If there was a suspected serial killer on the loose and active in your area, what action would you take to try and protect yourself?
by 
lady fuschia
ANSWERS: 10
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Not move to Suffolk for a start. after that the normal advice of trying not to be alone on the streets late at night etc.. pretty poor if we have to resort to such mesures but such is life...
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I would make sure all doors and windows were locked at all times. No going out at night especially not alone. I would also make sure there was a gun or a large very sharp knife within easy reach.
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I'd sleep with a baseball bat next to me. I think my family would be much more worried about it then I would. I'm still naive enough to believe that attacks by serial killers only happen to other people.
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Serial killers usually have a particular prey in mind, so if you know what the connection is (and in the Ipswich case it seems to be prostitution) then you want to avoid activities that will draw attention to you as having that particular prerequisite. This doesn't mean you'll be immune, but it WILL lessen the likelihood of becoming the next victim. The other thing that everyone can do is to watch out for each other. A quick text before you go out, with where you're going and how long you will be, and another when you get there or get home, should help flag up any problems. The difficulty at this time of year is that it's the party season and there are going to be loads of young people out at night soon, as they celebrate holiday time, and that will produce new potential targets for a serial killer. If you have a daughter of around that age then please make her as safe as possible.
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I would finally arm myself. I have a license, but am a peace-nik so I was tossed-up about arming myself. That would flip me over the top though and I'd get a hand gun.
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I think I would take the precautions I normally do as a person who lives alone: making sure the house is locked up, noticing who is around me, noticing things that are out of place, checking the back seat before I get into my car, letting people know when to expect me, and trying to vary my routine a bit each day so I'm less predictable. If a person leads a high-risk lifestyle, there are probably some more precautions to take, such as being careful about whom one brings home, where one socializes, and wariness of people who may try to insinuate themselves into your life on thin connections. Beyond that, unless you know specifics about the type of person this particular serial killer likes to victimize, I don't see what else one could do without going into hiding or trying to track down the killer oneself (which probably wouldn't turn out as well as it does in films).
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I seriously think I'd take a couple of weeks holiday until the killer was caught and go somewhere else. If that wasn't practical, I think I'd stay with some friends (including males, it might be stereotypical but I do tend to feel safer when I'm with men I know than with women) and I'd sleep with weapons around me. I wouldn't go out after dark, which would mean staying home once I got back from work/uni, and depending on who was being killed (i.e., if it was mainly prostitutes I wouldn't take so many drastic precautions, as I wouldn't consider myself to be at much risk), I'd do my shopping online. I'd also carry the nastiest, cheapest perfume around, so I could spray it in the attackers eyes should I need to, and I'd tell everyone where I was planning to be and when.
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I'd go on a vacation for a while.. seems like the perfect oppetunity..heh=)
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I would probably give an answer like the rest of you all have, but honestly, I wouldn't do anything. I was around the area that we had that one sniper back in 2001 (or something like that) and I wasn't worried. I guess it's due to the fact that I'm a Christian and keep the faith. If God's intention is not for me to go, then I believe that he'll protect me. But if it is..... well, how can I object?
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There currently is a serial killer in my area (the Amherst/Clarence area outside of Buffalo, NY). The person suspected of killing a woman who was jogging along a suburban bike path just 2 months ago is also suspected of committing the same crime and number of times about 15 years ago. Always women, jogging alone on this same bike path, between the ages of 17-30. Seeing that serial killers are pretty methodical in both how they murder and whom, I don't feel any personal threat by this one. That being said, I lived in Washington, DC during the sniper shootings of 2001. That was random and FAR more frightening. I was one of those people who would rarely travel outside of the District while this was going on and if I pumped gas, I would hide myself from direct line of sight of the road, behind my Jeep.
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