Crime-Safety-Security
Newsletter
22 April 2008

Outdoor recreation experts have been inundated with questions about trail safety ever since hiker Meredith Emerson was abducted and subsequently murdered in the Northeast Georgia mountains last week. "Everyone’s afraid now. Even myself," said David Foot, superintendent of Vogel State Park. ... Foot said there’s no particular item a hiker can bring along that will necessarily keep them safe. "Guns are not allowed in state parks," he said. "Some women carry mace, but that’s not a cure-all. And a dog is not protection either." ... The beauty of the wilderness can blind people to the possible dangers. "I think you develop a sense of complacency out on the trail," a frequent hiker said. "Bad things happen everywhere."
Excerpted from The Gainesville Times – 10 January 2008

In the years between 2002 and 2007, there were 63 homicides in U.S. national parks, 240 rapes or attempted rapes, 309 robberies, 37 kidnappings and 1,277 aggravated assaults, according to National Park Service statistics. ... Why are many national park rangers now carrying sidearms and wearing soft body armor? They didn't used to find that necessary. ... When you are in remote campgrounds, there is no 911 and help isn't coming.
Excerpted from Dave Workman's guest column in The Seattle Post Intelligencer – 11 March 2008

See Camping for safekeeping insights. Get travel security motion-sensitive sensors to surround your campsite, as well as bear pepper spray at www.GuardDog.net.

• Someone looking timid, friendly, lost, absent-minded, or intoxicated – thus more easily manipulated.
• Someone wearing earphones or distracted with a payphone or cell phone – unaware of surroundings or outdoor safety.
• Someone unaware she's being followed until she's isolated.
• Someone “handcuffed” with both arms loaded with packages or a child.
• Someone enjoying the secluded woods, countryside, beach, parks, or lover’s lanes.

See Predator’s Favorite Targets.

Contact Us for Michael Edward Loftus Sr to speak to your group.

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