• Use First Initial
• Fire Escapes
• Apartment Security
• Intercoms and Peep Sights
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TOPIC: Using a First Initial
QUESTION: Should women who live alone use their first initial with their last name instead of their full name?
ANSWER: Women who live alone should use only their first initial instead of their first name
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: If you're a woman living alone, do not display your first name on the outside apartment intercom directory, door bell, mail box, your door, or in the telephone book. To do so is to only invite unnecessary trouble. Some criminals target women who live alone by scanning apartment directories for a female name. They know that it's rare that a married couple, or man and woman living together, will display the woman's name only.

TOPIC: Apartment Building Fire Escapes
QUESTION: Do fire escapes pose a threat to people living in apartment buildings?
ANSWER: Fire escapes pose a threat to people in apartment buildings because they are so easily accessed by someone at ground level.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Criminals usually have little trouble in accessing exterior fire escapes from ground level. Therefore, consider the windows overlooking the fire escape in your apartment as if they are perimeter doors. Protect them in all ways, such as an extra lock, pins through the sash, etc. However, if you install locking devices, be sure you place the keys in the general vicinity of each window. This will allow you to quickly escape your apartment if there should be a fire in the building.

TOPIC: Apartment security, more than just a key, access control, intercom
QUESTION: What's the first thing I should look for when looking for a new apartment complex to live in?
ANSWER: Look for more than just a key on the common apartment door.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: People who live in multiple-family homes are less likely to be victimized if access to the facility is controlled by more than just a key. Key locks can easily be manipulated, allowing criminals to enter the complex. Once in, they can prey on any tenant in the building. The ideal situation is to find an apartment complex with an access control system and intercom at the common entrance of the facility. This forces visitors to ring tenants up and request entry to the building before they can get in.
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TOPIC: Intercoms and peep hole sights, intercoms not enough
QUESTION: How good a job do intercoms do in identifying a caller?
ANSWER: Intercoms by themselves are not enough to thwart victimization by a caller waiting on the other side of a door.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: To help assure that you do not become a victim, install a peep hole sight in addition to your intercom.