Personal Safety for the Holidays
Personal safety is important every day. As a Realtor, I have been trained to be constantly aware of my surroundings as well as some small tips to use when showing a house, holding an open house or going to a listing appointment. As the holidays approach, we are all likely to be in situations and locations where personal safety is even more important. I asked my personal trainer, Mark Simons, to write an article to help us all stay aware and, hopefully, safe during this time of year. Nothing messes up a Christmas celebration more than getting mugged in the mall parking lot. Hard to argue with that statement. In the law enforcement world, officers are trained constantly in the arena of use of force. But it’s not just using force to effect an arrest. Often officers are attacked without provocation. In their world it’s called a sudden assault. Now these assaults can seemingly come out of right field. But over the years, officers have picked up nonverbal cues that can predict a possible assault. They have a list of cues that they train to look for from offenders. Let’s look at a few of those and see if we can apply them to our lives and hopefully avoid being mugged in the mall. When we are getting that funny feeling in our gut that someone is thinking about harming us, we often want to dismiss it. Don’t! Here are some names to those queasy feelings swirling around in our tummy: We refer to them as Threat Assessments: Watch for these Pre-Attack Postures Hand set Shoulder shift 1000 yard stare Target Glance Boxer Stance Let’s look at each one and briefly break them down. Hand set. When someone raises their hands above their waist in a manner that seems out of the norm, or as my kids say, random. Take note. Shoulder shift. The act of twisting your upper body so as to place it with your shoulder towards you as as opposed to being more forward facing or squared off. 1000 yard stare. That creepy, “I’m looking through you” look. It could mean they are about to pounce and anything you say may be falling on deaf ears, much like when I ask for chores to be completed by my teens. Target glance. Police are sketchy if the person they are encountering glances at their holstered firearm. In training class I loved to mess with them and do this. They were quick to step back and express their concern. Same for us. If someone is about to strike us, unless they are highly trained, they will most likely give it away by glancing at said target....
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