Edition 36 - 20th May 2024

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Situational Awareness and the Art of Feeling Safer.

Situational awareness is a critical skill in the art of staying safe and will undoubtedly help you feel safer.?

Growing up in an environment with daily risks can teach us valuable skills, including risk assessment. If you grew up in a city where crime is high, drugs are rife, and violence is the currency, you will unconsciously learn how to behave, signs to look out for, body language changes that suggest threats, and your intuition for risk and threats will be high. Conversely, growing up in a safe rural environment may leave you unaware of these signs. The same is true when travelling and experiencing different cultures. It's important to recognise new signs and pick up on the ambience to stay safe.

Situational awareness is a skill that can be learned, and this next section is a crash course in some of the basics. ?In his excellent book titled ‘The Power of Awareness” Dan Schilling defines situational awareness as “knowing where he is and what is around him, what is going on in my surroundings and my place in them”

Predators prey on the weak and vulnerable, whether in the animal kingdom or in human society. This is especially true for street robbers, who can instinctively recognise a potential victim who appears vulnerable. The key is to avoid looking like an easy target. One way to do this is to be mindful of your surroundings and avoid appearing distracted while walking down the street. For example, using the map feature on your mobile phone to navigate to your desired location can make you appear vulnerable.?

The reason is that you are communicating the following: ? ? ?You don’t know where you are going. ? ? ?You don’t know where you are, so once they have stolen your phone, you won’t be able to contact the police immediately and will probably not know the exact location of the incident, making it more difficult for the police to investigate and catch the criminals. ? ? ?You are not focused on your surroundings. You are not aware or familiar with your situational. ? ? ?You have at the very least, a phone to steal.?

When leaving a London Underground station at night, have you ever noticed people checking their phones as they emerge from the underground station? While it may seem like a harmless habit, it's important to be aware of the potential risks. The bright screens of the phones can attract the attention of robbers who lurk around the station exits. These thieves quickly assess potential victims based on their appearance and whether they appear to be distracted. So, next time you're leaving a station, be mindful of your surroundings and keep your phone in your pocket until you're in a safe area.

What about if you call a friend or put your headphones on to listen to music to comfort you as you walk home in the dark or a place you are unfamiliar with? Now, you have shut down one of your senses, your hearing, so you won’t hear the attack coming, and you won’t have seen the attackers, so you won’t be able to give a description. The key here is to recognise that your intuition is telling you that you don't feel safe. Rather than trying to quieten your intuition, listen to it, it is designed to alert you to dangers. It is telling you something, so listen to it and think about what it is telling you.?

Being situationally aware is about thinking differently from the average person who wanders blindly through their day, oblivious to the threats all around you.?

It does not mean that you must become a Ninja or that you are obsessed that an attack is around every corner; it is about being present and thinking ahead. It is about reducing risk.

To reduce risk, think ahead. A good practice is to ‘horizon scan’; this ensures that you are not caught out by something ahead, such as a large crowd, an angry mob, a fight, or a drunk. An interesting exercise to practice as you are walking or driving is to give a commentary on what you see; this is a practice that all police officers must do when being taught to drive at high speeds and must do when involved in a pursuit. It will surprise you how difficult it can be and how much information you overlook.

As you walk along the street is will sound something like this: “Walking towards the centre, a junction 100 meters ahead, two men standing in the doorway smoking, a woman walking towards me with a pram blocking the footpath. At the junction there are traffic lights. The pedestrian lights are currently on red, with traffic flowing. There is a car parked on the side of the road with a person sat in the front seat”.?

It may not sound like much, but you have identified several potential hazards. Will you have to walk in the road to let the women with the pram past? Why are the two men standing in the doorway? Is the person in the parked car with them? Should I cross over to the opposite pavement?

With moped, scooter and cycle robberies on the rise in some cities, it's important to stay vigilant. Thieves may fly past you and grab your belongings before you even have a chance to react. Here are two tactics to stay safe:? 1. Walk towards oncoming traffic so you can see any approaching vehicles. 2. Walk as far away from the road as possible with any bags you carry on the building line side of the footpath. That way, if a thief wants to target you, they not only have to mount the pavement, but they must come close to the building line, which increases the risk to them.?

If you are targeted, don't fight the attackers. Whatever they are trying to steal, it isn’t worth risking your life attempting to keep hold of your possessions. Give the attackers what they want, and then get yourself to a safe place and call the police.?

Next speaking appearance - Wednesday 22 May 2024

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The Defuse Podcast - Psychology 101 - Part 1 - Demystifying Psychological Labels: A Deep Dive into Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Personality Disorders with Dr. Caroline Logan

In this episode, the first of a two part series, we learn about what exactly a psychologist is, the differences between a Clinical and a Forensic Psychologist.

Dr Logan talks to us about the meaning of psychological terms such as personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, whether they are the product of nature or nurture and he those affected behave.

Caroline Logan is a Consultant Forensic Clinical Psychologist. For nearly 30 years, she has worked as a researcher and honorary senior lecturer at the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester in the UK, as a lead clinician in secure forensic mental health services in the north of England and Norway, and as a consultant/contractor with law enforcement services in the UK and elsewhere.

Dr Logan has ongoing clinical and research interests in personality disorder (including psychopathy), risk, violent extremism, and forensic clinical interviewing, and she has a special interest in gender issues in the range of offending behaviour. She has published five books and over 70 articles on these subjects, including Violent Extremism: A Handbook of Risk Assessment and Management ?co-edited with Randy Borum and Paul Gill, published in November 2023, and a second edition of Managing Clinical Risk: A Guide to Effective Practice? co-edited with Lorraine Johnstone, published in December 2023. ?

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