Personal Security Awareness

[vc_row][vc_column][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]‘Hay salamat, bahay na…’ How many of us say this upon reaching the gates of our homes after braving the Manila traffic at rush hour? If you are one of those, then read on.  You might pick a thing or two and realize that this attitude may kill you.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]Looking beyond the motives, all crimes such as assassination and robbery by riding-in-tandem criminals occur because of confluence of three elements: motive, capability, and opportunity. Theoretically, removing one of the components will prevent the crime from occurring.  However, examining the three elements, only ‘opportunity’ can be directly controlled by would-be victims as they can do little to prevent criminals from having the desire and capability to hurt them.  How do you then deny riding-in-tandem criminals the opportunity to assassinate you?[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]Assassination is a site dependent crime.  For the assassins to succeed, they must catch their target in a place where the latter’s presence is already predicted, his attention is naturally distracted, his movement can be controlled, and there is opportunity for the assassins to escape.  Recognizing these characteristics of the attack site will enable you TO PREDICT WHEN AND WHERE YOU SHALL BE WHACKED if ever you become a target for assassination.  With this knowledge, you can then design mitigation measures to prevent you from being killed.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]Premeditated crimes are planned carefully.  For assassins, the first step in planning is surveillance of target victims.  This is to determine the most suitable attack site and the most opportune time to kill the target.  Surveillance then is the best indicator that an attack is in the offing, thus detecting this activity is the most critical if not the only way to prevent the attack against you from running its full course.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]So how can surveillance be detected?  The first step is to ask yourself, ‘Where will surveillance against me occur?’  As stated earlier, predictability of the target’s movements dictates surveillance—and all of us have at least two common predictable activities:  going to and from the house and office.  You actually know this, thus you hear time and again the admonition, ‘Vary your route and schedule in going to and from work’, in an attempt to mitigate this predictability.  But seriously, how much variation can you really make in your daily schedule?  If your work starts at 8AM and the drive is just 15 minutes, do you leave at 6AM one day, 7AM the next, and 730AM in another day?  And do you think that the 30-minute variation would deter a paid and determined assassin?[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]And about your route, yes it is possible to vary your route day after day.  However, there are still two segments that you need to pass through whether you like it or not:  the road near your house and the road near your office—segments I call CHOKEPOINTS.  These two segments are actually the most dangerous parts of your daily routine!  If you browse the internet, you will see that almost all assassinations occur ON THE ROAD NEAR THE HOUSE OR THE OFFICE OF THE VICTIM!  Among the more recent ones were the assassinations of reporter Alex Balcoba who was killed in front of his house in Quiapo and Judge Alaba who was attacked while parking his car at his office in the Regional Trial Court in Baler.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]Now that you know where surveillance occurs, the second and last step is to ask, ‘How do I know that there is surveillance against me?’  There are two indicators:  correlation and ‘mistakes’.  Correlation refers to movements of unknown people in your chokepoint that synchronize with yours.  The most common example is an unidentified ‘istambay’ outside your gate or the nearby sari-sari store who disappears immediately after you leave your house for the office.  If this occurs on successive days, it is time to raise the alarm especially if suddenly, the ‘istambay’ disappears and in his stead are two motorcycles with two persons each!  ‘Mistakes’ refer to things that are out of place in your chokepoint such as an unidentified parked car with several persons inside or that ‘istambay’.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]To operationalize this knowledge, you need to establish a personal surveillance detection system as you can only observe so much on your own.  A surveillance detection system is best and most effective if it involves several people.  This means conscripting your immediate family members and household staff into your surveillance detection army.  The professional security services such as guards and cops are just bonuses and most of the time part of the reaction forces.  For your surveillance detection army to reach its full potential, it is necessary that all members know and understand their respective roles.  Most importantly, establish an information channel for reporting suspicious activity that ultimately leads to you.[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]So last night, did it ever occur to you that some gun-for-hire might be waiting for you in front of your house?  What were you thinking while waiting for the gate to be opened?  Were you anticipating what was on TV?  What was for dinner?  How are the children?  How about when you left this morning?  Did you check if there are suspicious persons who might be waiting to ambush you?  Have you ever checked for surveillance in this area before?[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”15″][vc_column_text]Surveillance detection as part of personal security awareness can be summed up in one sentence:  Look in the right place (chokepoint) at the right time (routine activity) for the right things (correlation and mistakes).[/vc_column_text][thb_gap height=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row]