Keep Yourself Safe In The Parking Lot: Seven Simple Solutions

Parking Lot Safety

Property of SpencerCoursen.com @ 2015 All Rights Reserved.

http://SpencerCoursen.com


80% of crimes reported at retail and shopping centers take place in parking lots and garages.





Perhaps the most significant factor, is that in addition to having our hands full as we move to our cars, parking

lots are a naturally reflective “transition space.”



Moving to our vehicles is a time when the mind

(however subconsciously) is most likely to either revert back

to what we were just doing or project forward to what

we are about to do.



…and more vulnerable to attack.

This means we are less likely to be situationally aware of our immediate surroundings…


BE AWARE OF THIS DISADVANTAGE!

Make the following best practices part of your everyday "parking process" and help bring your mind to the present.

Increasing your situational awareness drastically reduces your likelihood of being targeted.



Safety Tip #1


Whenever possible, choose to park in a

parking lot rather than a parking garage.



The natural visibility of a parking lot is much better than inside a parking garage where line-of-site safety is drastically reduced by support beams, ramps, and stairwells.




Safety Tip #2


Try to park in areas that are well-lit and easily accessible.

Those closest to the store’s main entrance or parking garage exits are best.



If you have to call for help, you want to be found fast, so it's best to avoid dark, remote, and hard to describe locations.

Ask yourself this question when you get out of your car: If you were to scream for help, would anyone see or hear you? If the answer is"No" park elsewhere.


Safety Tip #3


If you feel someone is following you or paying you the wrong kind of attention, look at them

right in the face.


Take away the "element of surprise," and their anonymity. You can now describe them to police and pick them out of a lineup. Criminals avoid attacking victims who can identify them.



Safety Tip #4


If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hand in front of you and yell "NO!" "STOP!" or

"STAY BACK!"


Criminals interviewed after their crimes repeatedly say they would leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back.

Attackers play your fear to their advantage. Turn the tables and use it to yours.



Safety Tip #5


Use the panic alarm. If you sound the alarm well-before you get to your car (like as you’re leaving the store.) The attention of everyone in the surrounding area will be brought to your car.



Your car alarm will bring unwanted attention to any would-be-attacker near your car and will drastically reduce their likelihood of attack. Intentionally "sounding the alarm" has the added bonus of raising your own awareness too.


Safety Tip #6


If you have a baby, young children, or just a lot of stuff to carry, try to park so that the side of the car you use to load/unload

faces the store's entrance.


You’ll be safer where those entering and exiting the store can see and hear you.



Safety Tip #7


Keep in mind that how you park is just as important as

where you park. Be aware of who’s in the car next to you

and avoid getting “boxed in.”


If you see someone suspicious in the car next to you, especially if it's a van, exercise caution.

TRUST YOUR OWN INSTINCTS It’s always better to be safe than sorry.




Remember: Effective self-defense begins long before a physical altercation. Awareness of your surroundings, awareness of your environment, and awareness of what looks ‘out of place,’ prepares you physically and mentally for what may come next.



Being aware and engaged with your environment promotes a confidence that is often your first line of defense in convincing a would-be-attacker that they will have a greater chance of success targeting someone else.



Spencer Coursen is a combat veteran, expert security consultant, threat assessment advisor, and protective intelligence strategist. Over the course of his diverse career he has advanced, planned, and led more than 300 protective missions to 163 different countries. He is the founder of Coursen Security Group which provides security consulting services to a diverse range of clientele on how to most effectively reduce risk, prevent violence, and enhance the certainty of safety for all involved.

Tweet @SpencerCoursen / Connect via LinkedIn


http://www.spencercoursen.com/Spencer_Coursen/Spencer_Coursen.html

http://coursensecuritygroup.com/CSG/HOME.html

https://twitter.com/spencercoursen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencercoursen

http://spencercoursen.com

Lifestyle

Keep Yourself Safe In The Parking Lot: Seven Simple Solutions