The Importance Of Situational Awareness
Situational awareness is the art of achieving 360-degree awareness of your surroundings at all times. It sounds simple enough, but the vast majority of Americans don't have a clue what is happening around them.
Recently, I was in a store and saw a young woman walking with earbuds in, staring at her phone for 50 feet.
Not once did she look up. She was a sheeputterly oblivious to the world and she is exactly what the wolves are looking for.If you want to stop being a target, you need to break situational awareness into three parts:
Visual Awareness: This is the process of watching what is happening and asking yourself what you expect to see versus what is actually there. You should always know where the nearest emergency exit is and what can be used as cover or concealment from a shooter. I once saw employees blocking an exit with display cases and thought it was strange; seconds later, a shoplifter tried to use that exact door to escape and failed because the exit was blocked. Visual cues tell you when something is wrong.
Auditory Awareness: You have to listen to your environment. Ask yourself: What sounds do I hear that I wasn't expecting?If you walk into a business and hear yelling, crying, or begging, your awareness should spike immediately as you decide on your next action.
Keep Your Head on a Swivel: This is about scanning to maintain that 360-degree view. I walked into a busy UPS store recently, and not one person looked up to see who I was or if I was a threat. Meanwhile, my head is consistently moving, scanning for threats.
Before you even enter a building, look through the windows to see if people are behaving normally. Once inside, orient your body toward the entrance so you can see new people as they come in.
When walking through a parking lot, scan right to left and check behind you every few feet.The goal here isn’t to be paranoid. The goal is to identify potential threats and avoid them. It’s like defensive driving. At first, counting exits and scanning people will feel weird, but eventually, it becomes second nature.
Don't do this, this makes you an easy target:
Wearing earbuds and staring at a phone: Using earbuds and looking down at a phone makes a person "utterly oblivious" to the world around them. Wearing earbuds prevents a person from listening to the sounds of their surroundings, such as yelling or cries for help, which are vital for identifying potential threats.
Being a "sheep": Acting oblivious to surroundings and not looking to see who is nearby makes someone exactly what "wolves" are looking for.
Getting too involved in tasks: Becoming so focused on activities—like preparing packages, talking to agents, or looking at a phone that you fail to notice new people entering a building.
Failing to scan the environment: Neglecting to look through windows before entering a building or failing to look behind you while walking through a parking lot.
