Former CIA Director Offers Everyday Safety Tips

Unfortunately we live in a world that forces us to report on violent crime every day. But what happens when that violence hits close to home, as close as our children?

We talked to a former CIA director and security specialist about safety and survival tips.  Jason Hanson is the author of "Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life."

One thing he focused on is self-defense moves to teach children.  Kids must understand they don't need to be bullied. If someone tries to kidnap them, there's a way to bring down a grown person. And there are moves you can teach a child as young as seven.

"A lot of it is, guys, you're going to cringe when I say this, but kicking them in the groin. Everybody thinks that's so bad, but a kid kicking a grown adult in the groin is going to bring them down and it's going to hurt. And then, of course screaming and drawing a lot of attention," Hanson said. 

Criminals will say “don't scream or make any noise,” but tell your children if a stranger approaches you, start screaming or yelling like there's no tomorrow.  Young kids have some volume, so this should be no problem.

The survival techniques don't stop there. How can you better protect your house from a home invasion?

"One of the best ways is to do simple things like putting an alarm sign in your front yard. Putting alarm stickers on your back doors, video cameras or motion sensor lights because what a criminal does is they run surveillance on the neighborhood. It may be 10 minutes or for two weeks. So when they're in your neighborhood, deciding what house to rob, you want to make sure they look at yours and say, “no way” and choose somebody else in the neighborhood," Hanson said.

Another tip, if you're ever being followed, make eye contact with the person.  Even talk to them by asking, "Can I help you?" or "Do you need something?" That lets them know they've been spotted.