All of the experts and novices alike epouse something like “be aware of your surroundings” but that isn’t a lot of help. That level of advice will allow you to recognize a problem once you are already involved in it. Without some more specifics or a model for making decisions about the current circumstances awareness you are not getting the most out of paying attention.

Strategic Awareness. This is achieved by staying current on the news and knowing the statistics. Avoiding dangerous or high crime areas reduces (but does not eliminate) the chances of being involved in a criminal assault or other dangerous encounter. Frequently the media tends to over-hype how dangerous a certain location might be, but as an over all guideline it makes sense to stay current on this information.

Understanding the statistics can be helpful as well. A high homicide rate can be troubling, but a high rate of armed robberies or assaults is a better indicator of an areas danger. Many homicides are the result of inter-personal violence rather than random street crime. Homicidal gang members are more interested in killing their rivals than the random passers by. This does not mean an area of high gang activity isn’t dangerous, it’s just that the homicide statistic is not the most relevant one.

Tactical Awareness. Understanding your immediate surroundings in terms of what is cover, what is concealment and what is an escape route. Remembering what our objectives are as private citizens escape is our primary objective unless escaping would put us in greater danger or force us to abandon the people we want to protect.

Cover and concealment are relative terms and people sometimes get confused as to what these terms mean. Concealment simply means you are difficult to see or identify. Moving behind a curtain is concealment, as is moving into a large crowd. Cover is a physical barrier that protects you from the threat. It is important to remember that not all cover is equal. A chain link fence will protect you from knives, but not bullets. Cover is weapon system dependent. Sometimes cover can be concealment (like getting behind a wall.)

Social Awareness. We all have a pretty good, intuitive understanding of what normal social behavior looks like. Our ability to see anything that deviates from normal social behavior, or is otherwise “not right” is one of our best early-warning systems.

Taking action (or at least making a plan to do so) as soon as a situation looks like it has the potential for trouble is why awareness is such a critical tool. By spotting a potential problem before it becomes a confirmed problem you give yourself more time to choose a course of action, and you have a broader array of options available to you.

Projected Awareness. Because surprise is a critical component of many criminal victimizations, some criminals will choose to not initiate against people who look like they are paying attention. By “looking” aware we become less attractive for victimization.