Sheriff advises women on staying safe

    More than a dozen women attended the latest Business and Professional Women meeting to hear Henry County Sheriff Gib Cady speak about public safety.

    “When I started this job, the big thing was putting a deadbolt lock on your door,” Cady said.

    Today he receives approximately 100 messages a day from Homeland Security.

    “Pretty scary,” he said. “The world is changing so quickly.”

    Cady noted that he used to drag around a movie projector and screen to women’s groups three to four times a week to teach self-defense.

    “It was very popular,” he said. “Maybe we should do that again.”

    Some statistics clearly surprised the group: Illinois leads the nation it’s the number of gangs per thousand.

    “If you combined all of the gang members in the United States into one group,” said Cady, “it would be the fourth-largest army in the world.”

    He added that Peoria has 12 different isolated gang organizations.

    Another eye-opening statement dealt with guns and gun laws. “The day after our last presidential election, one of the gun manufacturers had orders for 17,000 of his products,” said Cady. “What does this all say? It says that people are concerned about their safety.”

    Talk turned toward a concealed-carry law, and Cady pointed out that Illinois is one of only two states that do not have such a law.

    “States that have passed that legislation have seen their crime rates go down, he said.

    “I’m a big Constitution guy. Those who wrote it were very smart people. The Second Amendment has some points to it that relate to other situations, but basically it deals with the people’s right to protect themselves. A lot of people think that concealed-carry will mean gunfights in the streets. Not so. The bad guys are always going to have guns.”

    A question about what to do if an unmarked car with a red light on it begins to follow your car brought an answer that seemed to satisfy everyone.

    “You don’t have to stop," said Cady. "Dial 9-1-1 and that will provide your location. That way you’re on the phone to local dispatch. They will contact the officer to let them know you’re on the line.”

    Several of the women knew of an unmarked white car in the area that was stopping drivers. The man was seen south of the area, but reports also have him around Hooppole.

    “He comes and goes,” said Cady. “He stops people and lets them go. Report it, before something worse happens. And if it happens to you, keep traveling at the right rate of speed, obey all traffic laws and get to a public place.”

    New technology plays an important role in public safety and while the sheriff noted that not all citizens are pleased with what they believe is an invasion of their privacy, Cady pointed out that these advancements are vital to our national and private security.

    “Face it,” he said, “if you’re going to fly safe, get used to all the security checks.”

    He said that he hears people comment about cameras at intersections, but, he told the group, there are a lot more there than you realize, there are very few movements where you are not recorded.

    “I don’t think it’s infringing on your privacy or your rights,” he said. “It’s just plain homeland security and something you’ll have to accept.”

    Throughout his talk, Cady stressed the importance of ordinary citizens simply being observant of their surroundings.

    “Our safety will boil down to people being aware, being cautious about what is in their neighborhood,” sad Cady. “You need not be timid about calling the police department or sheriff’s office about seeing something.

    “Regardless of how good our country’s intelligence is, it’s not going to save the American people from another situation. What’s going to save us is somebody who notices something that is not normal. It could be a law enforcement person making a traffic stop who notices something—a gut feeling. That is what will be the salvation.”