Prevention Nine in 10 say they have told children not to talk to strangers, and about eight in 10 say they have strong locks and exercise extra caution at night. Nearly as many also feel that window and door locks are very effective in deterring crime. Three quarters of Americans think it would be very or somewhat effective if they armed themselves with a deterrent like pepper spray, though only a third of us have ever carried one of these products. More than four in 10 Americans think that home burglar alarms are very effective, but nearer to a quarter have had them. By contrast, steps that are free or relatively inexpensive exercising caution, warning children about strangers and having good locks are much more widely practiced.
Women are more likely than men to use extra caution at night and to carry mace or a whistle.
Men, on the other hand, are much more likely to have carried a gun, knife or other weapon. The results have a three-point error margin. Contributing to the special will be Marla Hanson, former model and currently a victims advocate, and Bill Stanton, a private investigator and safety consultant. As the destination for crime and justice programming, Court TV broadcasts trials by day and compelling stories of the criminal justice system in the evening. A service of AOL Time Warner and Liberty Media Corp., Court TV has over 58 million subscribers, has current commitments to reach 60 million, and expects to reach 65 million by early next year.