Situational Awareness Tips
This morning I got the opportunity to be interviewed on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show to share some tips about staying safe during the holidays. I decided to put this information here in my blog just in case you missed the interview this morning. First, let’s define “Situational Awareness”.
Situational Awareness can be defined simply as “paying attention to your surroundings and identifying possible threats to your safety”. When teaching my firearms classes, I typically break down situational awareness into 5 categories; Home Safety, Personal Safety, Safe Dating/Meeting Strangers, Vehicle Safety and Internet Safety.
Here are a few Do’s and Donts for each category:
Home Safety
Do get a home alarm system and always lock your doors. Make sure you always set your alarm, even if you’ll only be away for a few minutes.
Don't open your door before looking outside to make sure it's safe. You want to make sure there’s no one waiting outside your home to attack or ambush you.
Do have a friend/family member come check your mail and gather your newspapers or packages if you'll be gone for extended periods of time. Packages and mail left outside could be an indicator that the home is unoccupied, making it an easy target for break ins. Also people could just steal your packages from your door.
Don't post gun-related signs or identifiers on your home. You may think this is a deterrent against crime but in fact, it could make you a potential target for a home firearm theft.
Do be discreet about telling your neighbors about your firearms, alarm systems or other security measures. Statistically speaking, the person who harms you or steals from you is someone you know or who knows your routine. Who knows your routine better than your neighbors, right?
Don't leave a spare key under your welcome mat. Criminals know all the common places people leave spare keys so just don’t do it. If you’re prone to locking yourself out of the house, I recommend you give a spare key to a trusted family member. Make sure you can actually trust this person. Think about how you’d break into your home if you were locked out. A criminal would probably break in the same way. This will help you identify the weak points in your home security.
Personal Safety
Do go out in pairs or groups if possible. It’s harder for a criminal to attack multiple people at once.
Don't text/talk on the phone while walking. If you need to use your phone while you’re walking, stop, check your surroundings, briefly look down at your phone and continue moving when you’re done.
Do carry your firearm on your person and NOT in your purse or bag. If you own a firearm, I recommend you carry it on your person once you’re trained and comfortable with concealed carry. Its much easier for a criminal to snatch your bag or purse and run away than to access your concealed firearm located on your person. Also make sure you have the proper concealed carry licenses. If you’re in Georgia, check out our blog about “How To Get A GA Weapons Carry License”.
Don't wear headphones while running/walking outside. You need to be able to hear everything going on around you to assess for possible threats like a personal yelling, screaming or a car driving slowly behind you.
Do keep your head on a swivel and be sure to look behind you every few minutes.
Don't trust strangers who approach you asking for directions, the time, etc. This could be a ploy to distract you for an attack.
Do understand that anyone can be a threat and criminals have used children, women, the elderly and the disabled as ploys to gain the trust of potential victims.
Safe Dating/Meeting Strangers
Do meet at a public place that you're familiar with.
Don't ever let them pick you up from your house. Meet them at the venue. You don’t want to give a potential threat your address and give up access to your vehicle in case you need to leave quickly.
Do get their full name, age, photo and as many details as possible. Send this information to a close friend/family member. This information can be used to find the person you’re meeting in case you’re harmed or abducted.
Don't consume alcohol provided by your date or other strangers. Always make your own drinks and monitor them so they can’t be tampered with.
Do have a friend/family member check in on you via phone at designated times and give them a plan in case you don't respond.
Don't go off to a secondary venue with your date without informing someone.
Vehicle Safety
Do keep a first aid kit, jumper cables, a water source and a blanket in your vehicle. You never know when you may get injured or stranded inside of a vehicle. It’s best to have these items and not need them than to need them and not have them.
Don't leave valuable items on display. This makes you a target for theft.
Do lock your car doors as soon as you get inside the vehicle.
Don't browse the internet or continuously look down at your phone while parked.
Do re-fuel your vehicle before you go home. You could experience an unexpected emergency at night and the last thing you’ll want to do is stop for gas.
Don't text and drive. It’s against the law and also very dangerous for yourself and other drivers.
Do learn how to change a flat tire, check oil and refill vehicle fluids. Learning how to complete these simple tasks will not only save you money, but keep you safe if you’re stranded or without phone service to call roadside assistance.
Internet Safety
Do keep your personal social media pages private.
Do understand that seemingly harmless information like birth dates, major life events and places you frequent can be used to target you. Birth dates, favorite colors and names of exes are also security questions for most bank cards.
Don't post your place of employment, the outside of your house or your vehicle tag. This can be used to get your routine to set you up for an attack or stalk you.
Don't tag or post your location until after you've left (this includes vacations). Posting that you’re going on a vacation just lets criminals (and those close to you) know that your home is unoccupied and available for theft for an extended period of time. Post these photos when you get back home.
Scenarios
Now that we’ve addressed some do’s and donts, check out some of the scenario based questions I answered during the interview and a few other questions we didn’t get a chance to discuss.
1. What kinds of indicators should I be looking for to identify someone as a threat?
Eye contact. Staring too intently or completely avoiding eye contact all together. This could mean the person is thinking about the attack or they may be avoiding eye contact to hide their face so you’d be unable to give their description to the police.
Look for their hands. If they’re hiding their hands then there’s a good chance they could also be hiding a weapon.
Someone trying to distract you by asking for directions or making small talk. They may be trying to gauge your general sense of awareness.
Trust your gut, if you feel like something is wrong then you’re probably right.
2. What kind of social media information can be used to target people for an attack?
Statistically speaking, the person who harms you or will take things from you is someone you know who probably follows you on social media. This could be a co-worker, family member or friend who has fallen on hard times, is desperate or envious of you.
Don’t post photos of your home, neighborhood or vehicle.
A simple photo of your child’s honor roll certificate tells people your child’s name, what grade they’re in and what school they attend
Your routine stope i.e. posting a photo of your Starbucks coffee cup every morning
Photos of your vacation while you’re still away on vacation
3. What can I do to protect my home from a home invasion or robbery?
Get a home alarm and be sure to lock all doors
Make sure you actually set the alarm every time you leave the house even if it’s just for a few minutes
Identify weak points in your home by thinking about how you would get in if you locked yourself out
4. How can I prepare my children to be more safe?
Try not to post information that other adults can use to gain trust with your child like their exact birthday, what summer camp they attended, their favorite action hero.
If you ever need someone else to pick up your child, give them a code word that only you two and the other adult would know. This helps your child know who they can trust.
If you’re going to a public space, identify a meeting point like a specific store or bathroom just in case you get separated.
Keep your firearms away from children. Black teen suicides with firearms have increased significantly since the pandemic began.
5. What should I do if I suspect someone is following me?
If you’re in a vehicle, do not drive home. Gather as many details about the person as you can and drive to the police station to report that someone is following you.
If you’re on foot, make eye contact with the person and remember their physical features. If you can, change directions and move briskly to a well lit or populated area. You can also call 911 and put them on speaker phone so you can focus on getting to a safer location.
6. What are some items I can purchase to make myself more safe?
First an individual first aid kit or a stop the bleed kit. You’re more likely to use a first aid kit than a knife or firearm. Take Stop The Bleed classes to learn how to save your own life in case of an emergency. You can get a great Mini First Aid Kit from North American Rescue.
A firearm but make sure you take classes from a reputable instructor BEFORE you purchase the firearm. You wouldn’t buy a car before you knew how to drive. I created the National Black Self Defense Directory to help people find their local firearms instructors and firearm dealers.
A knife, pepper spray or taser. Be sure to also take classes on how to use these weapons correctly.
7. Gas station vehicle thefts are popular right now. How can I be safer while pumping gas?
Stay alert and get off your phone. Look at your surroundings before you exit your vehicle.
If you’re alone, take your keys out and lock the doors. Keep looking around while you pump your gas and pay attention to the people around you.
If you look like an easy target then you’re more likely to be targeted.
8. How can I stay safe while shopping during the holidays?
Re-bag your expensive items in bags from stores that sell less expensive items. You can either ask for a bag from less expensive stores or bring one with you.
Ask a security guard to escort you to your vehicle
When you get your vehicle, put your bags inside and immediately drive away. Set your GPS before you exit the store so you don’t have to sit idly in your vehicle focused on your phone.
9. If I own a firearm for self defense, when can I legally use it to protect myself?
You can only use your firearm for self defense when there is an “imminent threat of great bodily harm or loss of life”. Imminent is the key word there. For example, you get into an altercation at a nightclub but you keep your firearm in your car. You can not exit the nightclub, go get your firearm and come back to use it. You going to the car means you had an opportunity to escape and the threat was no longer imminent. That wouldn’t be self defense.
I also recommend that you don’t leave firearms in your vehicle. Either keep them on your person or leave them locked in a safe at home.
10. What should I do after I’ve been attacked or defended myself?
First, look for additional threats. Criminals usually travel in groups so scan the area and make sure another attack isn’t about to take place.
Check for injuries on yourself and others. Sometimes your adrenaline is pumping so you might not realize you’ve been injured. This is also why it’s important to have a stop the bleed kit in your home and in your vehicle.
Call the police. Practice getting out these important details first. Your name, your location and the words “I’ve been the victim of a crime” especially if you used a firearm in self defense. There could be legal ramifications to using a weapon against an attacker so your criminal and civil self defense starts with that first recorded phone call.
Lastly call your attorney. If you don’t have one or can’t afford one, I recommend the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA). They’re a nonpartisan membership based program that provides attorneys, self defense education and legal advice for their members.
If you enjoyed this blog, share a like or a comment below. Feel free to contact me at marchelle@mskdefense.com if you have questions or if any of the links are broken.