Situational Awareness

Lt. Nelson taught a class here at the PD this morning on complacency and situational awareness for police officers. He used the following video in the class to demonstrate how oblivious some people are to their surroundings and I thought it would be a good share for our citizens and followers as a means to bring awareness to you as well. 

The "victims" in the video are college students at the University of Michigan walking to and from their classes. They are so unaware of their surroundings that people are able to follow within inches of them without being detected in most cases. This prank is called "ghosting" and it serves as a great teaching tool.

How easy would it be for a criminal to get the upper hand on these young people?

Take age out of the equation...when was the last time you checked behind you when out and about in public? Do you ever scan new places for escape routes and/or cover and concealment options? Do you ever "lock on" to certain people based on their behavior or because something about them just doesn't seem right?

Situational awareness can go a long way towards decreasing your chance of becoming a victim. I do not advocate that anyone should live their lives in a constant state of paranoia, but I do believe that paying attention to our surroundings is an essential survival skill that we could all probably improve upon.

Check out the video below and share it with your friends!