Discussion of being aware of your surroundings come up often on these boards and rightfully so. I think an important part for improving our situational awareness is identifying when we are most vulnerable during some our everyday routines and determine ways to reduce our risks of being a victim of a crime. I hope by discussing this subject we may be able to identify vulnerabilities we never knew existed or adjustments that others have made that make more sense than our current practices.
For example, when I would put my son in his car seat I would lose all sense of my surroundings for a brief period. After recognizing this I paid much more attention to where I park the car, how I approach the car and scanning my surroundings, and still briefly taking a look around me while getting my son situated. In addition if there is something I don't "like" I will climb all the way into the car, lock it behind me, and finish getting him buckled in.
I have also made a simple adjustment in how we answer our door at home. Since we don't have a peep hole through our front door we make sure to look through the window next to the door before we open it even though there would still be a glass door between us and the visitor.
When walking through stores I am not only aware of people around but I also try to identify the location of other exits. If there is commotion coming from the front of the store where we entered I am going to a different exit.
I used to never carry when at work. That quickly changed a few years ago after a burglary and a few other minor events occurred there. I now carry a pocket gun when at work.
These are just a few adjustments I have made the past couple years. What vulnerabilities have you identified in your routines and what adjustments did you make?
For example, when I would put my son in his car seat I would lose all sense of my surroundings for a brief period. After recognizing this I paid much more attention to where I park the car, how I approach the car and scanning my surroundings, and still briefly taking a look around me while getting my son situated. In addition if there is something I don't "like" I will climb all the way into the car, lock it behind me, and finish getting him buckled in.
I have also made a simple adjustment in how we answer our door at home. Since we don't have a peep hole through our front door we make sure to look through the window next to the door before we open it even though there would still be a glass door between us and the visitor.
When walking through stores I am not only aware of people around but I also try to identify the location of other exits. If there is commotion coming from the front of the store where we entered I am going to a different exit.
I used to never carry when at work. That quickly changed a few years ago after a burglary and a few other minor events occurred there. I now carry a pocket gun when at work.
These are just a few adjustments I have made the past couple years. What vulnerabilities have you identified in your routines and what adjustments did you make?