CAT offers safety tips
Take note of small but important details such as the colour of the robber’s shoes or the language the robbers use.
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – The Community Awareness Training (CAT) session held on October 13 diverted from looking after your home during the holidays to staying safe during an armed robbery.
Sarah Wissler, the coordinator, spoke about armed robberies and how staying level-headed can save your life.
“Running away isn’t going to help you instead dropping to the ground will help you,” said Wissler as she explained that shots are usually fired from the waist level up and therefore is less likely to hit a person lying on the ground.
Wissler advised the domestic workers and gardeners present at the meeting to take note of small but important details such as the colour of the robber’s shoes or the language the robbers use. This information could be useful to the police during an investigation.
“With the holidays coming up, criminals go around pressing the bell repeatedly to see who’s at home because they want to know if there’s people in the house. They also look for other signs that no one’s home like piled up mail.”
Wissler offered these safety tips:
*Employers should make sure that the safety code is remembered at all times by everyone in the home in case of emergencies. When criminals invade your home, there’s no time to explain over the phone what is taking place and a one word safety code can save your life i.e. safety code = Red.
*Don’t leave things of value in the front yard including bicycles or cars. Rather secure them in a locked garage out of view.
*Employers do not tell anyone that you’re going away; only tell your security company if you have a personal relationship with them.
*Be careful of the information you share on social media, checking into a hotel in Mauritius on Facebook could alert the criminals following you on Facebook that you are not home.
