Crime & Security Awareness: some thoughts by Raymond V. Andersson

Media reports over many years now have highlighted the threat of criminal activities to individuals, properties and businesses in Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs and other areas within the NT and of course, other states in Australia.  
We live in a society where many criminals operate within their own system of ethical and moral standards, having no respect for the law, age, disabilities or common standards that conform to the general population’s own standards of citizenship.  

The ethical standards and moral positions that we may treasure as being the cornerstone of our communities are regarded as a weakness to be exploited.    This is often supported by arguments regarding the rights of the individual overriding the rights of the many, thus exploiting our own belief system to the criminal’s advantage.   After all, we as a community also believe in the rights of the individual, however we temper this right with our citizenship responsibilities as members of a community.

Much of this crime is blamed on our youth however it must be realised that for every juvenile delinquent there are always one or more adult delinquents – people of mature years who either do not know their duty to their community and nation, or who knowing it, fail.   It is a fundamental fact of life that children emulate adults and adopt the adults’ ethical and moral beliefs in most instances.

What then can the average person do to minimise the threat of crime?

First of all, you have to ACCEPT THAT THE THREAT EXISTS. Human nature is a funny thing. We don't like living with threats.  Crime is a subject of conversation nearly every day, or night in homes, bars and workplaces.  You read about it in the papers every day, and the TV and radio tell you about it constantly.  But as soon as we've finished lamenting the problem, we stick it in the recesses of memory; we forget about it.

You cannot allow yourself to forget that the criminal is out there. They steal for a living.  They assault so they can steal.  They will attack to create an environment of fear and intimidation, so they simply aren't going to forget about you.

Next you have to consciously accept that YOU ARE A TARGET. Now this is quite difficult for the average person, because the average person is a nice person and it doesn't figure that someone you've never seen before in your life wants to harm you. The bottom line is simply that you have something he or she wants. This goes for every crook or assailant on earth. The criminal assault may be purely an act of theft, or low-level terrorism conducted to gain personal satisfaction in the fear or pain created or just for the individual or groups self gratification in stamping their control over ‘their turf’.  You have to accept that they do not see the world the way that you do. To them you are simply an anonymous target; a bit like those legs dangling in the ocean in front of a shark.

The main problem is that very strong human belief that 'it will never happen to me'.  Every single crime victim is a 'Me'.

There are a few easy steps that anyone can adopt that can reduce or remove the risk.

a. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL: Control your environment by being aware of your immediate and proximate surroundings and being able to react to any apparent potential threat. If the criminal wants to mug you, steal from you, pick your pocket, sell your kids some drugs, they have to take control of the environment in which they are to operate. They might do this by stealth or by force.   By controlling your environment, you take the initiative away from them.

b. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: Think about it like this, if I am aware of my environment I will be able to react to anomalies.  Get to know what is happening around you.  Be aware of the normal pattern of life in your neighborhood so that unusual patterns or people will stand out.  Harden the security on your home or business then look outside of this perimeter at the environment that you live and work in.

c. CONSCIOUS SELF-INTERROGATION: This is self-explanatory. As you drive your car or walk, along the street where you live, on your route to work, wherever; ask yourself, consciously what is going on around you, who else is also driving or walking within your local environment? Are those persons standing on the corner legitimate pedestrians, or watching the behaviour of residents or businesses?  Police patrols and well-trained Security Officers carry out self-interrogation at all times whilst working as a matter of street survival.  

Make sure you do it consciously, just to make sure that you are keeping up the habit and after a while, your subconscious will take over.   Healthy suspicion may avoid placing yourself in a position of risk.

d. CORRIDORS AND PATTERNS: Ever heard the saying that 'we're slaves to habit'? It's absolutely true. We oscillate between known points; home, work, the bank, schools and we go to them at given times and along favourite routes. This plays into the hands of criminals.  Vary your routine.  Watch for corridors that afford the criminal any advantage.  This includes intersection stop signs, traffic control lights etc.  They all afford criminals and also terrorists the advantage of time whilst the target has their attention elsewhere.   Many thefts, car-jacking and assassinations have occurred at intersections and traffic lights’.   Be aware of your environment and what is occurring around you.

e. LEAVING AND APPROACHING YOUR CAR: This is particularly important in parking lots. Imagine you are at a shopping centre and you are driving into the parking area.    This is an area where many people develop patterns or create corridors of opportunity for criminals.

Get into your well-lit parking place as quickly as possible and then get out of your car and stand up as quickly as possible, gaining control your environment once more. Remember that if you are bending down peering at the lock you are surrendering environmental control. After locking up, walk briskly away from your car, observing who is watching you. You don't have rear view mirrors, so consciously turn around and look at your sides and behind you. An observer with ill intent will note that you are alert and in most cases, will look for an easier target, but don't let this make you 'cocky' they will still have a go if they don't find easier pickings.

Inevitably your going to come back to your car, so as you walk out of the supermarket, the hairdresser, restaurant, you must once more interrogate the area around your car. Do not walk directly to your car, go away from it, at an angle so that you can keep it visual and watch for any reactions in the people around. Once you are happy that the area is clear, walk back to your car from a different direction.

Walk to your car as quickly as possible, unlock it while standing upright, get in the car, lock it and get out of there. If you are carrying goods, stay upright as much as possible and put things in the car from a standing position. Do not lean into the car and thus make yourself vulnerable.  Having two people can assist here as one can always remain alert whilst the other packs the car.  If you have a remote electronic central locking system, make sure that locking and unlocking is accompanied by a minimum of flashing lights and certainly make sure that your car does not make any bleeping sounds. That will alert anyone in the parking lot that someone with the means to open the car and drive it away is approaching a specific vehicle and that makes you vulnerable to the opportunist

f. ON FOOT: We previously looked at controlling your environment when out of your car.  Using this principle should also enable you to identify areas you should stay out of; alleys, bushy areas, unlit areas, shanty areas where environmental clutter makes it hard to control the environment. You just don't go there without adequate protection.  Ask any expert self defence exponent, what they would do if four men attacked him or her whilst alone in a dark alley. Their response would most likely be that they wouldn't be alone in a dark alley. That's the best possible rule of thumb; if you can't control it, don't go there.  

Studies and practical implementation overseas has revealed that street and other overhead lighting has dramatically reduced the level of crime in those areas that have adopted this strategy.   It also dramatically reduced the fear factor of people going out at night in those same areas.   Lighting is a primary tool in Crime Prevention Through Environment Design and should be considered as a matter of priority by Councils responsible for areas of high crime risk.   Lighting assists in bringing control of the night away from criminals and back to the community and as ratepayers you have a right to live in a safe environment.

When crossing the street in a built-up part of town in a reasonably developed part of the world, you can use shop windows as mirrors if the lighting is right, but it still pays to have the odd look behind you, just so they know you are alert.

Maintaining control of your environment is particularly important at ATMs, which are constantly observed by opportunist thieves. Don't fixate on the screen, examine the screen before you start work, look for any tampering with the machine, but at all times, look around you every couple of seconds. In this instance, as in all other situations, you must have your escape route planned.  If you don’t feel safe, simply walk away.  Trust your intuition when you feel you may be in danger.  Intuition or gut feelings can be more often right than they are wrong.

When using mobile phones, it's best to stand with your back to a flat high wall. A shop window is good. Now you only have to sweep your vision through 180 degrees. But remember when you walk off, your environment is 360 degrees again, because some interested party has just seen you use that phone…

Crime will not go away.  We must therefore attempt to control it by reducing the opportunity, increasing the risk of detection and capture. Making the criminal act less desirable to all bar the most desperate offenders.   This can be achieved by being crime & security aware and taking control of your environment.