I have read and watched a lot of true crime stores/dumb criminal stories/bios of criminals, serial killers, police and FBI. After reading a few you start noticing a lot of repetition in the way crimes are committed. Pay attention to repetition because after awhile you could almost write the story yourself. I think it helps to drive home how things happen and makes you think what could have been done differently and at what point. Have your friends do the same and discuss it.

Also take extreme notice of that small voice when it tells you something isn't quite right. In many stories people who almost became victims were later interviewed by police couldn't say what it was that made them bail out. Trust your instincts.

I'd say the best way is to start thinking like a BG would. Watch how other people go through their day. Try and identify the risks they take, how you would attack them if you wanted to.

Sometimes I would think of who would be the easiest one on the platform to push off just as the train is coming by. Or maybe how easy it would be to dump some powdery substance on a pizza while waiting in line at the restaurant, or into someone's drink as I am walking by, without anyone noticing. Watching people walk under objects thinking what might happen if something came loose and it fell on them. In so observing others and their routines, you begin to condition your mind to recognize such hazards yourself. I also mark subjects around me as to who might pose the most likely physical threat based on profiling. It might not be politically correct, but I am not running for any office either. It is all about creating habits out of routine, of changing the way you go through your day. If you go through a war zone, you develop some habits very quickly.

It is easy for us in our insulated little worlds to relax and let our natural talents atrophy. Really, we are built to be functionally aware of our environment, but society erodes our instincts and alters our perceptions so that our skills become dull, our complacency becomes bad habits and ignorance. Pierce the veil once or twice, and I would almost gaurantee you will have a different outlook about your daily routine.

To improve situational awareness, first you have to improve your observation skills.

One idea to practice is to spend an afternoon with a camera. Take a picture of a scene, then turn around and try to recall as much info as possible, and then compare your memory to your picture. Location of objects, people, clothing, height and hair color: as if you're a crime scene witness. (I've heard that most crime scene witnesses aren't observant enough to provide accurate info.)

When you think you've reached a good lvl, the next step is to look at a scene, take a picture, and quickly make at least three risk/threat assessments. When you look at your picture, make as many assessments as possible, and ask yourself if your first three were the most likely or reasonable. For example, is that skater in a good position to try a purse snatch from that women? With a person walking by a tall building, is there an alcove or other location to protect herself from falling bricks/glass? Does that dogwalker have good control of that toothy dog? (In NYC these risks come up often.)

Gaining good situational awareness is a habitual behavior that takes time and practice - it doesn't happen in a day.

Bluecimmers

I forgot to emphasize the last part of situational awareness: choosing the appropriate response to risks/threats. One has to practice both the ability to judge quickly, and reflect on all the possible choices, to improve the ability to judge wisely.

One personal example: I've been accosted twice by strangers making inapproprate sexual comments to me in a bookstore. The first time I chased him out of the store, the second time I reported the person to the manager. The judgements I've made:

1. Never read in a public place: My situational awareness drops to zero (I have no idea how long these wierdos were talking to me before I noticed.)

2. If this ever happens again, prevent them from fleeing, or if unable; be sure to get the GD license plate number, so the police can do something about it.

Bluecimmers

As my instructor taught me a looooooong time ago;

the best block is not to be there.

That's a GREAT idea. I wonder if DD1 would enjoy it as a game?

-Blast

When I see people with headphones stuck in their ears it makes me think they would be easy targets. (not from me!!)

I recall reading stuff written by security experts about some tale-tale signs that they use to pick out the BG's. It seems one of the biggest ones was what they called "swivel-neck." Someone about to do something bad looks all around to see if they will be spotted, look for cops, etc., as if their "neck was on a swivel." Once you know this one little thing, it's amazing how much easier it is to spot something going down.

Also, take note of the hands. The danger is really in the hands of the BG, so if you can see their hands and keep track of them, it will help. Beware someone who has their hands in their pockets or otherwise out of view.

One thing I do is just look around and take note of who is around me, how far away they are, and what they are doing. It's not hard to do a quick "risk assessment" of everyone in your vicinity with just a quick glance. Just doing that one thing alone shows the BG's that you know they are there and makes it less likely they will pick you out as a target. They are looking for folks who have blinders on and don't see them coming.

Hmm, that's quite an opinionated piece. It's unclear if Davis really understands what this program is about. I'm not saying that I am an expert on this new TSA program, but it sounds like what the Israelis have been doing for years at El Al Airlines. It doesn't rely on terrorists fitting some arbitrary profile for further scrutiny--Arab, passport shows travel to places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. Security procedures should be thorough but also flexible enough to catch the Timothy McVeigh's as well as the Mohamed Atta's of the world that want to do harm while on a plane, while avoiding hassling every passenger of Arab descent as a possible terrorist because the "profile" says to watch out for Arab people. And I doubt someone would be kept off a plane solely because of a bad attitude or look under this program. The behavior is just a trigger for further questioning and scrutiny. Beat cops do it. So do you agents at Customs or at border crossings. What's the big deal?

The problem with looking out for the 'swivel necked BG's' is not looking like a 'swivel necker' yourself.

We have a saying in the UK. 'Paranoia will destroya.', but that's always qualified with the 'it doesn't mean the 'B******s aren't still out there to get you'

Its a fine line.

I wouldn't really read to much into what a security expert says anyway. From their point of view a healthy fear of crime helps keep the crime and security industry profitable.

Paranoid tendencies aren't just a personal affliction it is a society one too.

We must always remember that the founder of 'Game theory', John Forbes Nash, the mathematician whose ideas were so beloved of the RAND Corporation was himself a paranoid schizophrenic.


The Prisoners Dilemma is quite enlightning.