Buyers Guide and Overview |
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| Many women feel frightened when walking home at night and with good reason. Violent crime is climbing again in Britain, with a new incident now recorded every 26 seconds. |
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Experts say the best way to prevent an attack is to make sure you always go out in a group and to have a mate walk you home. They are right, of course, but it does not always happen that way. Once in a while everyone lands up having to walk down a deserted street alone.
It’s for moments like those that it’s worth having a personal safety or rape alarm. You might laugh at the idea but they are easy to carry and really work. It may be your one chance of getting away from some psychopath. |
How do they work? |
| Most rape alarms make a deafening screaming noise and are designed to stun and disorientate an attacker. Don’t assume they will necessarily bring people rushing to help – they may not. The purpose of the alarm is to give you vital extra seconds in which to leg it. |
How Loud? |
| Don’t muck about. Get an alarm that produces a noise of at least 100 decibels. Better still go for 140 – about the same a shotgun blast. |
What sound is best? |
| Avoid rape alarms that might be mistaken for a car alarm. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a personal safety charity, advises going for an alarm with a continuous shrill shriek so there is less chance of confusion. If you get a quieter model make sure you go for a very unusual sound. |
What size? |
| Get one that you can walk along with while sitting comfortably in the palm of your hand. That way it’s ready to active the moment you need it. If you buy something the size of a brick you will never take it out with you. On the other hand don’t go so small that you are likely to loose it. |
What mechanism is best? |
| There are lots of different models out there. On some you pull a cord to activate the sound, on others you press a button or hit it against something. Different styles work for different people, I guess, but go for something simple. |
Can guys use them too? |
| Yes, and they should do. Young men are by far and away the most frequent victims of violent crime and an alarm would them just as much as it would help a woman. |
Any other tips? |
| Just one and it sounds a bit stupid but its true. If you are getting chased down a street and you can’t get away the best thing to do is get on the opposite of a parked car from your attacker. It’s then very difficult for them to catch you. |
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