The ScenarioIt’s late at night and you’re on the last leg of your trip. The gas gauge shows that you have between 1/8 and ¼ of a tank left. No problem—there are plenty of gas stations up ahead, so you continue driving, figuring that you’ll fill up at the exit or two. The Personal Safety TacticWondering what a vehicle’s gas level has to do with personal safety? Not a thing, until you run out, or pull off and find that the gas stations are closed. Running out of gas is the worst scenario because you’re stuck alone at the side of the road. You could use your cell phone to call the police, but …

The Scenario You’re relaxing at home when you hear a strange noise outside. It sounds like someone is trying to break in through a window. What is the first thing you should do? The Personal Safety Tactic If you have a firearm handy, you may be thinking that your first move is to grab it, go outside and investigate. But consider this—you haven’t determined the source of the noise so you don’t know whether it’s the wind blowing a loose screen around, three armed burglars or any of a hundred other potential causes. Your first move should always be to call the police. And if you live in the …

The Scenario Your doorbell rings, and when you go to the door, you see a (pick one): person in a uniform strange-looking man strange-looking woman all of the above There’s certainly nothing inherently wrong with any of the above, but when an unexpected visitor shows up, it’s always advisable to be cautious. A few months ago, some strange-, and not-so-strange-looking people showed up in a variety of locations around Snellville and Gwinnett County and pulled off a rash of thefts. In these cases, the thefts began with a knock on the door and a seemingly innocent request for the homeowner to come…

The Scenario You’re shopping for that special present that’s going to make this a very memorable Christmas. It’s too big to carry around while you shop for other gifts, so you take it to the car and put it in the trunk, where it will be out of sight and secure. After you finish shopping, you return to your car with a few more gifts—only to find that the trunk has been forced open and the special present is gone. The Personal Safety Tactic According to Sergeant Charles Coates of the Snellville Police Department, “Thieves routinely hang around shopping malls and specialty stores looking for …