The demand for stun guns, Tasers and pepper spray jumped on Tuesday with the news of nine sexual assaults or rapes reported in Fayetteville and Hope Mills and on Fort Bragg.

http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/01/14/968040

It’s too late to protect yourself after the fact. Being prepared gives you time to get away.

While 9 month old Emily plays in a crib, her young, single mother gets ready to go to work. She recently hired a part-time nanny to watch after Emily during the day.
Her daughter was the happiest baby anyone had ever met. Always laughing and smiling, having fun and being a baby. But after a few weeks Emily’s disposition changed drastically. Her mother thought it may have been from a lack of naps and sat down with the nanny to emphasize the importance of a schedule.
Not wanting to take any chances, Emily’s mother purchased an Air Freshener with a hidden camera and digital video recorder built inside. It was very simple to use…she just plugged it in, chose to record only when motion was detected and hit record.
She returned home from work one afternoon to find Emily down for an afternoon nap. She almost felt guilty for sneaking around with the hidden camera.
After saying her goodbye’s to the nanny and settling in from her day of work she decided to review the video.
Much to her dismay, she saw that her daughter was left in a play pen in the living room for the first 4 hours while the nanny slept. After the nanny couldn’t sleep through baby Emily’s cries any longer the nanny would let her roam freely around the house. The mother’s anger is building and building.
A little further in to the recording, she watches as some friends of the nanny’s show up at the house. During this time, it seems the nanny locked little Emily in her room.
Still angry, of course, Emily’s mom continued to watch. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the nanny slap her child. The nanny would walk by Emily and kick her out of the way. She picked her up like a rag doll and tossed her onto the furniture.
Emily’s mom stopped the recording, grabbed the phone, and went to Emily. While dialing the police, she picked Emily up from the crib and noticed bruising on various parts of her body, including her face.
Thankfully, because of the nanny cam purchase, a trip to the emergency room, and a police report filed, Emily is alive and healthy today. A nanny is in jail.

Nanny Cameras

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served both past and present. It is greatly appreciated!

Thank a vet today!

Today I talked to a friend who works for a sports photography company in Florida. It’s a close knit group of people with a love for capturing the priceless moments in sports. Tonight, however, their pockets and arsenal of equipment are alot lighter.

Saturday started just like other. The vans were packed with cameras, lights, backdrops and tents. Several teams headed to photo shoots all over town. They set-up, they shot pictures, they broke down and went home.

It was a normal practice to leave everything in the van, hiding the camera bag and money box. They would unload everything next week. But someone beat ‘em to it.

They returned to find the van door had been pried open with a crow bar, the cameras were removed from the camera bag, lenses and flash along with $2000 cash was stolen from the van.

The thief or possibly thieves, entered the studio and went for the book keepers desk where they made off with more cash.

The owners know it was an inside job because the thieves left anything that was really important to the company. Things like storage cards that held hundreds of pictures, laptops that also stored several thousand pictures and other expensive electronics.

This is the biggest mistake of victims: creating opportunity. Too many people knew how and where equipment and cash was stored and access to these things was completely unrestricted.

It really hurt the owner and I don’t mean financially. He thought he could trust the people who work for him. He learned the hard way.

And now, after it’s too late, he is looking for ways to protect his business. I suggested things like the Motion Detector Hidden Camera with Built-In DVR, the AutoDialer which will call up to 5 phone numbers if motion is detected, a few Doorbraces, hidden safes for petty cash and even pepper spray for the employees while at work.

His total loss is somewhere around $5000.00. Wouldn’t you feel more at ease if your assets were protected?

Hidden Cameras

Yesterday after my email, I received another great tip from a reader. If you use the suction cup attachment for a portable GPS system in your car, make sure you wipe off the mark it leaves on the window. Leaving the smudge lets people know you have a GPS system and could interest them enough to break in.

Today’s story also is related to vehicle safety. You may have been following the story of the three college girls who went missing while on a stargazing expedition in North Dakota.

They were discovered yesterday in ten feet of water hidden by tall grass at the bottom of a pond. Authorities say they probably drove straight into the pond because they were unfamiliar with the area and couldn’t see in the dark.

When I think about 10 feet of water, it doesn’t seem like much. But when a car is submerged the whole situation changes. It is important that you know exactly what to do should this ever happen. There is no room for error.

The moment you enter the water your mind is racing and you panic as you reach for the seat belt. The car will begin to sink and tilt vertically because of the weight of the engine. Water will begin to rush in. The most important thing to do is NOT follow the bubbles. Air is escaping through the trunk because the car is sinking head first and will likely turn upside down.

1. Immediately open a window if you can. If you cannot get a window down, because anything could happen, you should have an Emergency Hammer in your car. This tool has 2 very sharp hammers that will break a window or windshield instantly. It is important to keep this tool in a very accessible place.

2. After the window is opened or broken, unbuckle your seat belt. If you do this before opening a window, you will likely be swept to the back of the vehicle with the current of the water. If the seat belt is jammed, you can also use the Emergency Hammer to cut it.

3. Prepare any passengers as the vehicle is sinking. Get out and swim to the surface. The longer you stay in the submerged vehicle, the lower your chances for survival.

Remember to break a window first! Create an escape path immediately. If you don’t, you will have to wait until the car is almost fully submerged and pressure has equaled out. Then try lowering the window, breaking it with your seat belt or brace yourself for kicking it out.

With the Emergency Hammer, you have a glass breakage hammer and a seat belt cutter all in one.

I received an email that I wanted to share with you. I won’t share the actual email because it tells a story that is a little over the top. But there are two important messages.

GPS systems are everywhere now. Some are portable, some are built into cars. One feature of these systems is the ability to store addresses in them. You can even name these addresses for quick reference such as “home” or “in-laws” whatever it may be.

The story was about a car that was stolen from a parking lot. The thieves used the car owners GPS, found a saved address named “home” and went to their house to break in. Somebody had their thinking caps on that day.

First lesson, don’t save your home address in your GPS. Save a local store or somewhere close to home.

Second lesson, don’t leave valuables out where people can see them. Criminals act on opportunity. A purse or expensive electronic is like an invitation to a thief. Hide things under seats or better yet, lock them in the trunk.

A diversion safe is a great way to hide valuables in plain sight. No one is going to think twice about a JB Engine Degreaser.

Tonight is the night of ghosts and ghouls. In case you missed our Newsletter, here are some safety tips for keeping children safe:

- help your child pick a costume that is safe. Think fire proof, no loose material that could cause them to trip, make sure eye holes are large and don’t interfere with peripheral vision.

- Jack-o-lanterns: make sure if you have any on your porch they are out of the way of children.

- If your child is carrying a prop, make sure it won’t cause injury if he should fall.

- Kids love to help carve pumpkins but they shouldn’t be allowed to cut the top off. Let them clean out the inside and have them draw on the pumpkin, then you can cut it out. There are pumpkin kits available with saws and designs.

- Teach your kids basic safety: don’t talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing the street, follow traffic lights, and don’t eat any candy until you inspect it.

Hope you have a great Halloween and remember Safety First!

I just watched a show called 20 Most Shocking Unsolved Crimes. Of those twenty, five of them were against children.

1. The 1981 kidnapping and murder of Adam Walsh. His mother was 75 feet away from him for about 7 minutes. His body nor the killer have ever been found.

2. The 1996 abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman. The AMBER Alert system was named after this little girl who was alive two whole days after she was kidnapped.

3. The 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey. The latest DNA evidence ruled that an unknown male handled her little body and the parents were ruled out.

4. The 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway. She boarded a plane for Aruba and never came home. No body.

5. The 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann who was left unattended in her parent’s hotel room while they dined nearby with friends.

And then there are the very recent cases: Kaylee Anthony believed to have died and then hidden by her own mother or Hayley Cummings…her story is completely unknown an still under investigation.

I could go on and on. And my deepest condolences go out to the families who are living through the hell of losing a child.

Children are easy targets and it is up to us as parents to protect them. To teach them about the dangers that are out there and how to deal with them.

I don’t like to hear any story of violence but it especially weighs on your heart when a child is involved.

Personal alarms are a great self defense tool for children:

1. Explain what an emergency is to your child. Talk about everything as is age appropriate but don’t wait too long.

2. Show your child how to use a personal alarm if they are in an emergency.

3. Teach your child how to call for help and also learn as parents to recognize when a child is in need of help.

Stay Safe and Prepared

When hiding covert spy cameras from plain view, it’s best to position them above eye level while maintaining a good view of the room. Covert spy cameras are very useful tools for preventing and solving crime, but they’re not going to work if you don’t hide them properly.

Suggested Hiding Places for Covert Spy Cameras
To help you get started, here are a number of hiding places you could use for your covert spy camera.

Kitchens
Place them near but not exactly at the back of refrigerators and electrical stoves. People rarely have any reason for their hands to venture into those areas, thus making it a safe hiding place for your covert spy cameras.

Living Rooms
As this is one of the most frequently visited areas and the most exposed to outsiders, you’ll have to be extra careful with your hiding places. If possible, place them above eye level so that they’re less likely to be spotted. Place them also behind other objects like shrubbery and paintings while making sure that there’s only enough open space for the eyehole of the camera to capture footage and images clearly.

To be a bit more resourceful, consider cutting or drilling a hole into a box of pancake mix, a can of fresh fruit, or even a ceramic cup. Then place the camera inside and display the object on top of the refrigerator or cupboard.

Comfort Rooms
If there’s enough space between the covers of your exhaust fan and the fan itself, consider placing your covert spy camera there. You can also place it near the shower rod if it’s high enough.

Bedrooms
Place them behind curtain rods or blinds. People rarely take notice of these places. If you have a bookshelf inside of your bedroom, you can also hide a camera on top of a particularly crowded shelf.

How to Determine the Best Hiding Place for Covert Spy Cameras
In any case, here are a number of factors you should consider when choosing a hiding place for your covert spy camera.

Angle of View
Your location must get the best and, if possible, the most comprehensive view of the area. If not that then it must at least be positioned to capture images or footages of likely entry and exit areas for vandals, burglars, and other unwanted guests.

Unobtrusive
Secondly, covert spy cameras must remain inconspicuous. If it is designed to take the form of another object (e.g. pinhole cameras hidden in stuffed toys) then make sure that they won’t look out of place wherever they may end up. For the example above, cameras inside stuffed toys will look best in your child’s bedroom or displayed in living room glass cabinets.

Pepper spray products are great for self-defense because they’re easy and effective to use. In fact, they’re so easy to use that many a person ends up accidentally spraying someone…or themselves.

If a person has been accidentally hurt with pepper spray, here are several things you can do to apply first aid.

No One Panics
Pepper spray may not be harmful but it certainly won’t feel like it to the victim. Pepper spray has an intensely painful effect and it’s likely to cause the victim to panic and then make you panic as well!

Don’t let that happen. You, most especially, must stay calm for the victim’s sake because you’ll be able to move more efficiently when your brain isn’t clouded with hysterics.

Have Someone Call 911
It’s better to be safe than sorry. There have been unconfirmed reports that pepper spray has been the cause of death due to severe allergic reactions. Why risk that when you don’t have to? Have someone call 911 even as you work on giving the victim first aid.

No Rubbing!
Tie the victim’s hands and bind her to a chair so that the contaminated area remains undisturbed. Rubbing the affected area clean of pepper spray won’t put a stop to the pain. It’s only going to make it worse.

Remember: pepper spray is an inflammatory agent. When you try to rub the skin clean of it, you’re only serving to spread the inflammation, which means that more capillaries in the victim’s skin will be subject to the effects of pepper spray.

Apply Antidote
If you happen to have an OC decontamination treatment product with you then apply that directly to the exposed area. If not that then what about milk? Dip a clean towel in milk then gently place it on the affected area.

No milk available? Then use lots and lots of water. Any of that could help with the initial sting but because pepper spray is oil-based, you’ll need to do a lot more. Mix cold water with soap that’s NOT oil-based. Some suggest the use of detergents (again not oil based) so you could try that, too.

Next, dip yourself into the water several times. Afterwards, dip a towel into the same mixture and use it to very gently rub your face clean of the oil. Expect this to hurt so don’t panic if the victim starts reacting again.

From here, you’ll just have to wait. The victim could start feeling better in fifteen to forty-five minutes. If the eyes have been contaminated and the victim is wearing contacts, be sure to have those disposed as early as possible. They’re not worth using after this.