Armed with some of this information, you could avoid becoming a victim.

• Hairstyle – If you are wearing a hairstyle that can be grabbed easily, watch out. Women who wear their hair long, in a ponytail, bun, or braid make it easy for the bad guy to get you off balance then take you down. Short hair is tougher to grab, which makes you a less attractive target.

• Clothing – Rapists look for outfits that are loose or can be removed quickly. Some even carry scissors or a knife to make it easier to get to you in a hurry.

• Women, who are not paying attention to their surroundings and doing things like talking on a cell phone, going through a bag, or any of a dozen other common activities while walking anywhere, are great targets. A woman who is caught off-guard cannot defend herself well.

Since we know that men are most likely to do the unspeakable in the early morning hours (between 5:00 and 8:30) that’s the time to pay attention to checking the area before going through your morning routine of leaving the house, locking your doors, getting in your vehicle, etc. Here too, operating on autopilot can get you in trouble.

The key to self defense is to pay attention.

Non lethal weapons have reached a new level in recent months. Not only are they available in designer colors, but they are also extremely powerful. Besides that, these little wonders are also budget friendly. Whatever the need or situation, there is a weapon designed to fit the bill.

The new generation of self protection weapons is perfect for anyone who doesn’t like the idea of owning, carrying, or using a conventional firearm. The weight of a loaded handgun can be too much for many women, not to mention the loud “bang” and recoil.

Consider looking at the most powerful mini stun gun on the market today. It packs a whopping one million volts but is small enough to fit in the palm of a woman’s dainty hand. Small enough to fit inside a pack of cigarettes, no one ever needs to know you are packing monster power in your evening purse.

Many women are afraid the weapon will accidentally discharge while in a handbag or pocket. The safety guard, a switch, operates like a safety on a regular firearm and in many models of stun guns or Tasers they can be operated with either hand.

Do yourself a favor and check out these little powerhouses.

Having one of them tucked in a pocket or purse could safe your life.

Today’s real estate market is experiencing its own ups and downs. Unfortunately, the agents themselves are sometimes in difficult situations. In order to reduce the level of risk, there are a few self defense basic to remember which can make the life or death difference.

The job is complicated by several factors: the homes or condos are often unoccupied, you don’t know the client, and you are often alone on site. Women are particularly vulnerable when showing a place alone, especially if the client is a male.

Suppose you are headed to an appointment with a male client you don’t know, in a vacant home, and your assistant is unavailable. Take some safety precautions before you walk out the door.

• Tell someone where you are going, who you are going to meet, and your estimated time of return.

• Be sure you have a cell phone with you and that its battery is adequately charged. If you have hands-free capability, so much the better.

• Carry something like a clipboard to hold your papers. The kind that has a storage area underneath the writing surface provides a place to carry writing instruments and other small items.

• Keep your keys within easy reach. Do not put them down and then wander through the property.

• Carry a personal protection device of some sort.

• Consider attaching a pepper spray or Mace container to your key ring.

• Consider wearing a mini stun gun of some sort in a holster or a pocket.

• Practice using your weapon. Figure out how to carry it, retrieve it and keep it within easy reach.

• Give someone a “by when” deadline. If the designated home base person does not hear from you by a given time, that person should call the authorities and start trying to find you.

The best thing to do is to leave if you become uncomfortable. Make an excuse if you must, but leave.

It could be the most important exit of your entire life.

In November 2006, Houston Mayor Bill White requested an independent study. The study, overseen by Controller Annise Parker’s office, has been critical of the Houston Police Department’s (HPD’s) system for tracking Taser use. The study, slated to be open for public review in early September, says HPD’s methods don’t measure up. This despite HPD’s policy of reviewing each deployment. The study maintains the review procedure cannot be proven because there is no paper trail. However, there is a computer chip which stores deployment data in many Taser models. There are even recording devices in some models.

HPD administrators and officers like having Tasers available because it has significantly contributed to reducing injuries on both ends of the weapon – officers and suspects.

According to Assistant Chief Brian Lumpkin, “To have (69) complaints and only a few sustained – that is reflective of successful use.” Lumpkin, who oversees internal affairs for HPD continued, “The numbers show that we have used Tasers responsibly.”

HPD records show that between December 2004 and May 2008 officers used the non lethal weapons 1,724 times. Thus far, 69 complaints have been filed, triggering the expected internal affairs investigations, but only five officers have been reprimanded or disciplined. As of this date, five investigations are still open.

Many of the people shocked with Tasers wind up facing no criminal charges. The local paper, the Houston Chronicle, did an analysis of incidents in which officers used Tasers. Their study showed that of the first 900 incidents, over a third of the “victims” did not face any charges. Judges dismissed or prosecutors dropped charges after they were filed in about another 50 cases.

In a world gone awry, one would think picking up one’s laundry would be a relatively safe and simple affair. Not so for either the customers trying to pick up clothing without a claim ticker or for owners of the Laundromat in Houston, Texas. The unhappy customer called authorities to help sort out the situation. That’s when Officer Troy Triplett answered the call and walked into a weird buzz saw.

Van Chau, aged 72, and his wife Do got into it with Triplett. Unfortunately, while the officer tried to sort out the problem, the situation escalated into a physical struggle with Chau who is 5-feet-4-inches tall.

Witness statements provided by Michael Nguyen, the family’s lawyer, said the store’s glass door shattered and Chau wound up lying, face down, in the glass and his own blood. Triplett attempted to restrain Chau while keeping a knee on his back. Later, it would take 28 stitches to put Chau’s wounds together.

Meanwhile, according to Aaron Greenlee, a witness who is also a customer, “His wife ran outside screaming ‘Nooo, Noooo,’ seeing her husband bleeding and rolling in the glass as the officer continued to manhandle him.”

At some point the officer told Do to back away. When she continued forward, the officer used his Taser on her.

Do was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest. Chau was charged with felony assault of a public servant. Subsequently, Do’s case was dismissed and a grand jury decided not to indict Chau.

To no one’s surprise, the couple filed a formal complaint with the internal affairs division of HPD, but Triplett was neither admonished nor disciplined.

The couple’s 29 year old daughter, Linh Chau, said, “It makes me wonder whether they really looked at what happened. If they had, how could they do nothing?”

Officers around the world are carrying and occasionally using Tasers to help them manage a wide variety of situations that could otherwise easily escalate into lethal situations. In spite of the few cases where Tasers and other stun guns are questioned as possible factors leading to deaths, the weapons usage continues to be criticized.

Critics should consider the likely outcomes in the thousands of cases where Tasers or stun guns were used instead of regulation firearms. While any death is unfortunate, the percentage of deaths would be much higher had firearms been used in each case where Tasers were used.

Having alternatives to firearms is a lifesaver – for folks on both ends of the weapon