Personal security measures are, or at least should be, a matter of rational choice. Although I write about security and have years of training and experience, it is not my intention to tell you what to do. You see, it is my firm conviction that, if you are an able adult, then you are responsible for your own personal security. While this may seem like an obvious and common sense statement, my experience tells me that it is neither. I often hear otherwise intelligent people fervently argue that others are responsible for their personal security.
Here are some of the more common statements:
The Police are responsible for my protection:
No they’re not. The police do not exist to provide you with personal protective services. In fact, the police don’t even exist to catch criminals. The mission of the police is to maintain order; the apprehension of criminals is simply a means by which they accomplish that objective. Except in rare instances, the protection received by an average citizen from police activity is indirect. In other words, the police reduce the population of would be criminals via arrest. The result is fewer criminals walking the street, thus allowing you live in a safer community. These efforts should be applauded, but they cannot reasonably be called "personal" protection.
The Security people are there to protect me:
No they’re not. Private security personnel are agents of their employer and/or client. They exist to prevent or mitigate losses to the organization for which they are working. Just as with the police, the protection you receive from private security personnel is indirect; their activities displace crime from the particular facility they are assigned to protect. If you happen to be located at that facility then you are the beneficiary of that protection. Still, that is not the same thing as security personnel existing to protect you as an individual.
Bystanders will protect me:
Don’t bet the farm on that one. While the presence of other people provides a level of protection, that protection is based on the perception that other people will intervene. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.
My Husband or boyfriend will protect me:
I've heard this statement from several female friends, family members and acquaintances. In all fairness, most men will protect women. Still in cases of extreme violence, the male will typically be the first target. If the male companion is taken out of commission before he realizes what has happened, he will be of little protective value to the female.
The bottom line: If you exclusively rely on others to protect you; you may be disappointed.
Developing Countermeasures
In previous posts I discussed developing a security mindset, understanding your own perceptions of danger and conducting a personal risk analysis. If you have been following these steps, you now have some questions to answer for yourself:
(1.)What high risk behaviors or activities do I engage in?
(2.) Am I willing to give these behaviors up?
(3.) If not, what can I do to mitigate my chances of being a victim?
In general, you have four basic choices for how to address risk:
Accept the Risk:
If you have seriously looked at your own high risk behaviors and activities and decided that you either cannot or do not want to change them, then you have accepted the risk. The downside of acceptance is that you are not trying to prevent the event from occurring. Still, if you can accept the potential consequences of such a decision than acceptance may be a good strategy. Keep in mind that we accept various risks every day. When we ride in an automobile there is the risk of getting in an accident, but that doesn’t stop most of us from riding in or driving cars.
Avoid the Risk Altogether:
If you have decided that one of your behaviors or activities is so fraught with danger, that it is not worth doing anymore, then the focus of your personal security program, regarding that particular issue, will be to cease the behavior or activity. The downside to this approach is if you apply it too often your quality of life will suffer and you will be afraid to engage in many of the things that give you fulfillment.
Transfer the Risk:
If after examining your risks, you decide that you still want to engage in a specific high risk activity, but don’t want to mitigate the risk or just accept the potential consequences, you can transfer the risk, however this means relying on others to protect you. As noted above, this can yield disappointing results.
Mitigate the Risk:
Mitigation occurs when you have reviewed your risks and decided that you still want to engage in a particular high risk activity, but don’t want to just accept the potential consequences or rely on others to protect you. In this case you would want to take steps to lessen or mitigate the risks you determined as high. Mitigation is the bread and butter of the security discipline and involves techniques to make yourself, your residence and other areas of your life a harder target from criminals. The next several postings will address some best practices in mitigating personal risk.
Remember as an able adult, your personal security is fundamentally your responsibility. As you think about your own high risk behaviors and activities, remember that personal security measures should come about as the result of a rational thought process; not blind fear or the attitude of “it can’t happen to me”.
By: SA Watson
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