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American Morning

Advice on How to Keep Intruders Out of Your Home

Aired June 10, 2002 - 09:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom in the middle of the night last week a frightening reminder for so many parents that even inside your own home, your children may not be entirely safe. This morning, Bob Stuber, founder of the Escape School, has some advice on how to keep intruders out of your home, and also what your child should do if one manages to get inside. Bob Stuber is live this morning in Huntington Beach, California.

Bob, good to see you this morning. I know this is going to be somewhat of a show-and-tell, and some of the things you are going to explain kind of apply to the category of common sense. Others do not. But as I mentioned that, let's start with the windows, Bob, what do we need to know?

BOB STUBER, FOUNDER, ESCAPE SCHOOL: Yes, the most important thing, Bill, is that common sense is a formidable source when comes to making your family safe. And outside if you have bushes under your window, make sure they stay under your window. Don't let pushes grow up tall so they block the view. You want to keep a line of sight between the house and the street. That way, if there was a bad guy trying to get in the house, he couldn't stand behind the bushes under the influence of cover.

And another tip for outside has to do with the outside lighting. A lot of people have lights outside. Don't leave the lights on all the time. Put them on a motion detector. This way, if the bad guy comes to the house, he can't see the shadows, he doesn't know where they are. The lights come out when he steps into the motion detector, boom, you catch like a dear in the headlights, and that sends a very strong message that this is the wrong house to try to get into.

And sliding glad doors -- it's seems like every house has them. Sliding glass doors can be a problem. The best defense mechanism for a sliding glass door I've ever has to do with the old broomstick, or the dowel. You put in the track, cut it down so it fits in the track itself, and it works phenomenally for making the door impassable. There's lot of blocks you can buy, but that one works better than any I know of.

And one other tip has to do with the window, bedroom window, any window in the house. If you put things in the window like pots or wind chimes, somebody like that, somebody tries to get through it, they make noise. That's what you're trying to do. You're try to create a situation that makes noise.

That was one of the problems in different kidnappings that I've read about and seen, is that nobody hears anything. Kids need to understand, if somebody comes into your house, and they shouldn't be there, you have the right to scream, you have the right to make noise, no matter what this person says. If he is holding you in such a manner that you can't make any noise, then don't be afraid to knock something over on your way out of the house. It doesn't matter. A lamp will work, like that. When that happens, you're going wake somebody up. You're going to get the help you need.

HEMMER: Hey, Bob, let me just stop you.

STUBER: Very important.

HEMMER: You know, Bob, on that point, though, when it comes to giving parents advice about what to tell their children if they're being taken out of the house by a stranger, by an intruder, to knock over a lamp shade or to make some sort of noise, how do the parents -- do they find themselves being apprehensive when they have to face the reality I've got to teach my kid this?

STUBER: Yes, a lot of times they do. A lot of people think that if you talk to kids about subjects like this, you are going to frighten them, and that's not true. What happens is, we as parents, we as adults, are frightened of subjects like this. We see them differently than kids do. We pass that fear on. What kids are looking for. They're looking for answers. They are looking for empowerment. When you give them these tips, when you tell them the things they can do, you're giving them permission to be safe, and that's what they want. You're telling them what they can do, because if you don't, they are going to do what the bad guy says to do, and that's what you don't want to have happen.

HEMMER: Keep going there. Show us the door there, Bob.

STUBER: You bet. One of the things about front doors, a lot of people think if there's glass in the door, they really don't need that peek hole, but you do. Beveled grass really doesn't give you a good picture outside. Use the peek hole in the door, and put it down low enough so that the kids themselves can see through it. They need to know who's outside and not be guessing at it.

Also, if you go outside, I can show you a few tips out here that will make a big difference. One of the things is, keep the yard cleaned up. Don't leave toys laying around all the time that say you have little kids living at the house. Pick them up when the kids are done playing with them. That way if somebody is prowling around the neighborhood, you know, your house isn't going to stand out.

I can tell you something else, second story windows. It's really important to understand that bad guys can get into second story windows, they're good at it. Don't leave a ladder laying around. Don't leave something parked in the house close to window so they could stand like on a boat or a truck and get up to the second story. HEMMER: Bob, I also know we only have a couple of seconds left here. If abducted, you also teach certain resistance abilities. What is your advice in that area?

STUBER: Absolutely. What you have to do again is you've got to give the kids permission to be safe. Give them the common sense choices. They will use them. For instance, Mike here, on his bicycle, if somebody came up to him and tried to grab him off his bike, if he held on to that bike and didn't let go, the guy couldn't get him and the bike into a vehicle. He could get one or the another. So holding the bike makes him basically twice his size.

And also, in the trunk of a car, which is not an uncommon place to be in the situation like this, Megan is going to show us that even though you kick, and scream and make noise, it doesn't work as well as disconnecting the break or taillight wires, which is real easy to do. Then you increase the chance that the cops will pull the car over because it has no brake or tail lights.

HEMMER: Well, listen, it is excellent advice, and a lot of people watching this may think that, hey, this is only common sense but some of the tips you give certainly can provide a lot of young people, a lot of young boys and girls the insight and the knowledge in case they may ever find themselves in a situation. And certainly the case of Elizabeth Smart brings this all to the forefront.

Thank you, Bob. Bob Stuber live in Huntington Beach, California.

STUBER: Thank you, my pleasure.

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