Allison Leotta
My friend Allison Leotta is a first-rate crime and mystery novelist whose latest book, Speak of the Devil, has just been published by Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster. But a large part of her preparation for her literary career was serving as an AUSA – Assistant United States Attorney – specializing in the prosecution of sex crimes in the District of Columbia. This is one of the best training grounds any prosecutor can have.
Through her extensive experience investigating and trying sexual predators, Allison has come up with five rules for keeping yourself safe. They square totally with John Douglas’s and my own research and experience, so I want to spread them as widely as possible.
Allison’s rules save lives!
1. You May Already Be In Love With Your Rapist.
A large majority of sex crimes are committed by individuals the victim knows and/or has a relationship with. Don’t suppose that you can’t be preyed on by someone you know.
2. Lock Your Doors and Windows.
This may seem obvious, but it is the single most effective action you can take. We spend vast amounts on health care, yet the two best actions you can take to prevent premature death are: Do not smoke and do wear a seat belt. The same concept prevails with crime. With preventing sexual attack, the simplest actions are still the best.
3. Get a Dog.
Not only will you have a new best friend, there is nothing like a dog to keep you safe. Predators and robbers just don’t want to mess with dogs. They’d much rather move on to the next easy target. This is something I have heard over and over again from my police and detective sources.
4. If Confronted, Do Not Move to Another Location.
First, try to assess the situation. If what he wants is your purse, your jewelry or even your car keys, give them to him. They can all be replaced. But do not get in a vehicle with him or let him move you to another location! Run and scream – you are likely to escape and survive. But as Allison warns, “If you get in a car, your survival chances plummet!” So resist, even at the risk of injury.
5. Trust Your Instincts.
We all have built-in alarms and we just need to know how to “operate” them. Whether we realize it or not, we are all “profiling” all the time. Wherever you are – an elevator, a party, a street corner – if for some reason, even if you don’t consciously know why, you don’t like the feel or the vibes of the situation or the person(s) around you, get out.
Allison Leotta knows what she’s talking about. We can all benefit by her advice.
Great advice. That one about not going anywhere is very important but very hard to get women to do because sometimes they are conning them and the woman doesn’t get it yet.
A burglar at my rent house actually pepper-sprayed my poor dog. I think the key is to have more than one dog because they tend to circle a person and they can only spray one and won’t want to worry about more than one.
A big fake snake visible just inside the most likely point of entry can scare people off, too. If you can still find them. I wish I still had my old one! Mine was inflatable and looked totally real, not like the rubber ones. At one time I found that in a garden section of some store.
My instincts tell me Zimmerman was only a trial to the world – and the rules listed here are good. However I do tend to keep my doors unlocked.
That is pretty good advice but you have to asses the situation quickly, sometimes that is not possible. I say you left out the most important measure, pray the Rosary and always carry one with you.
Our Blessed Mother protect these women because Morgan and Sharon died for the evil some see fit to profit from, fine let me do my job and I can show you what ability I posses. But to this woman it works only if you have not been marked to die as that mother had. For what? Zimmerman? Kill him not whites because he is not white and the system is all blacks like Obama. Blame him he started this by hiring crappy FBI agents. I will stop there but these posts upset me and no one else gets the meaning John, but I do. I said this before but once again Manson you lost to me, and your lucky they do not care cause I would have your ass. Dennis I got yours and Gary just wait old man your not done yet.