Carjacking Experts Find an Ounce of Prevention Is Pricey : Crime: Despite a rash of confrontational auto thefts, only four motorists pay the $129 tab for a seminar. Organizers will lower the price next time.

In light of the recent surge in carjackings, Richard Cooley, 30, a former bodyguard who trains chauffeurs, decided to hold a public seminar on how to avoid being the victim of one.

The seminar, which cost $129 and included a sandwich-and-potato-salad lunch, was moments from starting on a recent Friday morning, but it looked as if no one was going to show up.

Cooley sat in a conference room in the Aeroplex Aviation Center at Long Beach Municipal Airport. A solidly built 6-foot, 220-pound man with slicked-back black hair, he wore a suit, white shirt, patterned tie, suspenders and a beeper.

He did not seem discouraged that only four people had registered in advance. “If they come, they come,” he said.

To spark interest in the seminar--officially called “Carjacking: Urban Terrorism in America”--Cooley had contacted newspapers and chambers of commerce, and sent out flyers that proclaimed: “For ALL Drivers!” and “Available for the First Time to the General Public!!”

Cooley is president of the Executive Chauffeuring School in Long Beach, which trains limousine and executive drivers throughout the country in everything from etiquette to dealing with carjackings. He attended Bell High School and Cal State Long Beach, and was a military police officer and a general’s aide-de-camp in the army. “I’ve always had a protective, big-brother instinct,” he said.

Joining him as a speaker was Anthony Scotti, 54, who for two decades has conducted driver-training and anti-terrorist programs for executives and government officials in 20 countries. Scotti, who lives in Medford, Mass., wore an open-collar shirt and spoke with a Boston accent.

The two men have put on counterterrorism and executive-protection programs for corporations for six years, but this was the first time they had attempted to reach everyday drivers.

“You can be the size of Hulk Hogan and if someone puts a Beretta in your face, you’ve got a problem,” Cooley said. “You have to think your way out of these situations, but you also need to think to prevent from getting into them.

“What I mean is being aware of your surroundings, identifying danger, varying your route to work to minimize your exposure to danger areas, shopping during daylight hours in populated places, going to ATMs with someone, keeping doors and windows locked while you’re driving.”

And, he added, “If an assailant approaches, get the hell out of there.”

According to the FBI, there were 28,000 carjackings in 1992, up 48% from ’91. In Long Beach, police say, a carjacking occurs every other day.

“What I’ve been seeing in Bogota the last 18 years you’re starting to see here . . . the fear, the violence,” said Scotti.

By 9 a.m., the four people who had signed up were in the room. They were Greg Gianelli, of East Whittier, who works in security for a Los Angeles corporation; his wife, Barbara, who worries about driving alone; John Sledge, of Santa Ana, who’s with a security firm, and Carolyn Madison, a nursing home administrator in Huntington Park.

They listened attentively as Scotti told them, “If you don’t have in your mind what you’re going to do, the likelihood of getting out of (a carjacking) is slim.”

He then showed some slides and made the following points, which were similar to those that the Long Beach police make on how to avoid being a carjacking victim:

* Most carjackings happen near freeway exit ramps at stop signs or stoplights.

* Tell the carjacker anything you’re going to do. For example, say: “I’m going to get the child,” or “I’m just taking my briefcase and leaving.” Never move without telling the assailant what you’re doing. He is probably as scared as you are. Don’t get that guy any angrier.

* Try to remain calm; you can escalate the violence by groveling.

* If you go into an isolated high-crime area at night, the odds are against you.

* Be aware of strange cars or strange people.

* Keep looking in rear-view and side-view mirrors.

“I’m cautious, but I think this will help,” Carolyn Madison said during a coffee break. “I work in a high-crime area and travel a lot. I went to the grocery store from my work one day and five people approached me, selling candy, wanting to wash my windshield.”

Barbara Gianelli had taken a vacation day from work to attend. “We drive to and from L.A. and I’m thankful we car-pool because I’m a nervous wreck when I have to go by myself,” she said.

Midway through the morning, a TV reporter and cameraman showed up, and, to accommodate them, Cooley moved the seminar outside for a demonstration.

On the way out, Cooley conceded that the tiny turnout looked bad. “We knew we weren’t going to get a ton of people,” he said. “People are complacent and they never think it’s going to happen to them. And the price was probably too high.”

The group walked past corporate jets to a sun-baked area near hangars where two cars waited.

Scotti, who had put on a blazer and an expensive pair of sunglasses, played the role of a carjacker. Seminar student Greg Gianelli sat behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla as the intended victim.

“Our numbers show that 30% of the time they don’t have a gun. They try to intimidate you out of the car,” Scotti told his small audience. As he walked menacingly toward the car, he told Gianelli to pull out, which he did with a screech of tires.

They did this several times.

“This isn’t brain surgery. This is pretty simple stuff,” Scotti said.

He then stood near the car and pretended to aim a gun at Gianelli. “If a gun is pointed at you, give him the keys and tell him to have a good lunch,” Scotti said. “He can squeeze the trigger faster than you can step on the gas pedal.”

The seminar continued until after 3, and the four participants looked as eager then as they had in the morning.

When it finally ended, as the organizers were firming up their dinner plans, Cooley said, “For the first time out I don’t think we did bad.”

The course appeals to chauffeurs and security people, but Scotti said, “I’m not so sure this is going to go over with the public.”

He laughed and, saying he hoped this didn’t sound sexist, he added: “The only people we will get probably are women. I don’t think a man will ever admit he’s afraid.”

Cooley, meanwhile, said he would speak to women’s groups about carjacking and invite them to the next seminar.

He’s going to try again in October--at a lower price.