Safety Tips for Home VisitorsPlanning for a Safe Home Visit

Important Community Resources•PittsburghPolice(Getthemonlineatwww.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/police) •CitizenObserver—HelpthePittsburghPolicefightcrimebysigning

upfortheCitizenObserver,asecure,easytouse,andcost-effective

internet-basedcommunityalerttoolset.Itallowslawenforcement

agenciestoquicklyentercontentaboutcrimesorincidents,andwithin

seconds,pushthatinfoouttobusinesses,citizens,watchgroups,and

othersthathavesigneduptoreceivethealerts.

This brochure was made in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and the Home Visiting Network (HVN.) The ACHD and the HVN thank Detective Ashley Thompson for his guidance in preparing this brochure.

Agency PolicyLocateandreadyouragency’spolicyaboutsafetywhileconductinghomevisits.Knowwhetheryouragency

•Haspoliciesrelatedtosafetyinhomevisiting,drivinginpoorweather

orroadconditions.

•Hasacodewordornotificationsystemifyouwereintrouble.

•Allowsforcarryingandusingprotectivedevicessuchaspepperspray.

•Hasproceduresforevaluatingandarrangingforpoliceassistanceand

escortsifneeded.

•Hasaresponseplanifyouarelateinreturningtotheoffice.

•Hasproceduresforcheckingonstaffwhoconducthomevisitsand

ensuringthatanyconcernaboutanyvisitisfollowedupimmediately.

•Keepsaregisterorhasasystemclearlydocumentswherestaffwillbeat

alltimeandprovidesfollow-upforeachinstancewhereastaffmember

hasnotreportedbackatascheduledtime.

•Hasatwo-personvisitpolicyforfirstvisitsandforothervisitsasneeded

•Hasapolicyaboutwhotocallifthereisyelling,screaming,breaking

glassetccomingfromwithinthehomeyouaretovisit.(i.e.,shouldyou

callthepolice?)

About Your Car•Keepyourcarisingoodrunningcondition,makesureithasenough

gas,andiskeptlockedatalltimes;keepaflashlightandafirstaid-kit

andotheremergencysuppliesincar,includeall-weathergear.

•Parkwithindirectsightofthehome’sentryandinawell-lit,

unobstructedarea(donotparknearbushesorotherfoliage).Always

parkonthestreetorinawaytoallowyoutoleavequicklyifnecessary

foryoursafety.

•Parkneartheclient’shome.

•Donotparkyourcarinsomeone’sassignedparkingspace,orblock

anyone’saccesstohis/hercar.

•Donotparkinthedrivewayofthehomedrive(youcouldbeblocked

in)-butifyouneedto,thinkaboutreverseparkingin,soyoucansimply

driveout.

•Parkyourcarclosetothedoor(keepcarfacingoutwhenparked).

•Asyouexityourcar,beattentivetopeopleintheareaandany

unsecureddogs.

•Inaculdesac/deadendstreets,parkinthedirectionoftheculdesac/

deadendstreetexit.

General Safety Tips to Remember•Trustyourinstincts.

•Stayalert.

•Knowwhatbehaviorsinotherssetyouofforprovokeyou,andwaysyou

canrespondtothebehaviorswithoutplacingyourselfindanger.

•Actconfidentandsureofyourself;ignoreprovocativecommentsor

behaviors.

•Keepyourhandsfree.Donotbedistractedbytalkingonacellphone.

Carryapersonalalarmiffeasible–aclip-ononeisbest.

•Don’twalkthroughagroupofpeoplestandingtogetheronthe

sidewalk/street.

•Alwayshaveanexcusetoleavepreparedinadvancejustincase.Leave

thehomeimmediatelyifyousensedanger.

•Dressappropriately

Wearclothesandshoesthatmakeaquickescapepossible;donot

wearclothesandshoesthatcanimpedeyourmovement;pantsare

best.

Leavejewelryathome.

Leavepurseatoffice.

Leaveyourvaluablepossessionsathome.

•CarryonlyyourID/driver’slicense,acellphoneand/orpager,

necessarycash,andkeys. Keep your cell phone close at hand. Keep your

car keys in your pocket or hand. Even if you carry bags, keep your car keys and

mobile phone on person (you can barricade yourself in a room/toilet and use

your phone in an emergency).

•Wearanamebadgeifyouhaveone,butdon’twearonearoundyour

neck;aclip-onisbest.

•Takedogbiscuitsalongtocalm

excited/aggressivedogs.

•Beawareofanydrugparaphernalia

intheareasurroundingthehome.

•Schedulehomevisitsearlyintheday

wheneverpossible.

After the Visit•Beawareofsurroundingsasyouexitthehouse.

•Donotmakephonecallsuntilyouareoutofviewoftheresidence.

•Beforeenteringyourcar,checkaroundthecar(underthecar,inback

seat).

•Lockyourcardoorsassoonasyougetin(reasonsarecarjacking

andpeopleopeningpassengerdoors)-manyvehiclesnowadayshave

anabilitytounlockjustthedriverdoor/oratleastcentrallocking

capabilities.

Tips for Dealing with Aggression During a Home Visit:Sometipstoconsiderifyouarefacedwithanaggressionincidentduringahomevisit:

•Ifanaggressiveincidentoccurs,

remembertotryandremainascalm

aspossibleandleavethehomeas

soonaspossible.Thinkaboutyour

organization’sproceduretofollow.

•Tryandkeepabarrier,eg:table,

betweenyouandtheaggressorwhere

practical.

•Speakslowlyandcalmly,takedeepbreaths,trynottosayanythingthat

couldinflamethesituation.

•AttheearliestopportunitycallthePolice,evenifitisonlythethreatof

assault,andfollowyourorganization’sprocedures.

•Trynottowalkbackwardsasyourisktrippingover.

Before the Visit•Ensurethatyouhaveobtainedasmuchinformationaboutyourclient

aspossiblebeforethevisitandmakesurethatallappropriaterisk

assessmentsarecarriedout.

•Callahead.

•Makesureyouhavethecorrectaddress.

•Askquestionsaboutpets,children,otherpotentialvisitorsetc.Ask

familytosecurepetsbeforearrival.

•Alwaysmakesuresomeoneatyouragencyknowsyourvisitingschedule

androute,includingthefamily’sname,address,telephonenumber,the

dateandtimeofyourvisit,andwhenyouexpecttoreturn.

•Ifpossible,canvasstheareaaroundthehome’saddress.Assesspotential

safetyconcernsandtakeprecautions.Ifyouareunfamiliarwiththe

neighborhoodsurroundingthefamily’shome,taketimetolearnabout

itsothatyouknowwhattoexpect.Identifythesafestroutesforgetting

thereandback,andresourcesforgettinghelp,ifneeded.Consider

stoppingatthelocalpolicestationifappropriate.

•Identifysafeareas(i.e.,restaurants,telephones,restrooms,police

stations)withintheneighborhood.

•Consideraneutralmeetinglocationifvisitcannotbemadesafelyat

home(i.e.,library,conferencerooms,restaurants)andthenatureof

thevisitallowsthis.Askfamilymemberstocomeouttomeetyouif

uncomfortablewitharea.

•Inadditiontoconsidering

alternativeprivatesitesfor

visitingwiththefamily,take

abuddy,oragreeonacheck-

intime.

•Ifanupcominghomevisit

presentssignificantsafety

hazards,talkwithyour

supervisororatrustedco-

workerbeforeyoumakethe

visit.

Safety during the Visit•Ifyourclientlocksthefrontdoor(particularlydeadlocks),askthemto

leavethekeyinthelock.

•Neverenterahouseifthereisyelling,screaming,breakingglass,gun

fire,etccomingfromwithinsignsorifyounoticethatweaponsareon

site,etc.

•Alwayssurveythepremisesforexitsandwaysoutinanemergency.

Positionyourselfbetweentheclientandanexitandmaintainclear

accesstoanexitatalltimes.Ifthereareidentifiedrisksforvisitsanda

two-personvisitisnotpractical,arrangeforsomeonetocallyouonyour

mobilephoneneartheendofyourscheduledvisittoestablishthatyou

areokay;establishacodephrasetouseinanemergency.

•Presentyourselfascalm,confident,observantandincontrol.

•Iftherearedogsorotherpetswhichconcernyou,beassertiveand

declineprovidingaserviceuntiltheyaresecuredandposenothreat.

•Sitinahard-backedchair.Avoidsittingonupholsteredcouchesoron

furniturethatmaybeusedtostorehypodermicneedlesorweapons,or

mayharborinfestations.

•Beawareofyoursurroundings;leaveifyourinstinctstellyoutoleave.

•Takeuniversalprecautionbywashinghandsbefore/aftervisit.

•Meetwithclientinacommonroom.Donotbeinanypartofthehome

alonewhichmaytriggerasituationthatyoucouldbeaccusedofstealing

something(i.e.bathroom).

•Payparticularattentiontotheclient’sprotectivenessrelatingtocertain

roomsofthehouse.

•Donotmeetwithfamilymembersinakitchen

wheretheremaybeeasyaccesstosharpobjects

(includingglass),thatmaybeusedasaweapon.

•Ifapersoninthehomeappearsagitatedor

seemstobehallucinatingorseeing“shadow

people”,slowspeech,keepyourhandsvisible,

anddonotmakewrittennotesofyour

observations.

•Donotconfrontsuspecteddrugactivitywhile

inthehome.