HOME INVASIONS – Part 1 – What you should know.

 

Most people think of their homes as a safe fortress or haven where they feel protected from the dangers of the ‘outside’ world. Sadly, a growing criminal population and the nightly news have revealed that this is often not the case.  In the United States along more than 6 million homes are broken into each year. This often happens when the home owners are away on vacation. It also happens a lot in the summer time the home owners are away at work. The perpetrator may be school kids or drug addicts looking to get some stuff to sell.  Sadly, most people only think about making their homes secure after a burglary has occurred. Perhaps after reading this series you’ll be proactive in this approach. According to crime reports compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation one out of every six homes will be burglarized this year. It has been stated that burglars only need 60 seconds to break into most homes. The easiest way for a criminal to get into your house is just to kick-in your door! The FBI says every 12 seconds a home is invaded by going right through the front or back door. FBI statistics claim that only one out of every four burglaries involve forced entry. Most burglars enter homes through an open or unlocked window or door. By making it more difficult for intruders to get into your residence, you can greatly reduce your chances of being robbed. The more a burglar has to work to get into your home, the less chance you have of becoming his victim.

This Home invasion series will provide you with the knowledge and resources to reduce your chances of being the next victim of a sudden criminal home break-in and robbery by the criminal element.

Crime just doesn’t happen to other people

The external threat to your home comes mainly from robbers looking to take what you’ve worked hard to obtain. Robbers with intent to commit a violent crime once inside and house robberies can be a very traumatic experience leading to serious financial losses and much psychological and physical suffering of the victims. During a home invasion, as often experienced in high crime areas, there are multiple victimization in a single incident. As an example, criminals often discovered during the act of burglary by the residents of the house, may change into violent criminals and end up committing more serious types of crime, e.g., malicious damage to property, assault, rape and even murder.  Crimes like these are occurring almost every moment of every day.  According to the FBI Crime Clock One Property Crime happens every 3 seconds. One Violent Crime happens every 22 seconds. One Larceny Theft happens every 5 seconds.  One Auto Theft happens every 27 seconds. One Burglary every 15 happens every seconds. One Murder happens every 34 minutes. One Robbery happens every 1 minute, and one Rape happens every 6 minutes.

Here are some other facts about burglaries

• Burglary accounted for 22.1 percent of the estimated number of property crimes committed in 2007.
• Of all burglaries, 61.1 percent involved forcible entry, 32.4 percent were unlawful entries (without force), and the remainder (6.5 percent) were forcible entry attempts.
• In 2007, burglary offenses cost victims an estimated $4.3 billion in lost property; overall, the average dollar loss per burglary offense was $1,991.
• Burglary of residential properties accounted for 67.9 percent of all burglary offenses.
• Offenses for which time of occurrence was known showed that 57.4 percent of burglaries took place during the day and 42.6 percent at night.
• Offenses for which time of occurrence was known showed that more residential burglaries (63.6 percent) occurred during the daytime while 56.4 percent of nonresidential burglaries occurred during nighttime hours.

 

Attacks against our homes and families can be conducted by three different types of burglars

• The Amateur burglar – are opportunists and look for easy targets. They take chances, but if the risk of detection is too high, they will not attempt to enter a home. These are opportunists who break in on impulse and steal low-risk items, such as petty-cash boxes and jewelry, according to the Burglary Prevention Council. These thieves make up about seventy percent of the group.
• The Semi-professional burglar – know that the key to success is planning. They usually scout a neighborhood, ‘casing’ a residence and waiting for the right moment to strike. Often they study the pattern of the people in the neighborhood, and waiting for you to go on vacation. The semi-professional burglar makes up about 28 percent of this group.
• The Professional burglar – spend sufficient time planning and strategizing and focus high-end homes with an emphasis on extremely valuable items, such as money, jewelery, cars and weapons. These make up the remaining two percent of the group.

 

The ten items robbers are usually after are TVs, computers (especially laptops) and printers, DVD players and DVDs, stereo equipment, weapons, jewelry and watches, tools, cameras, credit cards and sports equipment, such as golf clubs. It’s usually anything that can grab and carry in the five to ten minutes it will take before the police arrive.

During some home break-ins it is not uncommon for home-owners to be violently victimized during  the crime. In many documented instances, members of the family been assaulted, tortured, raped or killed.

But your house doesn’t have to be one of any of these statistics. Many experts, such as the FBI, and your local police say there’s plenty you can do to make it tougher for burglars to make off with your possessions.

 

In our next article will be outline some steps you can take to reduce your chances of being a threat.

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking responsibility to protect themselves, their cars, or their possessions with our pepper spray, stun guns, and other personal protection products.

Don’t  be their next victim

 

The Church and Domestic Violence

Chris Brown & Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony, Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston, James Brown & Tomi Rae Brown, Juanita Bynum and Thomas Weeks are some of the recent cases of domestic violence cases. Victims of domestic violence are in your neighborhoods, they are in your work place and they exist in the church.  Here are some South Carolina statistics you may not be aware of. Readers from other states can research your own state statistics.  These came from the National Coalition against Domestic violence.

 

·         Did you know that One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. One in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. 

·         The majority (73%) of family violence victims are female. Females were 84% of spousal abuse victims and 86% of abuse victims at the hands of a boyfriend.

·         There were 35,894 victims of domestic violence in South Carolina in 2005. 43% of reported domestic violence cases ended in an arrest. 

·         Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.

·          

South Carolina ranks 7th in the nation for numbers of women killed by men. The state has consistently ranked in the top 10 since 2000. Many in the state remember in April 2005, when a bill came up for victims of domestic violence came up how Republican John Graham Altman, who claims to be a Christian, shot the bill down, with some very controversial statements. What has been the response from the church? What does your spiritual leader ever address domestic abuse?

 

Paul in writing to Titus an epistle of pastoral counsel advised his protégé to teach the Biblical believers in Crete, “to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” (Titus 3:2 NIV).  This teaching has practicality for many of life’s situations, and the Biblical home as well as the Christian life style should be the primary repository of the behavior found in this teaching.  But is it?

 

Statistics from many studies, both secular and Christian; indicate that on any Sunday morning service, approximately twenty-five percent of the women sitting in the pews with us are victims of domestic abuse. This abuse can range from verbal and economic abuse, to sexual and physical violence.  These statistics do not reflect husband abuse and child abuse, which also exists in the church.

 

Until quite recently, and it may be due to the Juanita Bynum case, the Christian community has lived in denial that domestic crime and brutality could be present in their congregations.  After all, we have been taught from the Ephesians 5 of Holy Bible that if a woman submits to her husband, or a man sacrificially loves his wife, all will be well in ‘Domestic Peace Church of the Living God’.  If we actually read the whole scripture and did exactly as it says, all may be OK in those homes. However domestic abuse happens in the church from pulpit to the pews.

 

What constitutes abuse?

 

Abuse involves condescending (putting down) the value of the spouse or partner, either physically, verbally or with body language, social isolation, rape and other sexual violations, and economic marginalization.  It can involve name-calling.  It accuses the spouse of activities, sins, and omissions that are in no way true, like accusing the partner of adultery without substantiating evidence.  This cruelty goes below the discussion of ideas and opinions and desires, and calls into question the nature of the person.  It doesn’t recognize the personhood and Godly value of the spouse.  The victim is treated like an enemy that must be conquered, rather than a partner who is loved and valued.

 

 

What should the church do in the face of this awesome social upheaval that’s only recently been recognized by social scientists, and is essentially ignored by the church?  How should church leadership at every level respond to that respected a member wife or girlfriend who in confidence reports that her bruises didn’t actually result from a fall down the stairs, but from the same hands were praising the Lord last Sunday. The normal escape avenue of many of the modern church is to just pray.  Yes, the bible says we are to always pray, but it also says that Faith without works is dead. (James 2:17). The bible also asks in Psalm 82: 2-4

 

“How long will you defend the unjust   and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.  Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

  

The first, and absolutely most important action toward the victim is to believe them. The act of “coming out of the closet”, took great courage on the part of the victim, and no matter how shocked you might be that this crime has been simmering behind the scenes in an honored home in your congregation, the victim must be heard.  Be patient.  Listen – that means don’t talk.  Ask simple questions for clarification, but the less said the better.  Allow the victim to share with you the pain that’s probably been going on for many years.  Never minimize their story.  If the victim perceives that you are not supportive, she may fade back into her house of horrors, and the next time you hear from her, it may be as another statistic in your newspaper’s obituary page. 

 

Get them professional and legal help they need. Don’t ask the abuser to come and sit down with the victim so “to find out truth” or “discuss the situation”.  This step can place you, as well as the victim, in danger. You and the victim could find yourself at gunpoint, behind and angry or scared man.  Instead of addressing the abuser at this point, suggest to the victim that she obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO).  Take her to the family court and support her in the process.  It’s free and there are attorney’s available who will advise her on her rights.  The TRO can give the victim a measure of security from which basis she can then make other arrangements, both long and short-term, for herself and the children.

 

 The implications of the above statistic are obvious and will require a cooperative effort of our church leaders, our state leaders, our leaders in congress, our law enforcement and the courts, as well as, increased resources for shelters and advocates.

 

 

 

For more information or to get help, please contact the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Hotline

at 1-800-260-9293

(look up the number for your state if not from SC)

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking responsibility to protect themselves, their cars, or their possessions with our pepper spray, stun guns, and other personal protection products.

Don’t become a victim of Identity Theft

It can happen to anyone. The phone rings and a collection agency demands that you pay past-due accounts for a new car that you bought in Bugtussle, TN. The problem is you don’t know where that is, and you didn’t buy a new car. The supermarket refuses your checks because you have a history of bouncing them. But you have always paid bills on time, and you have lots of money in the bank. What has happened?

 

You’ve become a victim of Identity theft. Identity theft or identity fraud, the fastest growing crime in the United States, is the taking of a victim’s identity for financial gain or to conceal the real identity of the perpetrator.

Using a variety of methods, criminals steal Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, credit card numbers, ATM cards, telephone calling cards, and other pieces of individuals’ identities such as date of birth. They use this information to impersonate their victims, spending as much money as they can in as short a time as possible before moving on to someone else’s name and identifying information.

In the last year alone, nearly 10 million Americans became victims of identity theft, a crime that cost them approximately $5 billion total. It is the fastest growing crime in the United States, and if you’re not careful, it could happen to you, or perhaps it already has. On average, it takes identity theft victims 12 months to realize that they have been victimized.

There are two types of identity theft.

• “Account takeover” occurs when a thief acquires your existing credit account information and purchases products and services using either the actual credit card or simply the account number and expiration date.

• “Application fraud” is what some experts call “true name fraud.” The thief uses your SSN and other identifying information to open new accounts in your name. Victims are not likely to learn of application fraud for some time, because the monthly account statements are mailed to an address used by the imposter. In contrast, victims learn of account takeover when they receive their monthly account statement. This guide discusses strategies for reducing the risk of both types of fraud.

How to reduce your chances of becoming a victim

Personal Information

 First, you must understand what personal information of yours should be kept private. While some personal information is inevitably going to be made public, there are some items with high sensitivity that should never be made public. See the table below for details.

Item	Sensitivity
Full Name	Low
Address	Low
Phone Number	Low
Date of Birth	Medium
Birthplace	Medium
Mother’s Maiden Name	Medium
Social Security Number	High
Bank Account Number	High
Credit Card Number	High
PIN or Password	High

 

Protecting yourself against identity theft involves nothing more than protecting this personal information, particularly the high sensitivity items. Anyone with knowledge of just one of your high sensitivity items can do a lot of damage.  If an identity thief can get access to your Social Security number, your date of birth, or even sometimes just your address and telephone number, they can use that information to pretend to be you. They can open new credit card accounts, access your present bank accounts, rent a house or apartment, establish utility company accounts, and even obtain a job — all in your name. Part of the battle of preventing identity theft is recognizing how this personal information is stolen and from where.

Tips to Prevent Identity Theft

There are steps that you can take to make it more difficult for these thieves to obtain your personal information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, these tips can help identity theft from happening to you:

·         Do not give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you initiated the contact or are sure you know who you are dealing with. Identity thieves may pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs) and even government agencies to get you to reveal your SSN, mother’s maiden name, account numbers, and other identifying information. Before you share any personal information, confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate organization. You can check the organization’s web site as many companies post scam alerts when their name is used improperly, or you can call customer service using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book.

·         Do not carry your SSN card — leave it in a secure place such as a diversion safe.

·         Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having service work done in your home.

·         Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you are planning to be away from home and cannot pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it.

·         To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture your personal information, tear or shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you are discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail. If you do not use the pre-screened credit card offers you receive in the mail, you can opt out by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567- 8688). Please note that you will be asked for your Social Security number in order for the credit bureaus to identify your file so that they can remove you from their lists and you still may receive some credit offers because some companies use different lists.

·         Get a paper shredder so no one can piece together important information (at the very least, rip up the documents yourself)

·         Carry only the identification information and the number of credit and debit cards that you will actually need.

·         Place hard to guess passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your dog’s name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line on their applications for your mother’s maiden name. Use a password instead.

·         Protect those PIN numbers – Cover the number pad when you are entering pins at the ATM machine and never tell anyone about them.  Also, never use something like 1234 as your pin please!

·         Ask about information security procedures in your workplace or at businesses, doctor’s offices or other institutions that collect identifying information from you. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that it is handled securely. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well. Find out if your information will be shared with anyone else. If so, ask if you can keep your information confidential.

·         Give your SSN only when necessary. Ask to use other types of identifiers when possible. If your state uses your SSN as your driver’s license number, ask to substitute another number. Do the same if your health insurance company uses your SSN as your account number.

·         Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills do not arrive on time. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.  If you have computer access, many institutions offer electronic statements.

·         Be wary of promotional scams. Identity thieves may use phony offers to get you to give them your personal information.  They don’t need your SSN or Bank Account Number, or FULL Name.

·         Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work as well as any copies you may keep of administrative forms that contain your sensitive personal information.

·         Cancel all unused credit accounts.

·         When ordering new checks, pick them up at the bank, rather than having them sent to your home mailbox. Don’t put your Whole name on your check, try using your initial. Don’t include your phone number or SSN on your checks.

·         Freezing Your Credit – You can call the credit report agencies to freeze your credit so no one can ever apply for a credit card or get a loan under your name until you unfreeze it.  It will cost money but the piece of mind might be worth it.

·         Get free credit reports so you can check them. (They are FREE by Federal Law)

·         Instead of signing the back of the credit card, write “Check ID”.

·         If your credit card company offers it, opt for the card that has your photo on it.

·         Only make online purchases through trusted websites.  Stuff like the Trust-e symbol, better business bureau stamp are a must.

·         Install anti-virus or anti-spyware on your computer and never open links through an email unless you are absolutely sure that it’s safe.  For now, you can also use a Mac instead (until macs get popular enough that crooks start targeting it as well)

·         Monitor all your accounts online – Check your accounts regularly now that it’s so convenient to monitor them online.  Make sure there’s nothing suspicious going on.

·         Passwords – Never save your passwords just for the convenience.  Typing it out doesn’t take that much time!  Also, the more complicated it is, the better.  Remember to also use capitals, letters, symbols and letters.

·         More about Passwords – Change them regularly.

·         Security tokens – Some banks are starting to offer those security tokens that change numbers every few seconds as an added security over your password when logging onto your online account.  Take advantage if yours offer one.

·         Don’t log onto accounts using a public computers – You don’t need the possible hassle of forgetting to log out.

·         Identify theft insurance can be a good investment just in case you become a victim

PepperEyes.com – Personal Protection Products

Don’t be their next victim

Police Officer In Trouble Helped By Woman With Stun Gun in Atlanta

Ms. Tanisha Cross of LITHONIA, Ga never thought the stun gun she received for Christmas present would come in helpful so soon.  Cross said she was going to Wal-Mart in Lithonia with her mother when she noticed that a DeKalb County police officer being attacked by a suspect.

 

“I just told my mom pull over, … let’s try to help,” said Tanisha.

The 20-year-old mother, who received the stun gun as a gift from her husband, said she kept it in a diaper bag.

 

Tanisha said while others stood around  to watch, she sprung into action.

“I went straight for my kid’s diaper bag and I got the stun gun and asked it if he [officer] wanted me to do it and he said, ‘Yea,‘” said Tanisha .

Tanisha Cross said the officer had a hard time defending himself because the attacker had taken the officer’s radio and managed to rub pepper spray in the officer’s face and eyes.

Jolting the attacker, Tanisha timing couldn’t have been better. Tanisha said she stunned the suspect in his arms and legs.

Tanisha said she stunned the attacker to where the officer regained his composure and fought back until a security guard came to their aid.

“He’s brave,” she said. “He did his best to keep him from his gun. He handled the situation very well. I was just glad I could help him,” said Tanisha.

Tanisha doesn’t consider herself a hero.

 

“I’m just a bystander trying to help do the right thing,” said Cross.

 

PepperEyes.com -Personal Protection Products

Don’t be their Next victim

 

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