Generally speaking, people want to be safe. Several years ago, I started writing a book called "Surviving Terrorism and Violent Crime" (The book is almost finished!) I bring this up right now because I just spent a few minutes working on it, and I thought I would share the Five ALIVE Formula from my book.
I have been training professional bodyguards, physical security specialists, and others in the law enforcement and security arena for many years, and one technique I came up with years ago for teaching people to provide protection to others and for their own personal protection is using what I call the "Five ALIVE Formula." This is an acronym of the word "alive", and includes five specific things you can do to greatly increase your odds of staying safe, no matter where you are. The actions making up the Five ALIVE Formula are: (Stay) Alert, (Stay Low-key, (Stay) Informed, (Stay) Variable, and (Stay) Emergency-Prepared.
Stay Alert: Always know what is going on around you. Be alert for suspicious activity, and know what is suspicious. Know how to properly report this activity. If you aren't paying attention to your surroundings, how will you know when the bad guys are getting ready to commit a crime?
Stay Low-Key: Don't stand out in a crowd, as this attracts bad guys. Unless you HAVE to be the center of attention (like if you are a political figure), don't be. Don't flash cash, don't wear fancy jewelry (although there is a proper time and place for that), and don't do anything or act in any way that tells bad guys you have something they want. Ladies...this includes wearing clothing which exposes more than it should and serves only to attract (the wrong kind of) attention.
Stay Informed: Know what's going on. Use Nextdoor and local social media sites to stay up on local crime. Are bad guys doing something particular? Is there a specific vehicle that has been reported as suspicious? A person? A scam? If you are traveling, have you read up on the threats in the area you are visiting? Do you pay attention to the news? Do you know how to get local crime alerts?
Stay Variable: Vary your activities, routes, times you go places, etc. Most people who are targeted by professionals are attacked in the morning while leaving their home. Why? Because they are predictable. They leave at the same time every day, and take the same route. For instance, if you are a business owner and must carry large amounts of cash to the bank, vary the days, times, vehicles, branches of the bank, and maybe even people carrying the cash.
Stay Emergency-Prepared: What would happen if your car broke down? Can you fix it? Can you fix a flat tire? Do you have a phone to call someone? What if the phone died...do you know their number? What if we have a power outage that lasts for 3 days? Do you have enough food and water in your home to last for 3 days? What about 7? 30? If someone wanted to take it, could you protect it? If someone breaks in to your home, do you have an alarm system? Did you set it? Is it monitored? If you find yourself driving in a "bad" part of town, can you find your way out? What if the map app on your phone doesn't work (low battery, cloud cover, no signal)? Do you have a map of San Antonio in your car as a back up?
Obviously, we could go on and on in each one of these categories, but suffice it to say that if you simply follow the Five ALIVE Formula, you will, generally speaking, be much safer.
Call us; we can help! The threat is real...is your security?
For now...stay safe! Jason