Stay aware to avoid assault

Iowa has been recently plagued by a series of horrific crimes, staged assaults. A staged assault is a planned assault to deceive people.

In Iowa, people will tie clothing items to windshields of cars. This causes people to loiter trying to remove the item, putting them in harm’s way.

If this situation occurs, drive to a safe location and contact the police to report the situation.

Other staged assaults happen when people are stopped on the side of rural roads faking car trouble. Their true intention is to trick people into thinking they need help but are really trying to sham them.

In that situation, contact the proper authorities to help them instead of trying to help the people yourself.

School Resource Officer Zach Ladage offered some of his suggestions to potentially help.

“It’s important to remember personal safety above all else,” Ladage said. “You need to be aware of your surroundings and the type of area you are in. You will not be able to help anyone else if you are in danger yourself.”

Technology can a be a huge distraction to your safety. Being on your phone can be a great distraction as well.  “I strongly encourage people to put the headphones away and put your phone down when out in public,” Ladage said. “Both of these things are great forms of entertainment and communication, but they also cause us to be unaware of our surroundings.”

In this generation we can never be too careful about anything. “Unfortunately, in today’s world there are people who want to do harm or victimize others for fun,” Ladage said.

This being said, be aware of your surroundings and contact someone if you need help or feel uneasy. This goes for any situation, not just assaults.

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