by David Hobbs
In the personal and home security business, being secure goes beyond the technology you use to protect what you value. Security isn’t just about locks, alarms, lights and cameras. Real security starts with something all too many of us have all too little of; situational awareness.
Our world is full of distractions. We listen to our iPods as we stroll or jog through the park. We peruse the sender’s names on envelopes as we walk from the mailbox to our front door. We think about what we’ll be cooking for dinner as we unload groceries from our cars. We’ve firmly established ourselves as apex predators. The world needs to watch out for us, not the other way around.
Unfortunately, that level of confidence leads us blindly into trouble. While it’s true most of us needn’t fear being attacked by lions, tigers and bears (oh my) on our way from our air conditioned cars to our air conditioned homes, we should be aware that a far more dangerous predator lurks out there just waiting for the opportunity to pounce. That predator is a human, just like us.
In one security class I attended, a job requirement at the time, our instructor passed on a story from his time as a police officer. The story centered on an attractive woman who stopped at a gas station to fill up. After filling her tank, the woman walked to the attendant’s window to pay. The attendant dutifully rang her up but, as he was passing her change through the sliding drawer, he hesitated, a suspicious look on his face. He glanced from the woman’s car, back to her and asked, “Ma’am, you don’t have somebody waiting in your car for you, do you?”
The woman glanced back at the vehicle and, seeing nothing amiss replied, “no, just me.” Without hesitating, the attendant reached for the phone and dialed 911, spoke a few words and then asked the woman to come inside immediately. Once she was safely inside, he explained the urgency.
The police arrived scant minutes later, blocking the woman’s car front and back. The woman was shocked and horrified when, on orders from the police, a complete stranger emerged from the back of her car with his hands over his head, was handcuffed and placed in back of one of the cruisers.
Had it not been for the attendant, the woman in this story would have paid her money, climbed into her car and driven off into the night to become another statistic on the nightly news. It was her great fortune that the attendant noticed the back door on the vehicle open slightly and the car rock a bit as the woman was paying. In all too many stories like this, nobody notices.
What spared this woman unspeakable misfortune was the station attendant’s keen eye and willingness to act. Perhaps because she was attractive, he’d noticed her as she pulled in and observed her long enough that the absence of another person in the vehicle registered. While she’d been paying him, the man who was arrested had approached the car from the opposite side, crouched low, opened the door and crawled inside to await her return. But what if the attendant hadn’t been paying attention? What if he’d simply assumed she had a child fidgeting in the back seat and said nothing? What if this happened to you?
The lesson here is attentiveness. Situational awareness is simply a state of being conscious of your surroundings. Some are exceptionally talented at it, registering every little thing around them. Others have a knack for situational awareness that’s specific to their jobs. Firefighters, for example, are keenly tuned in to their surroundings while working a fire. The best combat pilots are constantly scanning their surroundings and almost miraculously manage to be tracking both their enemies and all kinds of information being fed to them by their instrumentation. Nobody expects you to live your life on a razors edge as these brave souls do. But there are simple habits you can incorporate into your life that will greatly enhance your personal safety.
The greatest threat to most of us comes during transitions. Whether you are transitioning from the grocery store to the car or the car to your house, this is when human predators strike. It’s during these times we’re often fidgeting with keys, groceries or our cell phones. Your first step in personal safety is to be aware of your surroundings before you make the transition.
As you pull into a parking lot or garage, look around. Is the spot well lit? Is it near a door? Are there an unacceptable number of hiding places around? Pick spots that would be unappealing to predators. That normally means brightly lit, near doors and areas that are easily visible to others. Criminals thrive on fast action outside the view of witnesses. Deny them that opportunity and you’ve denied them their primary advantage.
As you park and before you turn off your engine or unlock your car door, look around. Is there a stranger walking nearby or wandering aimlessly around near where you’ve parked? Give them the time to walk well past before you exit the vehicle. If they don’t pass by but continue milling around within quick-dash distance of you, don’t get out. Either find another space or continue to wait. Don’t hesitate to make eye contact with them. In fact, sheepishly refusing to look individuals in the eye is one of several ways criminals identify potential victim candidates. Don’t turn this into a confrontational staring contest. Just let them notice that you’ve looked them squarely in the eye and have registered their presence. If they still don’t move on, do so yourself.
As you walk from the store back to your car, keep your head up. Scan the parking lot and, in particular, the area near your car. You’re looking for the same things you were when you parked. When you get to your car, don’t just hop in. Glance in the back window before you enter the vehicle to ensure nobody is hiding in the back seat. Do this EVERY time you get in your car. It will become a good habit. And while we’re at it, the dome light in your car should always be set to turn on when you open your door to better enable you to see if there is somebody hiding inside.
Smash and grabs are nightmare events in which criminals burst into homes either to rob or harm the victims. The act often involves charging up the path as the victim enters their home or while they’re unlocking the door. When you arrive home, and before you turn off and exit your car and walk to your front door, check your surroundings. Again, any suspicious loiterers should prompt caution.
When you exit your car and walk to your door, don’t have your iPod blaring or your ear pressed to a cell phone. The song you were listening to will still be there once you’re inside. The person you were talking to won’t be put off if you explain you need to hang up so you can transfer your belongings from your car to your house. Juggling a bunch of stuff as you walk and fumble for your keys is the same as wearing a sign proclaiming you a ready, willing and adequately distracted victim. Having a hand free affords you some defense against an assailant or gives you a chance to reach for the pepper spray in your purse or the alarm on your key chain.
For home security, don’t walk past any of a number of vulnerabilities you’ve been ignoring, possibly for years. That prize shrub of yours might win you recognition in the annual Best Yard on the Block contest but, to a criminal, it may represent the perfect hiding place from which to pounce as you enter or exit your home. Your porch light may set the perfect mood lighting, but does it illuminate the areas in your yard where a criminal might duck for cover from passing cars? Does your first floor window have locking latches? If so, do you defeat the purpose by leaving the key in the latch?
Take home security seriously. It may be difficult but try to find a compromise between beautifying your front yard and not providing hiding places for criminals bent on breaking into your house. Security signs may also detract from the beauty of your home, but having them prominently displayed can give a crook pause and might just be enough for them to move on to easier pickings. Bright porch lights or motion-detecting flood lights are a further deterrent to low-class citizens determined to up their status in life by depriving you of all your hard-earned valuables.
Your best bet is to try to put yourself in a criminal’s shoes and take a walk around the exterior of your home. Really open your eyes as you do. Think of where you might hide from casual observers while breaking in. If you wanted to surprise your husband or wife, where might you hide to spring on them as they walk up to the door? If you locked yourself out tomorrow and knew how to jimmy a window latch, is there a convenient window that would provide you access?
Remember that you don’t have to be Jason Bourne, memorizing every license plate in front of your home in the blink of an eye. But, situational awareness does require you to shake off the mantel of complacency a bit. Notice your surroundings. Be conscious of risks to yourself and your home. Make smart, rather than convenient, decisions. By choosing to live in the now rather than distracting yourself from it, you deny criminals the opportunities they thrive on. I’ll leave you with a joke that, in this context, isn’t funny but does carry a grain of truth.
Two men are running from a pursuing lion. One man says to the other, “We’ll never outrun the lion!” The other man responds, “I don’t have to outrun the lion. I just have to outrun YOU!” That same morbid truth applies to personal and home security. No person can make themselves or their property an impregnable fortress. That’s not the objective. All you need to do is make yourself a less appealing target. Convince the criminal there are easier opportunities out there. These are lazy cowards. They don’t want a struggle. They don’t want a fight. They don’t want a challenge. By being smart and taking just a few precautions, you sell the right message. I am no easy meat. Look elsewhere.
Pay attention to your surroundings and be safe.
Among other blogs, David writes for www.dgswireless.com, a blog devoted to the technical, ethical and legal use of wireless surveillance cameras.
Article Source: Article Junction Network