I think I passed an "interview".

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ceetee

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Recently, Mrs. Ceetee and I were out shopping in an area thirty minutes away from home. We were in her car, a well-maintained and new-looking Acura. I was driving. We live off the highway, around four miles down a narrow, winding road. Despite the twisty-turney conditions of the road, it's an important artery for people to take because it's a good shortcut from here to there, so there's more traffic down this road than you would think.

I didn't notice anyone following us home from the store, but a short distance from the turnoff onto out street, a white car drove up close behind. Not exactly tailgating, but close. The driver had his high beams on, and it was a cloudy gray day, so I couldn't see who was in the car. All I could tell was that the car itself was a white boxy-looking thing, it had that late seventies Mercury look going on. This car had followed closely behind us for a good two miles by the time I came up to our driveway.

I didn't know his intentions, and a great many people drive like this, so I wasn't really in Condition Red - more like Orange - when I pulled off into my driveway. I stopped a couple car lengths from the road because I wanted to get out and check the mail. As I unfastened my seatbelt, I looked in the mirror and saw this car pull into my driveway behind me. Since the lights were no longer in my eyes, I could tell that it was occupied by two black males that appeared to be in their early twenties. One had really wild hair, like an afro that needed combing really badly. And he needed a shave. As soon as I saw them pull in, my hand went to the Officer's Model strapped to my belt.

I watched them in my mirrors as they looked at the rear of our car. We sat like that for a good ten seconds, as Mrs. Ceetee said, "Well, are you going to go get the mail or what?"

I remembered to breathe again when I saw them reverse out of my driveway and go back the way they came from. I still waited a good five more seconds before I got out of my vehicle to go "get the mail".

It wasn't until much later that I realized:

1. I couldn't give a decent description of either man in the car.
2. I never bothered to get the license number of the car.
3. I can't even tell you the make or model of the car.
4. Sometimes time passes really quickly, but really slowly at the same time.

All-in-all, I'm satisfied with the outcome of the encounter - it may well have been an innocent thing (or like Mrs. Ceetee said, "See? They just needed to turn around."). I'm highly upset at myself for not being as observant as I obviously should have been.

Comments?
 
Yep...I don't believe I would have pulled in to my driveway. I would have probably driven past it and played it by ear. No sense in bringing them directly to the Hacienda.
 
I'll be the contrarian and say that you passed the interview, because they left. And you learned something. I wouldn't have pulled into my own driveway (I've driven past my own place on several occasions because I didn't like the looks of the vehicle/occupant combo behind me), but in all, nothing came of the situation.

extra credit for the officer's model, too.
 
Yep...I don't believe I would have pulled in to my driveway. I would have probably driven past it and played it by ear. No sense in bringing them directly to the Hacienda.
That's my typical course of action in this type of scenario, too. Not that it happens frequently, but a time or three in the past few years when I did think I was being followed (or just had a sketchy feeling about the car behind mine), I made it a point to pass my own residence. Each time, the car behind turned off on another street or driveway within a couple of miles. Better safe than sorry.

I'd say it was a smart move on your part to remain in your vehicle, at least. If nothing else, use this as a learning experience. Obviously we don't know if the two gentleman in the white vehicle had ill intent or not, but next time, you'll probably recall this and ensure that you do make it a point to look for a license plate, and try to get a make/model of the vehicle, and a decent description of its' occupants. And it wouldn't hurt to drive past your residence (not to beat a dead horse).
 
I remember a thread that linked a new story were a woman was followed by a stalker, and ended up in an altercation with said person, it ended poorly for them, as she had pulled up to the back of the police station and was trying to get to the officers, rushing to get to her.
 
Ok, so after 26 years as LEO guess I am a bit anal about ANYONE following me [ had a few 'interviews' over my front sight ].

I do not allow any to follow me home,glad your ok and hope they dont follow your wife when your not there.
 
The 5-Stages-of-Violent-Crime

Developed by Marc MacYoung and often utilized by police, and firearms and self-defense instructors.

The first 3 stages are where effective self-defense awareness training can get you out of trouble. These 3 stages are the setup.

Stage 1 - The Intent

In its simplest form, the Intent is where the criminal is mentally and physically prepared to commit violence. By being able to recognize potential psychological and verbal "tells," your awareness should kick you into a state of orange, or warning mode.

Stage 2 - The Interview

The interview is a criminal process you want to fail. This is the criminal's attempt through verbal interaction to get a sense of you as a potential target. For example, are you too trusting, do you allow him in close, do you exhibit fear in your body language? A sample interview would be asking for directions or the time. How do you react? Your body language and your reaction allows the criminal to decide whether or not you are a suitable target that provides the least amount of resistance. By understanding the various interviews used, your awareness training should again kick you into a state of orange.

Stage 3 - The Positioning

Positioning is simply a fancy word for opportunity. Just like when we discuss the crime triangle, without opportunity, there can be no crime. Opportunity is about the criminal placing himself in a place where he can successfully attack you quickly and effectively. Are you aware of your surroundings? Are you isolated? Do you have an escape route? Can you reach help quickly? Can you draw attention if things go south? Again, all of these are important questions in your awareness plan.

The next two stages are about the act of violence, where your physical self-defense skills may have to be utilized. They also only happen when the above 3 stages work. Meaning, if a criminal can't set you up, he most likely won't attack you.

Stage 4 - The Attack

The criminal has now decided that you are a safe target and is commencing the attack to get what he wants. Your goal in any attack is survival and escape employing whatever verbal or physical self-defense tools you have available to you.

Stage 5 - The Reaction

The reaction is the most dangerous of the five stages. It's how the criminal feels about himself for what he has just done; and how he views your reaction to what he has done. The volatility at this stage can turn a simple assault to a rape to a murder.
 
ceetee, best of all possible outcomes, nobody got hurt everybody went home.

Learning to get a description for later ID is a tough skill to master and, nearly always, if you don't jot down the information immediately you will not remember it with any clarity later.

I have a long work commute so years ago I started carrying a voice recorder in the car. Originally this was to "jot down" anything I thought about or remembered while I was driving and couldn't write. Right now the excellent Olympus WS-600S rides "shotgun" in the car. A device like that makes it easy to dictate "green chevy, licence plate...etc." for later use. In fact the silly thing can record for 25 hours straight so you could, if so inclined, just turn it on in the morning and leave it run all day, something I've done at political events...it's amazing the things people say.

These days I also have a smartphone app that is also a voice recorder and I frequently use that one as well. It has the added advantage that it can be set to save the recordings "in the cloud" so even if something happens to your device (like someone smashes it) the recording is still safely stored and available to you.
 
Like others here, I NEVER go to my house if a car has been following me in my neighborhood. I always turn off onto another side street(s) where they continue in another direction..

Basically when you turn in your driveway, no one should be behind you unless you recognize the vehicle as a neighbor..
 
While I agree it would have been prudent, I admit I probably wouldn't have thought to drive past the house - I would have written it off as paranoia. My mind probably wouldn't have gone Condition Red until the car pulled in behind me.

That being said, I'd have been on the phone to 911 the moment the car pulled in behind me. A little harassment from the local PD will let the occupants of the car know you're being vigilent, and should the situation escalate, it's always good to have backup.

Plus it provides a defensive foundation, should you end up in court.
 
The general advice is to not go home if you know you're being followed. If you don't know you're being followed, but something seems suspicious, it's generally a good idea to make some random turns on known streets (no surprise dead ends) and confirm you really are being followed. Then you know not to go directly home and can summon the cavalry.

In general terms, passing a criminal interview means the criminal selects you as an appropriate victim for attack.

Our goal is to fail the interview in the victim selection process...
 
I would not have pulled into my driveway. I would have continued all the way down the road to a more corwded area and driven well under the speed limit until they passed by.
 
I would not have pulled into my driveway. I would have continued all the way down the road to a more corwded area and driven well under the speed limit until they passed by.

It just occurred to me--the BGs may have thought their targets were stopping off someplace random until the BGs passed by. When ceetee first pulled into the driveway, the BGs probably thought that was their home and therefore followed. But when ceetee stopped short and stayed in the vehicle, it could have confused the BGs:

Maybe this wasn't the target's house after all?
Maybe it was some random home the targets stopped at because they noticed they were being followed?
Maybe this house's occupants would aid the selected targets against the BGs or call the police?
Maybe the targets were calling the police already?

The BG's confusion may have, somewhat accidentally, caused ceetee to fail the interview. Of course, it's hard to say that's really what happened, but given ceetee's account, it does seem possible.
 
Sorry, but passing one's home when there are random cars driving behind them seems just paranoid to me.

In all probability they mistook you for somebody else. It seems to me that if a pair of criminals were planning on robbing somebody they would hang back a ways until ready to attack.
 
If someone is behind me, I never go into my driveway. I go around the block and come back. My wife does the same. Even my kids are now trained.

BTW, you failed but survived unscathed. Live and learn. If you would have gotten out of the car, they probably would have gotten out of their car, too. That's what I would do if I was a BG. Two on 1. You were a tougher target when you were in the car. Got metal and glass and what...a whole bunch of horses under the hood. One of them could have gotten flatten.
 
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Sorry, but passing one's home when there are random cars driving behind them seems just paranoid to me.

I think it was the up-close lights-on-bright attitude of the followers that worried the OP. And... he may have been right. After all, they did turn in behind him. Who's to know?

FWIW, I have people catch up to me all the time on back country roads. I just turn on my signal, pull over as far as I can, and slow down for them to pass. I'm not the paranoid type.

However, there were a couple times in my life where I was followed for a very long distance on paths that would be extremely coincidental that anyone else would need to duplicate. Those couple of times I did pass up my residence and pulled into busy parking lots. One time the car slowed to a near stop then continued without pulling in. The other time they followed me into the parking lot, passed me by, and parked at the far end of the lot without exiting their vehicle. I just waited there until they finally left.
 
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JustinJ
Sorry, but passing one's home when there are random cars driving behind them seems just paranoid to me.

Tell that to us when you're in your late 80's and lived a life completely unscathed by violent crime and then I will agree with you but will still do the same on my part.
 
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