Wednesday, April 17, 2002
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Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
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Families need plan to escape criminals Girl, 15, in close call hides from burglar; Sheriff's Department urges parents to talk with kids about home safety By JOHN MUNFORD
If not for her quick thinking, a 15-year-old girl might have been injured or worse several weeks ago when an armed burglar ransacked her south Fayette home while she was there alone in the afternoon. She retreated to the attic and used a cell phone to call her parents, who alerted authorities. She also peeked out a window and got a description of the suspect's vehicle, which led to his arrest hours later, said Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. The suspect had three handguns in the car when police stopped him several hours later near a roadblock at the intersection of Ga. Highway 92 South and Antioch Road, Jordan said. A similar scene could play out anywhere at any time, Jordan said, and he encourages parents to talk with their children about strangers at the door and develop an emergency plan for such occasions similar to the way a fire escape route is planned. "In most burglaries, they'll ring the door bell to see if anybody's home," Jordan explained. If the person at the door is a stranger, the child should "pick up a cordless phone and dial 911." The child can explain the situation to the dispatcher so officers can be alerted, Jordan said. And if the situation turns out to be innocent, 911 dispatchers can always cancel the call for emergency assistance, Jordan added. "It's just a safety precaution," Jordan said. "In a distress situation, it's totally justified to call 911, if nothing else than to put the teenager at ease." Cheryl Rogers, director of Fayette County's 911 Communications Center, said 911 dispatchers are trained to handle such calls. "Our folks work good with children, too," Rogers said, explaining that dispatchers will stay on the line with the child as long as it remains safe to do so. "I feel very comfortable with people calling us in this type of situation." Even leaving the phone line open can help 911 dispatchers so they can hear what's going on, Rogers said. "If somebody was breaking in, we'd certainly be able to hear that and tell the officers," Rogers said. Though some homes are equipped with burglar alarm systems that have "panic" alarms, using those can tie up the regular phone line so parents can't get through to check on their children, Jordan said. Children can also "hide" from burglars by seeking shelter in a hall bathroom or the closet of their bedroom, Jordan suggested, since burglars rarely look in those areas for valuables. Children should avoid hiding in the master bedroom because that's typically where burglars go first, he added. The best advice parents can give children is to never open the door to strangers, Jordan said. It's also a good idea when children are home alone to make sure all doors are locked and the garage door is shut, he added. "This kind of crime happens in Fayette County," Jordan said. "This was a pretty safe neighborhood that this happened in."
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