This will be the last of a series of articles on Behavioral Analysis. If you have any questions feel free to email me at the address listed at the end.
Behavioral Analysis, Pattern Recognition, or Profiling. There are a number of different titles that cover the observation of behavior, and these have acquired negative connotations over the years, mostly undeserved.
Behavioral Analysis, Pattern Recognition, or Profiling. There are a number of different titles that cover the observation of behavior, and these have acquired negative connotations over the years, mostly undeserved.
Profiling has gained the most attention and has been transformed
into the dirty word called racial profiling. But we are not talking about racial
profiling. On the face of it, racial
profiling doesn’t really work because race is not a threat indicator. Behaviors are indicators of a threat. Be careful when trying to visualize a
criminal’s appearance because we often imagine a person based on how the movies
portray them. When you are out with the
family focus on people’s behavior, not their appearance.
All our actions are a reflection of our thoughts. These behaviors can be conscious,
unconscious, and sometimes a bit of both.
When you begin observing a person’s behavior, we want to start with the
unconscious behavior that most people do not realize they are even revealing. In times of fear or threat, your brain relies
heavily upon the limbic system or your survival mind to get you through
a bad situation. When this survival
mind is engaged, there are a number of observable behaviors we can see happening
to show that an individual is engaged in a fear or threat response.
Many of these behaviors cannot be stopped and most people do not
know they are even happening at the time.
These behaviors are communicated through physiological responses, non-verbal
communication, the distances we keep, and even how we react with our
environment. If someone is exhibiting
whitening of the face, either they are sick or their body has kicked into
vasoconstriction to limit blood flow to the extremities.
This is a hard fear response in preparation for immediate
injury. You might see this from someone
in a crowd and you might not know why they are exhibiting it, but you
definitely know where you attention needs to be.
It is useless to list observable behavior after bad things have
happened. We need to disrupt any events
from happening, and we can no longer afford to be reactive to situations. When you are reacting to a situation that is
happening you are always at a disadvantage because the bad guy gets to choose
the time and place of the event.
When you hear the word ‘Profiler’ what government agency comes to
mind first? It was probably the FBI and
their Behavioral Science Unit. My
intention is not to take anything away from this unit and the impressive work
they do. But let me ask you, what has to
happen first before the FBI will show up?
A bomb has to go off or the serial killer has to strike again.
There are many ways that Behavior analysis can positively
affect your day to day, but the first step would be to keep you and those
around you safe from harm as you go about your business. This brings us to the focus loop,
a mental checklist you can use to guide where your attention should be in a
given situation.
Overt --- Covert --- What Else
Overt Threats
When you step into a setting, the first thing you want to scan for
are Overt or obvious threats. They might seem over obvious as you read
this but you would be surprised how many times people observe these indicators
and fall into denial. You should begin at
Overt, then Covert and finally What Else. You should also start all these scans from nearest
to farthest as the closer a hostile person is to you, the easier it is
for them to hurt you. When you’re
scanning for overt indicators always think ‘immediate action.’ If you observe one of these indicators you
need to make a decision to run, hide or fight right now to keep yourself
safe.
1) Presence of weapons
8) Revving of engines
2) Brandishing of objects that 9) Breaking glass
can be used as weapons 10) Shaking
3) Individuals or groups 11) Heavy
breathing
running 12)
Reddening of the face
4) Gunshots (Often confused
13) Whitening of the face
As fireworks) 14) Presence of masks
5) Smoke or fire 15) Improvised barriers
6) Loud Shouting 16) Confrontation
by groups or
7) Attempts to block entrances individuals
or exits
Covert Threats
After you have scanned for the more obvious indicators of danger,
you can dive a little deeper under the surface for more subtle indicators. When you scan for these you be thinking of ‘subsequent
action’ or ‘What will I do if…’
1) Clear the Hands (The hands are 4) Patting or checking a certain
area
the weapons of the body) multiple
times
2) Individuals whose hands you 5) Inappropriate clothing
for weather
cannot see
or setting
3) Bulging around the waistline, 6) Increase or decrease
in speed
underneath the shoulder or ankle 7)
Masking (Sunglasses at night,
bandana over face, etc.…)
What Else
After you have determined there is no immediate threat in the area
you can start asking broader questions to establish a baseline for the specific
setting. At this point you should be
thinking about contingency actions. It
may not seem likely, but if something were to happen, how would you get
yourself and those with you to safety in the quickest way. Be sure to look for secondary or more exit
routes as people might rush toward an exit and blocking that way out through
crowding.
1) What is the atmosphere? (Loud and 3) Were there any changes
in the
boisterous or quiet and reserved)
atmosphere
when I entered?
2) Has anyone directed their attention 4) How close were people
standing
toward you? (Direction of feet will (The
closer the more comfortable)
indicate true intention) 5) Are they maintaining the same
distance
from
me?
The world is in a state of flux.
Whether it’s politics here at home or regional conflict abroad, things
are changing. In this time of change, it
is not appropriate to accept our planning or training in response to violence
as ‘good enough.’ More awareness,
coupled to a proactive mindset must be fostered to keep our communities and
organizations safe in this modern age.
Technology has been helpful in making our lives comfortable, and
yet it has also made the world a much smaller place. Events can move from local to global in a
matter of hours, sometimes outpacing law enforcement and other first
responders.
This is why everyone should be an active participant in their own
security. Never trust anyone else with
your safety and well-being. We often
hear that people will rise to the occasion in an emergency situation. This is a myth. The truth is that each individual will defer
back to their highest level of training when violence occurs.
Ask yourself one question, “What is the highest level of My
training right now?”
Be safe!
Be safe!
Integrity Security Consulting
Russ Sharrock
405-762-2471 |
integrityseccon@hotmail.com
I have developed and made available to anyone interested, for FREE, a series of Security & safety forms that can
be printed for your use:
1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment Form
2) Church Security Plan Template
3) Church Emergency Plan Template
4) A General Fire Safety Checklist
5) A Bomb Threat Checklist
6) A Bomb Threat Distance Chart: Includes various types of
explosive devises and to be referred to in an event of a bomb threat
evacuation. These are minimum distances to evacuate away from the area of
explosion.
7) Facility Lockdown Checklist
8) Child Protection Covenant
These MS Word documents can be adapted as necessary to fit your
church size and needs. I will be adding new forms as time allows.
For a copy of any of these FREE
forms, or if you have any questions, contact me and let me know what your needs
are.
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