| In more than thirty years
in the security field, I’ve seen a lot—per-haps too much! I
have had to learn to survive, and much of that learning is
applicable to the security and safety of every citizen. After
I wrote my book Confessions of a Hollywood P.I., I was asked
at book signings and lectures if I had written anything that
would assist people in protecting themselves and their
families. From these initial inquiries evolved Protect
Yourself at All Times, which is a compendium of security tips
and warnings. I am, and have been, involved in the sport of
boxing, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the
World Boxing Hall of Fame. This book’s title is derived from
the referee’s admonition at the start of every fight to both
boxers: “Protect yourself at all times, especially in the
clinches.”
Society is changing rapidly, not only technologically but
also cul-turally. Crime also is evolving in this rapid change.
Sure, we still have murder and strong-arm robbery, but whole
new areas of criminal en-deavor have sprung up. There are new
breeds of criminals operating in the breathtakingly
fast-growing world of computers. Medical fraud has now become
a serious threat to the economy. Identity theft threatens
every one of us. With the deregulation of the communication
industry and the technological advances in this area,
communication privacy is a serious problem. Thanks to medical
advances and education, the life span of the American citizen
has been extended greatly. Unfortunately, this positive has
had negative connotations, such as fraud against the
elderly—from investments to nursing homes.
Violence is a major problem, even though FBI statistics
seem to show a statistical decrease over the past few years.
Today, workplace violence is a threat in every job
environment. The term “going postal” has become part of the
argot. Stalking, which had been ignored by law enforcement and
society, is a serious problem, especially for women.
Domestic violence, as a national problem, has finally come
out of the closet and is being addressed. The Oklahoma City
and World Trade Center bombings all too dramatically showed us
that terrorism is not restricted to overseas but can hit the
United States as well.
The point is that while we still, unfortunately, have to
worry about locking our doors, there are new areas of crime
that concern us all. Pro-tect Yourself at All Times focuses on
these areas but does not neglect the more traditional areas of
security such as residential protection and per-sonal
self-defense.
I sincerely hope that this book will assist you in your
daily life. It is not meant to alarm but rather to offer a
commonsense overview of the security problems out there.
Hopefully you will never be directly physi-cally affected, but
still we are all impacted by the considerable eco-nomic costs
of crime. Therefore it is my hope that this book will assist
in protecting at least a segment of our population.
|
