What to Do when You Have an Intruder in Your Home, or Are Attacked?

There are people in this world who think that what's yours is mine. They come into our homes, even in broad daylight and look into our private lives, take our stuff and make a huge mess of our clean houses. And that is the best scenario; it is worse when you are at home. Of course these folks know they are certainly not invited, or else they would have rang you first and not climbed through the window. But we are not without "weapons". No, I don't mean guns. I believe more accidents happen with guns than any other weapon. And the responsible people lock them away in a special cabinet so that's no use either.

I mean ourselves. I went to a Self-defense class once and even in 30 minutes I learned how to disarm or floor a big guy. Suppose someone attacks you from behind, holds you. If you kick this person against the kneecap with your foot, full force, he will buckle. This one second might give you time to get away. If someone tries to strangle you, put your hands from under his hands, use the strength of your elbows to release the grip. Never from the top. Don't take a baseball bat, he will grab it and use it against you.

If you open the front door from the outside and suspect there is an intruder, don't enter, call the Police and wait at a neighbors house. If you hear an intruder at night, don't sneak up on him, you don't know if this person is armed. Make a lot of noise. He might get away, but at least you are unharmed. If he's in the house and you stumble upon him , don't be polite, and ask "what are you doing here". If you can't do anything else, scream on the top of your lungs!! It appears that woman "freeze" in situations like that and precious seconds go by. Burglars like to work in quiet situations, not with half of the neighborhood running out of their houses. The first couple of seconds are the most important. So, while you can, get out, scream and let him get away. Don't play the hero, the Police is better equipped for that. If someone points a gun at you it's the only time that things are tricky, and I wouldn't know what to do. But If you are a woman on your own, and scared at night, put a small knife under your pillow. I'm not sure if it's legal where you live, but a small potato-peeling knife is better than nothing and it gives you some protection, if someone tries to rape you at night. It is easier to grab from under a pillow and not as big as a gun. Also, you might be able to harm someone, but not kill.

To prevent yourself from all this happening, there a some ways I find useful. First have all your locks and windows checked by a carpenter regularly. Don't forget to close and lock them at night. Lock cat-flaps at night, even if it means you have to provide a cat-litter for the cat. For aluminum windows there are security-stays available. On my mailbox I have a sign: Beware of the dog. I don't have a dog, but that doesn't matter. There could be a Doberman walking around. Also: burglars don't like to be seen. High fences and high hedges are their favorites. Having a fence is not a problem, but only if it has a gate, which can be locked. They are always looking for a quick get-away and don't like to be fenced-in. Gravel around the house doesn't prevent a burglar from coming in, but you can hear them.

Make sure your neighbors know you are away. Older people in your street can have a very important function: they can be the guardians of your house during the day. They are usually at home when you are at work. If you ask them, I'm sure they'll be happy to help you out. All they have to do is look through the window and call the Police if they see something happening that is out of the ordinary.Also: tell them you'll let them know if you are moving: a big removal-van on your driveway taking all the furniture out of the house could mean it's a burglary in progress. Put your pride and joy, the big Plasma TV in a place not so visible. Jewelry and money should not be in the bedroom, that is the first place the burglar will look for valuables. Make it as difficult as possible for him to rob you blind; find a very unlikely place. (but not the freezing compartment of the fridge) He wants to leave your house as quickly as possible, so he doesn't want to spend time looking.

We are polite people. So if we happen to be out after dark, and we are approached by someone we wouldn't call our friend, a lot of people don't want to attract the attention. But this is exactly what you should do! Attract as much attention as you can. Scream, struggle, run. Then, if there's nobody around, bang on the first door you see. Don't hesitate to wake somebody up in this situation. And it's very unlikely that the person who opens the door is exactly the same as the attacker. Get help. I'm sure that people won't be annoyed in a situation like that. I had to walk after darkness every week, in order to attend classes. One week I heard footsteps behind me and I didn't feel safe. I didn't want to look behind me, I was that scared, and there were bushes everywhere.There were no other people around except 1 guy walking in front of me. So I hurried over to this man and explained I was a bit scared and if I could walk with him. He was happy to oblige. For the duration of the classes I always walked with him and we became friends.

Tell your kids not to come to closely to a open car-window if somebody "asks the way". It saved my son's life when he was young and somebody was doing exactly this in front of his school. The Police was notified and the school was also on the alert. I also told my son to run to the nearest house and bang on the door if there was an urgent situation and he felt threatened. I also had an "emergency-plan" just in case he was home early from school; a neighbor with kids of her own was happy to help if that was the case.

And finally: if you don't feel safe in general, ask the Police to drive through your street regularly. That's what they are there for. Don't think they are too busy. They want to keep us safe and they are well trained to do this. And if you are in a tricky situation: SCREAM.

I like to hear from other CP's if they have tips on how to keep our kids and ourselves safe.