Recent media reports have highlighted the
threat of criminal activities to individuals, properties and businesses in
Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs and other areas within the NT. 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 our 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 POTENTIAL 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'.
A news item
from Sydney in January 2003 reported on a thief stealing from a vehicle stopped
at the red lights. It would have been
somewhat of a surprise when he checked his booty, as the driver was a
registered snake catcher and was returning from a job with a red-bellied black
snake in the bag that was taken. In
this case the victim of theft probably never considered that anyone would
attempt to steal from his vehicle whilst he was in it and the thief, of course,
would never have considered that his booty resulting from a crime could attack
him.
To reduce this
type of risk and other crime threats 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 must
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 professional Security
Officers always carry out self-interrogation 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 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 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 (cellular) 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 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.
