PRECAUTIONARY ADVICE

The following guidelines have been received from the Islamic Human Rights Commission (via the Commission for Racial Equality) following the events of 7 July 2005.

LOCAL TELEPHONE NOS

Wellingborough Police	01933-440333
Northampton Police	01604-700700
Kettering Police	02536-400400
Wellingborough Racial Equality Council	01933-278000
Northampton Racial Equality Council	01604-603868

COMMUNITIES ORGANISATIONS

• Be vigilant
• Do not open suspect packages
• Monitor access to car parks and other enclosures under your control
• Report suspicious vehicles to the police parked on your premises
• Review security arrangements regularly to ensure they are adequate
• Ask your local crime prevention officer to carry out a crime prevention survey of your building
• Encourage staff to take security seriously
• Consider installing CCTV
• If you have CCTV already, ensure it records property and images are of good quality
• Report all harassment, whether verbal, physical psychological, to the police or Northamptonshire Racial Equality Council. If it is a serious attack — ring 999

INDIVIDUALS (particularly women)

• Always be aware of your surroundings
• Travel in groups wherever possible
• Don’t always travel the same route
• Look confident

• Choose the right seat: don’t get “blocked in”
• choose a seat near the driver or an exit

• Keep windows shut and doors locked
• Have your keys ready when you are walking to the car
• Check the car before you enter
• Never leave your car doors unlocked
• If a car park is dark, ask someone to accompany you to the car
• If you see someone suspicious hanging around the car, ask someone to go with you to the car
• Park your car where there is plenty of light

• Check the identification of the driver (usually located near the visor or on the dashboard)
• Don’t flag down taxis — know the company you are travelling with

GENERAL

• Don’t listen to a walkman while walking
• Note houses and buildings that you know are safe along your walking route
• When you make a call from a phone booth, once you have dialled face the outside of the booth
• Do not open the door of your home without checking who is there
• Invest in a cell phone that can always be carried with you
• When you go out, tell someone where you are going and what time you will be back
• Trust your instincts if you feel strange about a situation — if walking get to a more populated area or if you are driving, change your route
• If you think you are being followed, change your route and activity (cross the street, change directions, go into a shop). Inform a police officer or security officer about the follower.
• Attract attention if you are in a dangerous situation
• Never admit that you are alone
• If you receive an obscene or abusive phone call, hang up calmly. Note down the date and time of the call and report it.
• If you are a student, do not work in isolated classrooms
• When in a large building, use the elevator and not the stairwell

REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS INCIDENTS, ABUSE, HARASSMENT OR ATTACK either to the POLICE or REC — if you do not feel able to do this yourself, ask a friend or member of the family to do it for you.