News : Personal Safety and Situational Awareness Training Class a Success

Personal Safety and Situational Awareness Training was held at the Vinton Skate Center, brought by the area group, "Just Us". 80 service providers, students and community members attended the event facilitated by Mike Ferjak. Tressa Walton and Erin Monoghan opened the event with a brief explanation of who the Just Us group is and what they are doing in the community. Situational Awareness & Personal Safety Training, is a class about safety in all aspects of your life. Taught by Mike Ferjak a veteran law enforcement officer with 25 years teaching situational (tactical) awareness to vivilians. Mr. Ferjak's career also includes assignments to the Iowa Department of Justice, the Federal Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's (DCI) Cyber-Crime Unit and as the Director of the Iowa Department of Justice. Prior to these assignments he served for seven years as the lead investigator for the Sexually Violent Predator Unity in the Attorney General's Office. Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Ferjak served as a patrol officer, police chief and public safety director. Ferjak discussed various aspects of safety, the most important was to be aware of your surroundings, all of the time. He encouraged the attendees to have a plan when they are at work, out for recreation, or at home, in case there is an emergency. He talked about the risks you take by leaving our keys on your desk at work. He told the story of one man that had his keys stolen as well as his car, by this simple act. Once the thief had access to the car, he explained that the address of the owner is also in the glove box on the registration of the car. As long as the thief has the keys complete with your house key, your house now becomes a target. Work violence is on the rise, Ferjak explained, so having a plan while you're at work, is also something he advises. He recommended that if there were business owners present that they should have a plan in place. He also discussed various risks in a work setting. Things like propping doors open so that they can't easily be closed in case of an emergency creating barriers between you and a possible threat. He explained that most of us don't think of possible threats to our safety, because we aren't bad guys. However, he explained, we need to think like a bad guy when it comes to being prepared. He explained that while we live in rural Iowa, a lot of us don't hesitate to leave our wallet or keys in the ignition of our cars, thinking that it's safe. He also talked about common sense things like putting your valuables in the trunk out of sight. Using your keys as a weapon, the idea that you can punch someone with them placed between each finger is a risk he said he wouldn't take. What you need to do instead is have your finger on the alarm button in case you feel that someone is following you, and also be ready to get into your car as quickly as possible and park only in well lit areas. There were many other tips including not picking up or being a hitchhiker, keeping your gas tank full, and what to do in case you break down alongside the road. In all, the day was full of good common sense advice for the attendees.