Residents learned how to set boundaries against suspicious people Tuesday night at the Refuse to be a Victim Workshop.

NRA-certified instructor Laurie Dougherty taught participants at the DeKalb Elks Lodge, 209 S. Annie Glidden Road, how to avoid being put into situations where they would be victims.

“This course it not about learning self-defense,” Dougherty said. “Often you can’t control others, but you can always control yourself and make things harder for criminals.”

The course began with the assertion that awareness is the foremost tool in preventing crimes from happening. Knowing your surroundings at all times can provide protection from dangerous situations, Dougherty said.

Dougherty, who teaches defense courses as a hobby, described the types of everyday people who can potentially be criminals.

“Anyone can be a criminal,” Dougherty said. “They can look like anybody you run into on the street.”

Body language was stressed as a tool to deter criminals from seeing someone as an easy target. If a person walking down the street moves with confidence, he or she will be less likely to be targeted, Dougherty said.

Another warning discussed was a person’s own intuition.

“If you feel like a situation might be bad, it probably is,” Dougherty said. “People need to learn to trust their instincts.”

Dougherty also discussed the tools people could use to remove themselves from a bad situation.

“A flashlight is one of the most useful tools you can carry,” Dougherty said. “You can use it to find your way, flash someone in the eyes or even bash them with it.”

An authoritative voice can be used as a way to deter crimes.

Sternly saying “No!” to someone approaching you can often stop the person in their tracks, Dougherty said.

Ways to keep a home secure were also discussed.

“Make sure your door frames are solid,” Dougherty said. “You could have a thick, solid-core door, but it would only be as strong as the frame it’s set in.”

Participants were advised to be suspicious of unexpected visitors.

If someone shows up claiming they need help, homeowners do not need to let them in. They should instead offer to call an aid service from inside their house, Dougherty said.

Dougherty advised participants to limit what they put on their Facebook pages.

Once posted, things online will never truly go away. Nothing should be posted online that the poster wouldn’t want written in the sky, Dougherty said.

The information in the presentation was eye-opening for some of the attendees.

“I definitely learned that I am overconfident about my home safety,” said Kingston resident Thelma Holderness. “I had never considered that I wasn’t as safe as I thought.”

Other attendees will have to make difficult changes in the way they carry themselves.

“I know a lot of these rules, but they’re hard to follow,” said Angela Montgomery, an advocate for the missing, their families and loved ones, who also helped organize the event. “It’s just so difficult to overcome the social rules I’ve followed my whole life.”

Despite these difficulties, Montgomery believes the event will benefit those who attended it.

“We can arm ourselves with knowledge and skills, and fewer people will go missing,” Montgomery said. “It can happen to anyone, regardless of size.”