PARKING LOT SAFETY
FOR WOMEN
FAQ

This is what you need to know about parking garage and parking lot safety for women. Lessons from crime victims teach you how to stay safe.

A man pointed a gun at a woman in the parking lot of a restaurant and ordered her into his vehicle, but she ran into the business and called 911.
Excerpted from The State (SC) – 14 March 2006

The petite schoolteacher felt a sense of dread when a man put a knife to her throat in a parking garage. "My state of mind was that there is no way I'm going to be driving off with this guy," said the 5-foot-2, 112-pound woman. "I thought I had better chances getting stabbed in the garage than getting in the car with him." ... She was getting into her car when the man came up to her, put the knife to her throat and told her to get in the car. The woman pushed the knife away, but he put it back. "I said, 'No,' and I pushed him away. He yelled at me again, 'Get in the car. I want your money."' The woman said she shoved her purse at him, and ran for help. ... A car pulled into the space next to hers, she ran to it, pounded on the window at the man inside and screamed for him to call 911. "He thought I was having an argument with my husband," she said. The man got out of his car to call police on his cellphone, while the suspect jumped into her car and sped out of the garage. ... Her thoughts were, "I had to get out. There was no way I was getting in that car with him. There is a dread that comes over you, but I knew I had to stay in control." The woman reacted just as the police recommend.
Excerpted from The Denver Post – 10 December 2003

Parked cars provide ideal hiding spots for a crouching, stealthy predator to close in on you unless you’re especially aware of parking lot safety. Also beware of cars cruising the lanes; they can suddenly stop and jump out to attack or rob you.

Basic parking lot safety is to Stay Alert and Be Prepared:

1. ALWAYS keep warily scanning 360 degrees around you (NO ear-pods, cell phones, or other distractions) and,

2. Carry pepper spray and a personal security alarm (a.k.a. noisemaker or screamer) very visibly at the ready. Both can be carried beyond the parking area as well. Or if you’re near your car, you can push your car key’s emergency button – setting off your car’s horn. Either a personal alarm or your car’s horn will spoil a predator’s secrecy. Also, you’ll further deter him/them by making it obvious that you’re carrying pepper spray held at shoulder height and very ready to spray. Also see Purse Snatching FAQ.

3. What if a gunman orders you to go with him? See Survival Options - Kidnapping.

Some women may feel guilty for assuming someone might be dangerous and treating him coldly. Get over it. An innocent and decent man easily understands a woman's parking lot safety concerns in a vulnerable location. If you become the victim of crime, you'll wish you'd been impolite before a threat escalated. See Criminal Minds - Intuition and SET YOUR BOUNDARIES at Outdoor Safety - Facing Danger.

It’s so easy to get distracted from Parking Lot Safety

Dru Sjodin disappeared from a parking lot. Sjodin's boyfriend said that he spoke to Sjodin late on the afternoon she disappeared, as she was leaving the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks ND. He said they chatted for about 4 minutes, and he remembered she said something like "OK, OK," before her cell phone hung up. Lang said he had tried calling Sjodin back immediately, and several times over the next few hours. He got a call from her cell phone about 7:40 that night, but heard only static and a beeping noise. ... Paroled kidnapper/rapist Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. abducted Sjodin at knifepoint, tied her hands behind her back, put a plastic bag over her head and drove her into the night, then raped and murdered her.
Excerpted from The Oregonian (Portland) – 14 December 2003
(Her mother's court statement is at Compassionate Friends.)

Parking Garages Are Even Worse for Parking Lot Safety

At 3 p.m. in the Ybor City parking garage, police say, someone grabbed a 38-year-old woman from behind, put her in a chokehold, pushed her into her car, then punched and raped her. A lone security guard stood one level below, unaware. ... The garage has no security cameras, the guard said, because having them would require employing someone to sit and watch the monitors. "It's more cost-effective to have somebody on foot," he said. It takes a security guard about an hour to pace the entire garage. They have one guard during the day, two at night. ... If parking garages even have surveillance equipment, it’s often antiquated. Owners say cost is the reason. ... This year, a woman was raped on a Saturday afternoon in a parking garage in Spokane WA, within sight of several families. In 2006, a mother of two was raped at gunpoint in front of her children in a Marriott Hotel parking garage in Connecticut.
Excerpted from The St. Petersburg Times – 29 August 2009

Forget parking garage stairs and elevators – they benefit predators. Instead, walk in the middle of the aisles and ramps (with your pepper spray and noisemaker visible and ready) until you reach your destination. Again, see SET YOUR BOUNDARIES at Outdoor Safety - Facing Danger.

PREDATORS’ FAVORITE TARGETS
• Someone looking friendly, timid, lost, absent-minded, or intoxicated – thus more easily manipulated.
• Someone wearing earphones or distracted with a cell phone – unaware of surroundings.
• Someone unaware she's being followed until she's isolated.
• Someone parking close to trucks that prevent witnesses from seeing you – predators seek that kind of cover.
• Someone “handcuffed” with both arms loaded with packages or a child. For better parking lot safety, insist that a male store employee escort you.

Rebekah had just parked her car when Orlando Gonzalez called out to her. He told her that something was hanging out of her door. She said she hadn't noticed anything, but he stood behind the car and told her to come look so she could see the damage. ... As she stepped toward him, the situation immediately changed. "I honestly thought he was joking at first," Rebekah said. He forced her to get back into her car, into the driver's seat. "He kept grabbing at me," Rebekah said. "He was touching me, grabbing my breasts and stuff. He just kept grabbing at me." ... "Do you want to get stabbed?" this stranger asked her. He jabbed a knife at her, she recalled. "I just started kicking him," she said. "I was just trying to push him as far away as possible. He wanted me to get further into my car, so he could get in with me. ... "That was when it hit me." "It" was the terror, the feeling that the unbelievable was, indeed, occurring. Was she being kidnapped? What did this armed man plan? ... "There was no way I could shut the door," Rebekah said. Yet she didn't give in, continuing to kick at and struggle with Gonzalez. Thwarted, he got into his car and drove off.
Excerpted from The Daily Oakland Press (MI) – 22 May 2005

Because she hadn’t had a chance to read Outdoor Safety - Friendly Predators, Rebekah fell for his lure and “stepped toward him” rather than running away. But then, instead of surrendering and putting herself fully at the mercy of a possible serial killer, Rebekah valiantly fought off her attacker.

Increase your parking lot safety by carrying pepper spray and a personal security alarm (a.k.a. noisemaker or screamer) raised and ready, in full view. Also keep your finger on your car key’s emergency button to sound your horn alarm to attract attention and scare off the predator/s.

After helping William Porter carry his groceries to his car, Abraham Varns is accused of pulling a handgun, robbing and forcing the shopper to drive him to North Charleston.
Excerpted from WCBD TV2 (Charleston SC) – 22 April 2009

Beware of Good Samaritans. Mr. Porter is lucky to have been released unharmed – see Survival Options - Kidnapping. Also see Outdoor Safety - Friendly Predators.

Parking Lot Safety while Loading Your Car

A kidnapping and rape began as a woman was loading groceries into her car in the parking lot when a van drove up, and three men forced her inside.
Excerpted from WLKY-TV32 Louisville – 10 February 2004

A trip to the store turned traumatic for a woman when two men hiding in her unlocked SUV kidnapped her when she returned and climbed inside. "Just never let your guard down for parking lot safety," she said. "Don't assume that because it's a low crime area that you can't be a victim."
Excerpted from The Durham Herald-Sun (NC) – 26 June 2004

Police said the rapist-carjacker targeted mothers because they were distracted while placing children in car safety seats. The abductions occurred outside church day-care centers, a church school, and a pediatrician's office.
Excerpted from The Miami Herald – 27 March 2003

IF YOU HAVE A BABY WITH YOU

To load your baby into your car (after loading the groceries, the baby goes in last), get into the rear seat with your baby, lock the doors, and buckle your baby into the safety-seat. Now look around, have pepper spray in hand, get out of the rear seat and into the driver's seat, again lock the doors, and immediately drive away. Always use this routine and it'll become second nature.

But for better parking lot safety, have a male store employee escort you and stay until you drive away. A tip of a dollar or two is well worth your safety.

Parking Lot Safety SUMMARY

Pages Related to Parking Lot Safety:
Driving Safety Tips | Best Pepper Spray | Personal Security Alarm | Emergency Button | Street Crime | Victims Options - Overview | Survival Options - Kidnapping | Outdoor Safety - Friendly Predators | Outdoor Safety - Facing Danger | Purse Snatching |

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