Situational Awareness

• By virtue of their location and design, parking lots can attract undesirables and promote criminal activity. 
• Many parking lots and garages come with design flaws—dark stairwells, high walls, structural columns, and multiple levels—that provide hiding places and poor sight lines that actually attract criminal activity.
• If you see a suspicious individual looking into parked vehicles or closely watching others walk to and from their vehicles you should call for security or law enforcement because they might be targeting their next victim.
• Turn the ignition off and take your car keys with you, even if you just have to run inside for one minute.
• Roll up the windows and lock car doors, even if you’re coming right back. Check inside and out before getting in.
• Avoid parking in isolated areas. If you are uncomfortable, ask a security guard or store staff to watch you or escort you to your car.

• More than 1 in 10 property crimes occurred in parking lots or garages³.
• 7.3 % of all violent crimes are reported to occur in these facilities.
• Of those crimes, 16 % were violent victimizations, such as assault, rape, and robbery.⁴

Predator’s Target²

• Someone looking friendly, timid, lost, absent-minded, or intoxicated – thus more easily manipulated.
• Someone wearing earphones or distracted with a cell phone – unaware of their surroundings.
• Someone unaware they are being followed until they’re isolated and face-to-face.
• 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.

1. Always drive with your car doors locked and windows up far enough to keep anyone from reaching inside.
2. When stopped in traffic, do not let yourself be a victim of a carjacking. Leave enough room to see the rear tires of the car in front of you. By giving yourself enough space, you leave yourself room to maneuver in case of an emergency. If someone unexpectedly appears by your car door, you can — with this space — floor the accelerator and escape.⁴
3. Travel on well-lit busy streets. You can spare those extra minutes it may take to avoid an unsafe area.
4. Keep your purse and other valuables out of sight, even when you are driving in your locked car. It is better to place them on the floor than the seat.
5. Never pick up a hitchhiker. Even the most harmless-looking stranger can be dangerous.
6. When you arrive home, leave your headlights on until you have the car in the garage, and the house door unlocked. If you can have a remote control garage door opener installed, it will allow you to remain in your locked car until your garage door closes.
7. When parking on the street, try to park within sight of a busy store or hotel entrance, under a streetlamp, near a busy corner or out in the open away from things that might provide shelter to a thief (like thick or low-hanging trees). The busier the street, the better.
8. A neat car is less likely to get broken into. Remove or lock up items such as GPS units or accessories for your cell phone – to remove temptation.
9. Visual cues like a steering wheel lock or a blinking alarm system light will inspire thieves to move on to the next vehicle, even if you don’t have the alarm activated.
10. If you think you are being followed: Do NOT drive home. Drive to an already identified safe spot (police stations, fire stations, public and well-lit places). Assess if you need to call 911 to protect yourself from a threat.¹