OSC Guardian - Safety Advice

OSC GUARDIAN - SAFETY ADVICE
www.OramSecurity.com

Sunday, April 18, 2010

What Can You Do To Reduce Your Risk Of Sexual Assault?

As with any violent crime, there’s not always something you can do to guarantee that you will not be a victim of sexual violence. But there are steps you can take to help reduce your risk of being assaulted.

The first is the easiest; trust your instincts. If you feel unsafe in any situation, go with your gut. If you see something suspicious, contact the police immediately. Avoid walking or jogging alone in secluded areas when possible. When approaching your car, have your keys in hand and lock the car doors before you even start the car. When out at a club or bar, do not leave your drink unattended. Drugs such as “date rape” types have been known to be passed this way. If you suspect you or a friend has been drugged, call 911, and be explicit with doctors so they'll give you the right tests (you'll need a urine test and possibly others). The National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) can often send an advocate to the hospital to help you through the whole process.
Be ware of your surroundings at all times and do not let yourself become isolated with someone you do not know or trust. By going out with a friend you have someone to watch out for you and who you can in turn watch out for.

If you are forced to defend yourself, remember your best weapon is your voice! SCREAM! Scream for help! Scream Fire! Scream Rape! Strike at vulnerable areas. The groin, eyes, knees, and throat. If he grabs you, twisting back on fingers works as well. Your aim is to inflict pan as fast as possible and to get away. RUN! And keep screaming while running.

Unfortunately, fewer than 1/3 of all assaults are reported to the police. If you are the victim of a sexual assault:
REPORT THE RAPE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORTIES!
When the rapist departs, contact help at once. Find a safe environment away from the attacker; if possible have a trusted friend stay with you.
*Do not shower or wash
*Preserve all clothing and the crime scene if possible
*Be prepared to describe the attacker and anything else that might be helpful
*Get medical attention even if there are no visible injuries
*Ask the hospital for a rape kit exam
*Personnel experienced in sexual assault will examine you and provide counseling and support.

Sexual assault is a crime of motive and opportunity. Ultimately, there is no surefire way to prevent an attack. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, it’s not your fault. You are not alone. Help is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotlines at 1-800.656.HOPE

Senior Safety - How to help keep our elderly safe.

As we age, there are two areas that we know can become difficult. Hearing and seeing. Make sure that you add lights where you may need them. Some examples could be inside halls, outside all exterior doors, stairways and in the kitchen. Put night lights up where you may walk regularly at night. You may want to add additional smoke and CO2 detectors. Having just one on each floor may not give you enough audio noise to realize the alarm is active. Perhaps ones with strobe lights and night lights built in that will aid in both notification by visual means as well as assisting in lighting ht way.

Stairs should all have railing, on both sides if possible and should be well lit. Bathrooms should have locks that can be unlocked from the outside.

Check with your local Police Department and let them know if you or someone is living alone. You can ask them to check in on you/them occasionally.

Look into getting a MedAlert type device so that you can get help if you fall or get injured and cant get to your phone.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Have to deal with Flooding? Here are some safety tips!

The following is from the Rhode Island Department of Health and is written for First Responders. After I read it, I realized just how important this information could be to those of us in the North East of the United States. After al the rain we have received over the past month, we still have quite a bit of free standing water. Take the time to read this, as the information is important to those who have had, or will have to deal with flooding of their homes.

Stay Safe
Oram Security

Safety Reminders for First Responders
Source: Rhode Island Department of Health


The Rhode lsland Department of Health (HEALTH) reminds anyone participating in flood response activities to take precautions when working in floodwater. Floodwaters may contain raw sewage or other hazardous substances that can cause infections such as E. coli, Hepatitis A, or Tetanus.

Seek first aid or medical treatment if you experience the following symptoms after working in a contaminated area: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache,muscle aches, fever, abdominal cramps, skin rashes, dizziness, or fatigue. If skin is broken and has come into contact with contaminated material and it has been five years since your last Tetanus shot, you should talk to your healthcare provider about receiving another Tetanus vaccination. Please note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend an updated Tetanus vaccination every 5 years for healthcare providers and every 10 years for the general public. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends a 5-year vaccination interval for first responders.

First responders should take the following additional precautions during flood response activities:

Hand Washing

• To avoid exposure to waterborne illness, wash your hands with soap and clean, running water or use alcohol-based hand gels before work and meal breaks, at the end of work shifts, and after handling contaminated clothing or equipment.

Protective Clothing

• If you will be working in or near a flooded area, wear chemical-resistant outer clothing, boots, protective eye goggles, and plastic or rubber gloves. Protective clothing is especially necessary when working in flooded areas with known chemical storage or chemical release hazards.

• If possible, layer latex disposable gloves over cut-resistant gloves. Avoid touching your face with contaminated gloves and properly discard or disinfect gloves after use.

• Do not place equipment or clothing that has come into contact with contaminated floodwater in personal vehicles.

• If possible, shower and launder contaminated clothing before returning home.

Other Hazards

• If working in or around flooded homes or buildings, minimize exposure to mildew and mold by wearing N-95 masks, if available. If N-95 masks are not available, surgical masks can be worn. Wear gloves and eye protection as well.

• Discard mold-damaged materials in plastic bags and clean wet items and surfaces with detergent and water.

• Be aware of exposure to potential chemical or electrical hazards when participating in flood response activities. If working with portable generators, keep them dry and follow instructions for proper handling and safety. Never use a generator indoors or in poorly ventilated areas, due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Place portable generators outdoors and away from doors, windows, and vents.

• If working near roads or highways, remain aware of work zones and traffic control plans and the locations of signs, cones, barrels, and barriers.

• Ground may become saturated with water during heavy flooding, causing sinkholes and unstable terrain. Be aware of these hazards when working in water trenching operations or flooded areas.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Is your child being bullied? How to know, cope and make it stop

(CNN) -- There are ways to prevent or mitigate the damage bullying can do to a child, experts stressed after nine Massachusetts teens were charged with harassment in the suicide of a 15-year-old.
"Adults can have better control if they know what to ask a child and how to ask it," said Barbara Coloroso, who has written best-sellers on parenting and how to have a healthier schooling experience.
Phoebe Prince hanged herself in her family's second-floor apartment in South Hadley in northwest Massachusetts in January, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel said. The teen had endured three months of threatening text messages, her image was scratched out of photos, and books were knocked out of her arms.
Prince had recently moved from Ireland, officials said, and her classmates began taunting her after the girl ended a brief relationship with another teen.
The Prince case is another reminder to keep communication open and non-judgmental between teenagers and adults, experts say. Here are a few tips for parents to know whether their child is being bullied and how to handle it.
• Know that a child who is being bullied will most likely first tell a peer, then a parent and then a teacher. "Always know who your child's friends are, and if a child answers you, 'I have no friends,' that is a major red flag," said Robin D'Antona, founder of the International Bullying Prevention Association. The group organizes national conferences and conducts training and workshops on how to prevent school bullying.
• If your child confides to you that he or she is being pushed around, do not minimize, rationalize or explain away the experience, Coloroso cautioned. "Assure a child that they didn't cause the bullying; empower them," said Coloroso, who keeps a list of do's and don'ts about bullying on her site.
• Routinely ask your child whether he likes school. If a child replies that he "hates" school, go deeper for details. Does he or she hate the academics? Can he not see the board? Figure out the source of your child's attitude toward school.
• Privacy ends where your child's safety begins. Watch what your child is doing on the Web, and check his or her cell phone. If a child wants a diary, buy a book and suggest that it be stashed under their mattress, D'Antona said.
• If your family usually addresses concerns at scheduled meetings, consider giving that up for more flexible communication. Allow a child more freedom when they talk to you. Be open to talking at any time, and consider talking while driving. The child may feel less intimidated because he or she doesn't have to look directly at you.

What to do if your child is being bullied
First, focus on your child. Be supportive and gather information about the bullying.
• Never tell your child to ignore the bullying. What the child may “hear” is that you are going to ignore it. If the child were able to simply ignore it, he or she likely would not have told you about it. Often, trying to ignore bullying allows it to become more serious.
• Don’t blame the child who is being bullied. Don’t assume that your child did something to provoke the bullying. Don’t say, “What did you do to aggravate the other child?”
• Listen carefully to what your child tells you about the bullying. Ask him or her to describe who was involved and how and where each bullying episode happened.
• Learn as much as you can about the bullying tactics used, and when and where the bullying
happened. Can your child name other children or adults who may have witnessed the bullying?
• Empathize with your child. Tell him/her that bullying is wrong, not their fault, and that you are glad he or she had the courage to tell you about it. Ask your child what he or she thinks can be done to help. Assure him or her that you will think about what needs to be done and you will let him or her know what you are going to do.
• If you disagree with how your child handled the bullying situation, don’t criticize him or her.
• Do not encourage physical retaliation (“Just hit them back”) as a solution. Hitting another student is not likely to end the problem, and it could get your child suspended or expelled or escalate the situation.

Fighting identity theft not a priority, report says

By Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer - Washington (CNN) -- Ten million Americans a year are victims of identity theft. It's a growing problem in the United States, but fighting it doesn't appear to be a priority, a new report says.


A report by the Justice Department Inspector General released Tuesday cites the wide-ranging costs and dangers of ID theft. Although the report has no new numbers, the financial losses are believed to be substantially higher than the $15.6 billion documented in 2005.

Inspector General Glenn Fine found the effort to combat the problem, however, has lagged since the President's Task Force on ID Theft was established in 2007.

"We found that to some degree identity theft initiatives have faded as priorities," said Fine. He said the Justice Department has not developed a coordinated plan to combat ID theft and that some recommendations of the President's Task Force have not been addressed. No one has been appointed to oversee the efforts, the report says.

The report says "the specific crime of identity theft is not a top FBI priority." However, the report adds that the FBI often addresses the issue through the Cyber Division's criminal intrusion program, which is a priority of the agency.

Similarly, ID theft investigations are often part of larger federal criminal investigations into health care fraud, mortgage fraud and credit card fraud.

"Identity theft can also be a significant element of violent crimes, such as domestic abuse, and even terrorism, and a significant number of ID theft-related crimes originate overseas," the report said.
Monday, March 22, 2010


 
Do you know how to Deter, Detect and Defend against Identy Theft?

Identity Theft. Those words strike fear in people right through their skin, deep down into their credit report! The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Now most people tend to think that the biggest threat to their identity is “on line” these days, but it isn’t. The tried and true methods of ID theft still work just fine. The FTC recommends 6 simple ways to help deter ID Theft.   Read our Blog to learn more.

Full-body scanners improve security, TSA says

Washington (CNN) -- Full-body imaging machines that see through clothes have significantly improved security in airports where they are deployed, and have revealed more than 60 "artfully concealed" illegal or prohibited items in the past year, the Transportation Security Administration says.


To date, no explosives have been detected by the machines, but their ability to spot even small concealed objects demonstrates their effectiveness as a security tool, officials said.

"It is absolutely a tremendous improvement of what we can detect at the checkpoints," TSA Acting Administrator Gale Rossides said this week. "It is an excellent piece of technology that will significantly improve our detection capabilities."

As evidence of the machines' capabilities, the security agency released five photos of drugs or suspected drugs that airport screeners found after scans revealed anomalies on the ghost-like images of people's bodies. The agency said metal detectors would not have revealed the items.

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