The holiday season is the most festive time of the year but it can also be extremely stressful if you are not careful. Malls are full of people shopping looking for the perfect gift for the perfect price. It is so easy to get caught up in the excitement of going from store to store that safety can be the farthest thing from people’s mind. While looking for the next bargain it is paramount that you think about your safety as well.

1. Choose the right purse.

Leave your tote and clutch at home. Choose a purse that fits close to your body so that you can deter pickpockets. Opt for a purse with a longer strap or a swingpack purse that you can wear across your body and under your coat; another great option is a fanny pack. Yes, a fanny pack. Today’s fanny packs are a safe and chic option created by your favorite designers, long  gone are the ugly bags that easily identified you as a tourist.

Make sure your bag has compartments for your cash and credit cards so that you are not fumbling through your bag trying to locate your belongings; and never carry more cash than absolutely necessary.  Guy’s need to make sure their wallets are secure; instead of putting your wallet in your back pocket put it in your front pocket or utilize a hidden inside jacket pocket.

2. Create a game plan for shopping with your children.

Encourage your children to be mindful of their safety and surroundings while they shop.  If you are shopping with Teens and they want to go off on their own be sure to have a time and rendezvous point that you will meet at once everyone is done shopping.  Make sure your teens are not distracted by their cell phones, and be sure they don’t wear earphones around the mall while shopping.  Teach your younger children how to locate and ask store personnel for help should you get separated- make sure they are accompanied by an adult at all times, and do not allow them to wander off.

3. Be alert walking to and from your car.

Park your car in a well lit parking area and have your keys ready when you are approaching your vehicle. Don’t wait until you get to the parking lot to look for your keys. Check your surroundings before you get into your car and don’t be shy about using the alarm or panic button.  If you notice someone who looks suspicious or something just doesn’t seem right use your panic button as a deterrent and signal for help.  Some malls offer security escorts during the holidays if you have lots of bags, find out if this service is available at your local mall.  If you are going to multiple stores don’t leave your bags visible on the car seats, stow your purchases in the trunk.

4. Don’t wait until the last minute to shop.

Start shopping early. Starting early allows you to be more relaxed and you are better able to pay attention to your surroundings. Last minute shoppers are often flustered, carrying too many bags, and can be visibly distracted. This can make you an easy target.

5. Always follow your gut.

If something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t, trust your instincts.  Stay alert, and be aware of your surroundings at all time.

Lastly, if you decide to forego the crowded malls this season in favor of internet shopping safety should still be a priority. Make sure your computer has up to date security software. Don’t verify anything through pesky pop ups, no reputable company will ask you to verify anything in a pop up. Only shop from the stores you know, their sites are usually secure and you can always check by looking for a padlock on the site and the site address should be  https: when you check out. Instead of using your credit card use google wallet, paypal, or talk to your credit card company about a single use credit card number for online shopping.

Charles Ramsey has become an overnight internet sensation.

Charles Ramsey is a regular guy, an ordinary American citizen.  Except, he aided in the rescue of Amanda Berry and two other Cleveland women who had been missing for over a decade.  The women were being held captive in Mr. Ramsey’s next door neighbors house, unbeknownst to the entire neighborhood.  Mr. Ramsey had only been living in the neighborhood for a year and he had no idea that the neighbor he regularly spoke to; gave him his mail when it was mistakenly delivered to his house; ate barbecue with;  and even listened to salsa music with held three women captive.  When he heard a woman screaming from this same neighbors house, everything changed.  He responded to the screams, helped Amanda Berry escape and called 911.

Much ado is being made over Charles Ramsey-  his love of McDonald’s, his inadvertent but perfect product placement (like displaying a can of Red Bull on his Good Morning America interview as the way he has been coping with his new found marathon interview schedule), and the countless auto-tuned renditions of his interviews.  Although he has become the latest internet sensation I don’t think we should lose sight of  Mr. Ramsey the neighbor and the concerned citizen.    He did not ignore the screams, he went to investigate and in doing so he came to the aid of women in need.  So while most of the world is engrossed with Charles Ramsey parodies, I am thinking about what Charles Ramsey has taught us all about community safety.

1. Pay attention to your surroundings.

Be observant. If your neighbor has an abundance of mail in their box or door that they haven’t picked up this could signal that something is wrong, check in on them.  Report broken streetlights, and other safety/security breaches or problems that occur in your neighborhood.  If you hear a strange noise check it out or call the police.

2. Being a good neighbor is not the same thing as being in someone’s business.

Too often we turn a blind eye to what is happening in our communities and to our neighbors because we “don’t want to be in someone’s business”.  We are our neighbors keepers.  As neighbors in urban cities we often live close to each other but we don’t always speak to each other.  It is our responsibility as human beings to have civil interactions, by interacting with each other we know when things are not quite right and how to help each other if need be.

3. Have some Cojones.

Don’t be a Coward and turn a blind eye, get involved. Don’t stand idly by and let unscrupulous activities take place in your neighborhood we must all be active in our communities.  Being a good neighbor requires you to be an involved participant, make yourself known and get to know your neighbors.

4. It’s not about being a hero it’s about doing the right thing.

I have heard it said once- doing the right thing has power.  Follow your inner compass, not because it will give you fame and acclaim but because it will simply guide you to the right things to do.  We are all human beings and we should treat each other with compassion, empathy and respect.  You never know how one seemingly small act can affect a neighborhood and a nation.

Many Americans live in urban neighborhoods that deal with a myriad of issues. The police don’t always respond; corner stores allow loitering; children are left unattended; neighbors are apathetic; and the fear of gun violence is very real. The violence and crime issues that plague many urban American communities’ have become so much a part of the norm that it seems to have become the only part of safety we focus on.  As a response to gun violence in cities, many community-based initiatives and community policing strategies like Philly Rising, Operation Cease Fire, and STRYVE work hard to create safer communities by stemming the tide of violence.  Their work to aid vulnerable populations and create solutions that allow community members to become engaged participants in their collective future is highly commendable. While the work of these organizations and many others is critically important in creating safer communities, the issues they tackle are not the only issues that plague our communities.

I am concerned that our approach to community safety is too limited. While we address violence, we are not looking deeply at other critical issues that impact community safety. I can’t be the only American wondering whether or not citizens are equipped with neighborhood emergency evacuation plans should there be a natural or man-made disaster. I have reviewed the tangled color-coded maps on my City’s website, and I still don’t know where to go or what to do. Do all homes have smoke detectors or fire extinguishers so that a fire can be stopped before it gets out of hand? I live in a row home and a fire can destroy the entire block of houses. Are children being properly attended with a babysitter or child care provider who is skilled in CPR and basic first aid? Many of my neighbors work off hour jobs and they have to depend on their older children to provide care for the younger siblings, very few or any of them know how to respond to an emergency outside of calling 911. I like to think of myself as a well informed and active citizen within my community, however, I have serious reservations about my safety in its entirety.

For too long we have let the definition of community safety languish as a general phrase for ‘crime prevention’ and ‘violence reduction’. We can’t just look to thwart murder rates and believe that once we get down to an acceptable number of deaths we have created a safe community. Community safety is multifaceted and it must include emergency management and crisis response; processes and plans that take communities from prevention/mitigation through recovery for natural and man-made disasters; the well being of the family unit; and innovative placemaking. Moreover, community safety planning has to be accessible, understandable, and made a part of our collective community culture. We must do better and we must think bigger- all of us- governments, school districts, businesses, and citizens. We all have a stake in creating safe communities. Governments can help by creating and funding solid platforms that work to address and support community safety in its entirety. As anchor institutions school districts, colleges and universities, and businesses should have clearly outlined participation plans that defines their role in the creation of successful community safety plans and partnerships.

It has become imperative that we redefine community safety for the 21st century and create a comprehensive definition. Over and over again we have witnessed and felt the effect of viewing community safety in too limited a scope. There have been many community safety disasters both natural and man-made like Katrina and Sandy Hook that have hammered home the fact that our communities were not prepared.  As we march toward the future, our communities must be focused on being fortified, sustainable, and resilient. In order to improve our collective quality of life let’s create a new wide-ranging definition for community safety – one that is bold and smart, that works.

Imagine a place where you don’t need to drive to accomplish daily tasks; restaurants, shops, offices, parks, schools, daycare, and healthcare facilities are right where you live.  There are pedestrian only streets and zones, dedicated cycling routes, underground car parking and a focus on cleanliness.   Sounds cool right?!?!

From what I read this sounds and looks like a utopian paradise (maybe even a compound) with Ikea acting as a municipal government of sorts?  I was almost, kind of, totally brought in until I read that you couldn’t own.   All of the sudden it changed from cool innovation to does Ikea want to become my big brother?  The Globe and Mail admit this is a foreign concept to most North Americans and Brits but it is the norm in places like Sweden and other parts of continental Europe.   Cobden says that by living in a mixed-income urban neighborhood in which none of the neighbors are owners “it is less likely that people will buy, wait for the value to increase, then become absentee landlords”.    I understand the point he is trying to make but I am not convinced– I wonder what happens when people don’t get the opportunity to have an ownership stake in their communities?   What happens when you can just pack up and leave when ever you want?  Of course you can do this as an owner but Americans are more brought into the idea of owning homes, having something of their own.

More importantly, I wonder if Ikea will be different than most urban developers.  Sometimes urban developers who are interested in ‘transforming’ urban neighborhoods create really cool and aesthetically pleasing structures that operate as silos in the surrounding community.  Once the neighborhood becomes desirable the property values start to go up and people who never paid attention suddenly want to live in the cool part of town.  I wonder if Ikea has taken gentrification into account and if they have plans on what to do about it— does Ikea-land get to be the one bright spot in a otherwise neglected community?  Don’t get me wrong I love it when I see neglected communities go from blighted places of distress to diverse, hip, happening culture centers but I also believe that everyone deserves to have safe, non blighted, eco-friendly housing options.