Bison Risk Management Associates

Criminals have a way of getting, "up close and personal" when we least expect it. Last week, a very good friend who lives in Vacaville had his home invaded.

In the middle of the day. In broad daylight.

His wife had returned home - by herself - to find a man in the process of entering their kitchen through a window!

Luckily, no one was hurt, and nothing was taken. The local police department reacted very quickly - with bunches of squad cars, police dogs and helicopters.

Clearly, this could have easily ended up differently. What if he were already in the house? What if he had a weapon? What if he were not alone?

In our last newsletter, we told our readers -

Personal Safety Plans are pre-considered actions that cover multiple threatening situations. Without even the most simple plan, you leave yourself open to becoming a victim.

In our workshops, we teach building Safety Plans using the concept of PACE - Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency. Having multiple courses of action for any situation.

(Note: Levels of Awareness are discussed in Issues 5 and 6, and Actions are discussed in Issue 7)

You must assume that your plan will not work out as expected. In this example, the Primary plan would be to look for signs of a break-in when arriving home. Since the bad guy came in through the back of the house, she would not have noticed anything wrong.

When she entered the house and saw the bad guy coming into the kitchen, her Alternate plan would have been to leave the house immediately (Flight/Evade), and to yell for neighbors and call the police (Report).

But what if it were night time, or the bad guy was a bit more bold, and he chased her out into the street as she fled her home?

What if she had gotten home 30 seconds later and the intruder was already in the home, and made a grab for her as she entered?

This scenario (Unexpectely Occupied Home or Office - one of 7 taught in our workshops) could have easily escalated into a much more hazardous situation.

Without a Personal Safety Plan, you leave yourself vulnerable to becoming a victim. If you don't incorporate PACE into your plans, the chances of a "bad ending" being the result of a threatening encounter, goes up considerably.

For Consideration: Your plan should be written down (to help reinforce it) and practiced. A good plan can be put together in a couple of hours - Got Plan?

Next Newsletter: Low probability/high impact events

Bison Risk Management Associates is a Northern California-based company providing Personal Safety and Emergency Preparedness training, workshops and consulting for individuals, businesses and organizations.