Jackson, MS-Attorney General Jim Hood and the National Rifle Association (NRA) are joining forces to implement the NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim® curriculum in Mississippi.  The statewide training initiative will focus on training law enforcement officers who can in turn provide training seminars in their respective communities.  The NRA is covering the cost of training of up to 40 persons as Regional Counselors.  Currently, nationwide, there are only nine Regional Counselors, and only one other state (Virginia) conducting similar training. 

The Refuse To Be A Victim® program was developed by women of the National Rifle Association of America in 1993 in response to women nationwide who requested crime prevention and personal safety information.  The program has since grown to include both men and women.  The seminar presents a variety of information (from setting up a home defense plan and safe room, to using your Internet Service Provider’s parental control options to block access to adult material) to help participants take a pro-active role in personal safety. 

The two-day course (8:00am-4:00pm each day)got underway today at the Woolfolk Annex, 501 North West Street, Room 209, in Downtown Jackson.  The Mississippi training is being led by Lt. Ed O’Carroll, Commander, Field Support Division of the Fairfax Virginia Police Department, who is one of the nine certified Regional Counselors trained by the NRA.  “We are very excited about this unique opportunity to train Refuse To Be A Victim® trainers through this outreach effort with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office,” said Lt. O’Carroll. 

“This training will significantly increase the number of Regional Counselors NRA has for this program nationwide,” said Attorney General Jim Hood.  “We are just beginning and already we have been asked by our neighbors in Louisiana to send some of our Regional Counselors over to help implement this program in that state.  It is just one more way we are ensuring that our citizens are armed, through education, with the knowledge and skills they need to prevent from becoming victims of crime in the future.”

“NRA is proud to assist the Mississippi Attorney General’s office with their efforts to fight crime,” said Rosemary Herr, National Manager, NRA Women’s Programs Department.  “The value of Refuse To Be A Victim® Training is that it helps citizens avoid criminal confrontation by giving them strategies they can incorporate into their daily lives. The program is popular with law enforcement officers who teach crime prevention in their communities, and we are confident that Mississippi citizens will benefit from the training.”

To find out more about the Refuse To Be A Victim® Training, visit the NRA’s official website for more information.