ESCAPE AND EVADE THE CHILD PREDATOR DAMN NEAR EVERY TIME
October 15th, 2009
ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE
October 15, 2009
Escape and Evade the Child Predator Damn Near Every Time. PART I.
It’s what I do. Study depressing statistics and the tactical trends of violence and I design trainings to somehow neutralize the threat. One person at a time. Or, if I’m lucky, one small class of people at a time. Suffice it to say that the statistics – and trends – behind child abductions in the United States is staggering. Something like 400,000 children a year. 1000 kids a day. Gone.
The National Center for Missing Children suggests that once a child is abducted by a predator (as opposed to a family member in a custody battle), we have a very short window to save the abducted child. It also suggests that a plan of action and good information are a family’s best defense against losing a child to an abductor. Moreover, the National Center for Missing and Abducted Children studied 403 attempted kidnappings from February, 2005 to July, 2006 and discovered a ray of hope for concerned parents. Children who fought their attacker had a 60% chance of escaping their abductor and about 10% of the children who were attacked were able to escape their abductor “when an adult or another child just happened by—“
The implications for a practical Escape and Evasion Survival System – at least to me – are undeniable. What children really need is a self defense training system that:
v Can be learned quickly.
v Is retainable.
v Is easy to perform under high survival stress situations.
v Can be taught at home or in school by a parent, guardian and/or teacher.
Hello. How about my CAT (Counter Abduction Technique) training program?
CAT Design. Simply and briefly put, CAT is designed around the Tactical Trends or scheme of the sexual predator. Through ardent research and personal experience (as a Pa. State Parole Officer), I know that the predator depends on several factors to allow him to abduct his prey:
v The universal sweetness of children, who are socialized to trust and believe all adults.
v The timidity of his prey.
v Silence or a lack of disturbance of the environment by the victim/child, thereby lacking any ability to alert witnesses.
v The readiness of nearby adults to believe an adult over a child.
v The removal of the victim/child from the Initial Crime Scene, which is usually a high-witness area, to a pre-planned isolated Secondary Crime Scene where the predator will be able to do whatever he wishes to do to the child for as long as he wishes without any possible interference.
v And, above all else, the predator depends upon and relies upon the element of speed. It is crucial to the abductor that he is able to take the child with the least amount of notice as quickly as possible before another child, adult, or the police can intervene.
CAT TECHNIQUES & TACTICS , therefore, teaches and promotes strategies that will transform an ideal victim/child into a Tough Target Child. Simply put, the TTC will be taught by his/her instructor or parents (Safety Coaches) to always do the following, which, by the way, is easy to teach and easy to do:
v BREATHE, TALK AND MOVE. The predator almost always chooses victims who are quiet, timid and still. Nine out of 10 victims, whether they be children or adults, FREEZE AT FIRST TOUCH. Teach your child to be a Tough Target who uses First Touch as a trigger to explode into action. I teach children to quickly swing their arms and hands toward their head – as if they were Elvis combing his hair – to escape the inevitable arm grab and then step and move away and shout at the abductor. If there are others in the area, shout “Hey, this guy is not my father!” Children should also make direct eye contact with the predator so he knows the child knows what he is up to. Many will break off the attack and move on at this point. As for breathing, 9 out of 10 who freeze when first attacked will ALSO HOLD THEIR BREATH! Doing that assures that no oxygenated blood will reach the brain or the Central Nervous System. Result: A child who resembles a frozen rabbit. In other words, an ideal victim!
v ALWAYS CONTROL YOUR SPACE. I use a Hula Hoop during the early phase of my CAT or Kid Escape classes. Kids love hula hoops, and, of course, asking them to hold a hula hoop around their waist is a non-threatening way to define the radius of their Personal Safety Zone (have your child hold the hoop tight against their back side and study the space created by the hula hoop in front of them). I tell them that they should allow no adult, save for those on their Gold List inside that PSZ. Safety Coaches can run role play scenarios with the child and teach them what to do if and when a non-Gold Lister attempts to enter their space without his or her permission.
Ø J-Step Away.
Ø Ste-Slide Away, recreating their space.
Ø Place an environmental barricade between him/her (the child) and the adult.
· DISENGAGE, IF POSSIBLE. Safety Coaches must teach their children to be observant, To notice adult/strangers who do not seem to belong on the scene, who appear to be paying too much attention to the child. Being observant will also trigger the child’s Gut Instincts, better known to children as “The Creeps.” Advise your child to always trust those feelings. At your child’s
· earliest opportunity he/she should put as much distance between himself and the adult as possible. How, you might ask?
Ø Always try to remain in the company of at least one other child. Two children have an 80% less of a chance of being abducted.
Ø Run in a zig zag, or serpentine fashion.
Ø Destroy the Environment. Throw object at the Bad Guy’s feet, knock objects over. Try to draw attention to yourself. Make a scene.
Ø Try not to turn your back on the adult. Turning your back triggers the Predator instinct in the abductor and he will catch you. Keep your eye on him and run sideways.
BY ALL MEANS, THE KEY TO INFLUENCING THE MOLESTOR TO BREAK OFF HIS ATTACK IS TO REFUSE TO LEAVE THE INITIAL CRIME SCENE WITH HIM AND TO MAKE HIM SPEND MORE TIME THAN HE WOULD LIKE IN THAT INITIAL CRIME SCENE!
More on delaying the Bad Guy at the Scene in the next post.
Stay safe until then.
Hammer

