Concepts In Security
Your personal security is very important. One of the most important components of personal security is situational awareness. But what is situational awareness? Well, the chances are that you already sort of know. Have you heard the slogan “See something, say something,” at your local airport, train station, or bus station? That saying is an oversimplified version of situational awareness. A more complex answer is that situational awareness is the mental process of: 1. Making an observation; 2. Using your experience to classify and decide on what it is that you are observing; 3. Predicting a potential outcome if necessary; and 4. Deciding on a response.
Situational awareness is all about enhancing your survival by predicting danger. The key is recognition and analysis. It isn’t perfect, but situational awareness could save your life. Situational awareness can be applied to nearly every aspect of your life to avoid being a victim of violence, harassment, stalking, and other crimes; and it is particularly useful prior to an active shooter event. Situational awareness is a learned skill. The more you do it, the better you will become at it. And the more efficient your analysis is the more accurate your predictions will be. Some people who are well versed in situational awareness do it so quickly that others perceive it as intuition. You can learn more about situational awareness and other safety tips below.
Part 1: Situational Awareness
The Mechanics of Situational Awareness
Using situational awareness involves using schemas. Schemas are mental representations of things. A schema is like a file folder in your mind that contains information about an experience. For instance, a schema for a table could be a flat surface with something to support it underneath. In your mind, you have schemas for everything. However, situational awareness specifically involves creating schemas for potential dangers. These schemas help protect you from future hazards.
You interact with your schemas in two ways: assimilation and accommodation. You assimilate when you make sense of new information by referencing information you already have in your current schemas. You accommodate when you modify your existing schemas to allow the incorporation of new information. Interacting with your situational awareness schemas helps you to orient to a real-life situation more effectively and to decide on the best response faster.
As you can guess, there is a lot of thought that goes into situational awareness. The classic model of thought is linear thinking, which has a beginning point, a series of connected steps, and an end point. Linear thinking has a start that must end, and nothing comes after that; this is not flexible enough for the realtime analysis required by situational awareness. This is why situational awareness is based on a form of non-linear thinking that is best represented by the OODA Loop which stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. The OODA Loop is a series of actions that make up a strategic decision-making model. It is meant to be an effective and flexible approach for handling evolving and complex situations.
The OODA Loop was developed by a military strategist named John Boyd, and it is characterized by agility and adaptation which makes it suitable for diverse environments. The OODA Loop is used by law enforcement, military operations, and even business management. The responsive and iterative cyclical structure of the OODA Loop is designed to empower decision-makers to adapt to new information and changes faster.
Color-Coding Situational Awareness
Another way to understand situational awareness is with Cooper’s Color Code. The color code describes different levels of situational awareness and is used to stay aware of threats. It was created by U.S. Marine Jeff Cooper. The colors in Cooper’s Color Code are in this order: white, yellow, orange, red, and black. White means that you are unprepared and not ready to take action. Yellow means that you are prepared, alert and relaxed. If you are at the yellow level of awareness you have good situational awareness. Orange means that you are alert to probable danger and ready to take action. Red means that you are in action mode. You are focused on the emergency situation at hand. Black means that you are in a state of panic and your physical and mental performance are beginning to breakdown.
The most important thing that Cooper’s Color Codes teaches is that fear is acceptable because it can be managed; however, panic can be deadly. So, you want to avoid being in a state of panic. This means that the black level is the level that you never want to find yourself in. The other level that is also undesirable is the white level. It’s normal to have your guard down at times, but you should recognize that you need a minimal level of situational awareness. You can accomplish this quickly by scanning your surroundings so that you know who and what is presently around you. This will put you at the yellow level where you are alert but still relaxed and prepared to act if necessary.
Pattern Recognition
Most patterns in your life are routine. These normal patterns create a baseline that you can compare anomalies to. If you are alert to your environment, these changes will be obvious; and practicing good habits will help you sustain situational awareness. The greatest risk factor in your environment will almost always be people.
This is why it is vital to have a system for observing people. The 20/10 guide is a good place to start. The 20/10 guide specifies rules for interacting with strangers. The first rule is that when you are twenty feet away from a person, you want to quickly glance at them. Maintain a non-threatening or neutral expression, and note what the person is wearing and any objects they are carrying. Then, at ten feet away, you can offer a run-of-the-mill, friendly greeting like “Good Morning.” At this distance you can get a closer look at any carried objects, and the person’s body language and facial expressions.
Viewing a person’s facial expressions is an effective way for you to estimate their emotions. The six basic recognizable emotions include: surprise, sadness, happiness, fear, anger, and disgust. A dangerous person is most likely to display emotions of fear and anger. However, you should consider other factors such as what a person is carrying and their body language. You should also note if a person’s facial expression is in alignment with the general mood of a setting.
Additionally, you should pay attention to the general mood of an overall crowd. Ask yourself: “Are these people (in a crowd) happy and relaxed or anxious and volatile?” If a group of people senses danger or intends to commit violence, their demeanors will change. Maintaining situational awareness will attune you to these mood changes, and you will be able to respond more quickly. Just remember, that the person that is most responsible for your safety is you.
Securing Your belongings
There are other good habits that you can use along side situational awareness to avoid becoming a victim of a crime. One of those good habits is securing your belongings. This habit centers around being attentive of your possessions and making accessing your possessions difficult to potential thieves. The first way to secure your belonging is to never leave important items unattended, like your purse, phone, keys, camera, and computer. You also want to lock your doors and your windows. Don’t leave your garage door or gate open, because it obviously makes your property more accessible to criminals.
Also, be attentive to locking your car doors, and don’t leave your car engine running unattended. In current times, criminals have become emboldened, so much so that people who leave their car doors unlocked while pumping gas at a gas station are at risk of getting car jacked. Additionally, secure your valuables in a locked safe at home or a locked storage elsewhere. It is also a good idea to inventory and document your belongings and get insurance for them. Having emergency contact information at hand is also useful in the event that you become a victim of a crime.
Surveillance and Documentation
Another good habit to use along side situational awareness is surveillance and documentation. Criminals are generally more reluctant to commit a crime if there is surveillance present. Their usual intention is to find an easy target, so don’t be an easy target. Get a Ring camera (or similar) to surveil the outside of your home. Get cameras inside of your home so that you can be informed about events that occur there when you are away. Also, consider getting a dash cam to use in your car so that you can record road incidents and catch any acts of harassment that occur when you are driving.
Remember to keep your smartphone on your person, and record any time a situation starts to escalate (meaning you feel that you are in danger). You can also journal incidents. If you accumulate videos, pictures, and written descriptions of incidents concerning a problematic person, then eventually the authorities will have to get involved; and that evidence will be grounds for you getting a restraining order, or pressing charges for harassment, stalking, assault, or battery.
Part 2: The Top Five Safety Tips For Women
1. Have a plan.
If you are going out alone or in a group, have a plan in place for safety. Know your surroundings: who and what is in the immediate area. Locate any exits or paths of escape (not just the main entrance). Pay attention to what is going on around you. Let someone outside of your group know your whereabouts and what you have planned for the day or evening.
2. Ping your location.
Most smartphones have an emergency feature that allows you to ping your location to anyone in your contact list. This can draw attention to you, if you are in an unsafe situation.
3. Use tools for self-defense.
Choose a device you feel the most comfortable carrying. Pepper spray, a safety whistle, and a mini flashlight are great to have. You can clip these items to a purse or keychain for quick access. Gabrielle Rubin of femaleawareness.com has a list of self-defense tools and how to use them.
4. Create boundaries.
Put some distance between you and the people or person making you feel uncomfortable. It would be best to get to a well-lit place that has security like a mall or a police station. Trust your gut!
5. Power up.
Try taking a class in self-defense. Do research on the location you will be going to. Be familiar with the risks to create a better plan and carry the right tools to defend yourself. Also, charge your devices, and check that everything is working so that you can communicate in the event of an emergency.
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