Are you predictable in time and place?
Humans tend to be creatures of habit. However, considering personal safety, we must strive to identify the good habits and protect ourselves from the bad ones.
Kidnappings can be thought of as the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While this may be true in some cases, it can also be due to a lack of strong security practices. The predictability of time and place is a necessary element to carry out a calculated kidnapping. In other words, the perpetrator will look for patterns in movement and location, seeking to exploit these security weaknesses to their advantage. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks involved.
Business travelers, for example, need to be aware of the patterns they establish by routinely taking, say, the 8:00 am flight to Chicago every Monday morning. Similar patterns are unconsciously set by stopping each weekday morning for coffee in the same spot, or even parking your vehicle in the same section of employee parking every work day.
Our personal security vulnerabilities increase dramatically when our daily routines start to read like a European train timetable. By taking a critical look at our personal habits, with an eye to identifying bad practices, the predictability of time and place becomes apparent and we can see firsthand the importance of deviating from established patterns.
Frequent and subtle changing of our movement patterns is a proactive step that can be taken to mitigate the threat of abduction. Alternating routes to and from work, or varying departure times by 15 minutes or so are great starting points. Driving a spouse’s vehicle to work once or twice a week, as well as parking in spaces other than the designated spot in employee parking, are other examples of what can be done to reduce vulnerability.
What patterns have you established? While it may not be feasible to divert from the 8:00 am flight to Chicago, the route and mode of transportation to the airport remain within your control.
Whether you need free advice or a personalized analysis on how to reduce your vulnerability to abduction, contact Defensive Countermeasures. Our professional staff is ready to assist you with your specific requests. Be save!