Think Like A Con

I’m sure you’ve heard expressions about being “in their shoes” and “thinking like a someone else”. Well how about “thinking like a con” to improve your personal safety and security? Is that a new one to you? Well that is exactly how we need to start thinking. I once heard about a study where some criminal analysis’s went to a prison with surveillance footage from a mall entrance. They played the footage for various convicts and had them select which person they would pick to become their victim. Each and every time the convict selected the individual that had no situational awareness, was not paying attention, or that looked timid. Profiling Let’s play a game. The next time your out at the mall, a sporting event, or another place where there is a large number of people let’s try something. Look around at the other people around you. Pretend you are a criminal, see which individuals you would select to become your victims. Do not commit a crime against these individuals, just watch them. Try to figure out what makes them look like a victim. If you can not figure it out, reverse it. Look at who you would not select as a victim. Try to figure out why you would not victimize them. Once you have determined why you would select that individual as a victim, you need to look at yourself and determine if you are doing those actions yourself. Make sure you don’t look like the person you feel would be a victim. Your appearance: Some things that will help you not look like a victim are: Keep your hands out of your pockets Keep your head up Practice good situational awareness Stay in shape (see fitness challenge post) Carry yourself with confidence Don’t act afraid Don’t look like an easy target These are just a few things that may make criminals move on to easier prey. I’m sure during the experiment you will discover more things that make an individual look like an easy target to criminals. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes can really give you some perspective. Think of all the other ways you can apply the “think like a con” mentality to solve your safety and security issues. After you try the experiment come back over hear and share with us what you have discovered. We can all use it as a learning tool.