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by Jim Hoffman, Harris County Sheriff’s Department During my 23 years of investigating some of the most reprehensible crimes imaginable and dealing with society’s most violent criminals, I have often asked myself, “How could this crime have been avoided?” The reason that seems to be so prevalent is complacency. I feel a majority of the people, when they see some horrific crime on television, seem to say to themselves, “That can’t happen to me.” The fact is, when you realize the potential for becoming a victim, you are less prone to find yourself in situations that could have been prevented. What I mean by this is, for example, when you’re out and about, USE GOOD COMMON SENSE!!! I know that you don’t have a choice where a depo is going to take place; however, you can do a few things to improve your chances of not becoming a victim. When walking to your car after a depo is completed, ask one of the attorneys or the videographer to please walk you to your car. Park in well-lighted areas; and if you do not feel comfortable about your parking location, move! I believe everyone is equipped with a “sixth sense.” Learn to listen to this sense. I know, as reporters, a great deal of concentration is needed for your job. It is very easy to become preoccupied with the depo at hand, wondering about different things, such as how many pages am I going to get, I hope the attorney won’t ask me for an ASCII, I am not writing very well, what a jerk this attorney is to me, how many copies will I sell? These are all things that probably go through your mind on the job. I submit to you that it is more important arriving and leaving the depo safely than any of the above items I have just mentioned. Your security has to be your number one priority before, during, and after your depo! During the numerous years that my wife has been reporting, I have thought of different situations that might be of some help. Usually she will give me the location of the job so I can find the best route to take, and sometime my response is “You’re going where?!!” If the location of the job doesn’t “feel right,” don’t take the job. If you absolutely have to take it, there are steps you can take to ensure your safety. The best O & 20 job on the books is not worth it if you’re not safe! When parking in a garage, check to see what time the garage closes. Sometimes garages close while you’re still in your depo, and your car could get stuck there until the next day! Then you’d have to call your understanding husband or wife and have him/her go to the other side of town to pick you up (at 10:30 at night, I might add). The time to think about not becoming a victim of a crime is the present, while you are safe and sound. The basics of any good plan is to think about how you will react to any given situation and/or a specific threat before you unexpectedly find yourself face-to-face with the unimaginable. When you make such plans and continuously rehearse your thought-out responses, if and when you are confronted by a potentially dangerous situation, you will automatically react without hesitation. Your reactions could very well mean the difference between staying safe or being injured. In conclusion, if you remember nothing else from this article, I want to leave each of you with the following information. Always be aware of your surroundings. If you are uncomfortable about a person and/or situation, trust your instincts and remove yourself from the source of your uneasiness as quickly as you can. You will always be better off being overly cautious in situations where you have any doubts about your personal safety. Whenever possible, walk among groups of people you know and try to avoid walking to and/or through parking lots and office buildings alone. By making an effort to take control of your surroundings and planning a reaction to any possible threat, you tremendously increase your chances of not becoming another crime statistic. YOU have the most influence over what you do, so use that influence to keep yourself safe and sound. The Harris County Sheriff’s Department offers a weeklong and nationally acclaimed Rape Aggression and Defense course. This R.A.D. training consists of 3-hour classes for five evenings, totaling 15 hours. The course is specifically designed to teach women proactive and physical responses to personal threats, and offers each student hands-on self-defense training and personal police instruction. While R.A.D is a physically active course, the instruction is taught in such a manner as to safely include all participants. The idea with R.A.D is to educate as many women as possible on how they can effectively defend themselves against an attacker. There are no physical requirements or prerequisites that would disqualify anyone from participating in this course. On the contrary, all women are encouraged to enroll in this training. For more information about R.A.D., please call the Harris County Sheriff’s Department at the following numbers: Cypresswood area (NW Houston) - Deputy Broussard 281-376-2997 Humble area (NE Houston) - Deputy Jordan 281-449-6600 Wallisville (SE Houston) - Deputy Pascos 713-455-8050 Clay Road area (West Houston) - Deputy Cross 281-564-5988 (Back to Table of Contents) |