Prepared Not Paranoid: Lessons from Law Enforcement for Living Every Day Safely

In the wake of 9/11, many Americans feel their individual safety is threatened by forces they cannot control. Some take drastic measures and move from metropolitan areas thought to be targets, while most stay put and try to find ways to protect themselves in their homes, their workplaces, and their communities. Still, a sense of vulnerability or uncertainty can undermine feelings of safety and security.

Today's dangerous world calls for daily personal power that overcomes paranoia and puts people back in control of their lives and their sense of safety. Drawing on 34 years of law enforcement work and training, co-authors Doug Graves and Jana Kemp present useful information and practical guidelines for keeping yourself, family members, and co-workers as safe as possible every day. Prepared-Not Paranoid presents methods for recognizing challenges or threats, innovative ways of thinking about safety, checklists with actions to take in various settings, and items to have handy when traveling to the local convenience store or around the world. This book serves as a guide for safe daily living, not as a self-defense manual. The authors raise awareness and offer important information so people feel more confident moving through daily life as safely as possible.

Jana M. Kemp is the founder and owner of Meeting & Management Essentials. She is the author of Moving Meetings, No! - How One Simple Word Can Transform Your Life, and Building Community in Buildings (Praeger, 2006), as well as publisher of the quarterly online newsletter Better Meetings for Everyone. She has also served as a business columnist for the Idaho Press Tribune and Idaho Business Review newspapers.

Doug Graves is Deputy Director (retired) of the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Academy division of the Idaho State Police. He teaches ethics, leadership, and child abuse investigation at the Idaho POST academy and at the Western Regional Institute for Community Oriented Public Safety (WRICOPS), as well as at other public and private organizations. He is Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Public Safety and serves on the executive board for the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST).