From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Crime Risk Assessment: How exposed are you?
By Gamal Newry
Dec 18, 2014 - 2:34:20 AM
The
high crime rate has all of us
concerned about our safety and well being, it seems hopeless! You, your
family, and staff are not immune to these troubling times. However, we
must not allow
the current trend of events cause panic and insecurity, thus we must
develop
strategy and tactics that increase our chances of survival. We must be
wise,
deliberate and refuse to be victims and have a victim mind set. The
methods
discussed here are real and do not attempt to be politically correct.
The key
aim is to educate you in what’s happening in our society and present
effective
and efficient ways to survive the encounter. The current crime trend can cause many to believe that there
is little they can do.
Crime and violence is relative and it can be
controlled. We, yes you and me are not helpless and we refuse to be victims. I
have developed after several years of research and teaching violence readiness
and response management the following steps. These 5 steps are just a sample of
a basic crime risk assessment that can help you focus and prioritize your
efforts.
1.
Identify what are the important assets and what needs to be protected
What is of value to you, family children, home, new phone?Identifying these will go a long way in developing
strategy to protect it. Some assets like you ego and reputation are intangible,
and sometimes must be swallowed to gain the advantage. This first step helps
you to bring things into perspective.
2.
Is your geographic location or country prone to crime and violence?
What is the crime like where you live? Be careful not to make
all-encompassing statements. This should also include the types of crimes, be
they crime against property or person. Are there higher levels of house
breaking vs. assault? As indicated, crime and violence are relative so the
region where you live may be more prone to these threats than others.
3.
Where are you more at risk home, work of recreation?
Let us now in this 3rdstep narrow this down some.To a more specific, look at your
location risk, the types of threats and their impact are dependent on where you
are. Also the people who frequent these locations, in some instances,like how you have complete
control, in others like work and recreation there is very little or no control.
4.
What times do crimes occur and are you traveling during these times?
Based on what you would have assessed thus far, you now must
determine if you are in transit during these times. More importantly can you
avoid traveling during peak crime periods? If not then what is the route you
are taking and what is your plan if accosted during travel?
5.
Are you a primary target because of your age, gender, position or race/
nationality?
Does who you are make you more of a target? Perhaps an
uncomfortable question, but it is one that needs to be asked. Females, CEO, and
sexual preference can cause you to become a mark for violence. You should not
be oblivious to these realities.
Assistance to answering these questions will be unique to you or your
business, but they will help you develop realistic and practical methods of
defense. Crime reports, newspapers, and social media can also help paint a true
picture of the world you live in. You must stay informed so that you know your
environment.If you need any assistance or more in formulation response
and mitigation strategy do not hesitate to contact me at 357-9949.
If however you are confronted with a violent attack then you must be
ready to defend yourself. For clarity, a violent attack is not someone stealing
your wallet or your car. These items can be replaced and are not worth fighting
over. If you or a loved one are about to or being physically assaulted you must
now be ready to fight and fight aggressively. Remember, if you followed the
steps above then the decision to fight or flight is an easier one, both
responses are viable if you know what is at stake. Here are my 5 simple rules
to fighting;
1.
BREATH &
RELAX: Target Acquisition– Know what you are going after,eyes,
throat, nose, groin, knees and shin or a combination.
2.
BREATH &
RELAX: Distance / Position– Be able to reach your target, note your
movement and that of the attacker.
3.
BREATH & RELAX: Speed / Timing– Essentially you must act quickly when the opportunity
presents itself you cannot hesitate.
4.
BREATH & RELAX: Surprise– DO NOT say or even hint your response, thus avoid eye
contact, just do it.
5.
BREATH & RELAX: Determined Action– All
bets are off. Give it your all, your life DEPENDS on it.
There is no quick fix to combating violence, but you can increase your
chances of survival. Survival and safety are choices and decisions made based
on educated, informed review, and analysis.
Read other articles written by Gamal Newry
Gamal Newry,
specializes in loss prevention and asset
protection strategy development. His company Preventative Measures Ltd., is a training
and consulting firm, providing services in business security reviews and
audits, and emergency and crisis management. Comments and inquiries can be sent
to P.O. Box N-3154 Nassau, Bahamas, or emailgnewry@
preventativemeasures.orgor
you can visit the website atwww.preventativemeasures.
org
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