Security at the ATM
The number one security recommendation? Be aware and ready!
So…a lot to talk about in this incident. The first question is:
What is the foundational problem here?
If you said, “she wasn’t paying attention and therefore wasn’t ready to react to a problem” then you would be correct and I hope that, based on the title of this article, that you did, in fact, clearly note that to be the core problem. If not, that’s ok.
Being aware and ready to react are prevention methods. The problem with prevention. We cannot stop acts-of-violence from happening in their entirety - no matter what we do. So, in this case, like so many systems designed for prevention, it failed.
Let’s go beyond prevention, however.
So, her prevention efforts (or what should have been her prevention efforts) failed, and now she finds herself in a very dangerous situation. Her assailant points a gun at her and demands that she get out of the car. She does! But, was that the best option? Many would say that when you have a gun pointed at you, there are few options, and that’s a reasonable belief. But, let’s break that down:
First, should she be concerned about him using that gun? Absolutely… because you never know and can never take that for granted. The question is, how likely is he to use it, at least at that particular location and situation? Well, if he intended to use it then why didn’t he just walk up to her, shoot her, and then do whatever it is that he wanted to do?
One possibility is that his ultimate plan required her to be alive, at least temporarily.
So, obviously his goal was to take her somewhere else. But why?
Because, whatever it is that he wanted to do to her, he could not do at Crime Scene #1.
Understanding Crime Scene 1 vs Crime Scene 2
Crime Scene #1: The point of first contact with your threat
Crime Scene #2: Wherever they want to take you from there
The lesson here is simple:
Never, ever, ever, ever, allow yourself to be taken from Crime Scene #1 to Crime Scene #2. EVER. And there are zero exceptions to this! I don’t care if someone is holding a gun to your head, a knife to your throat, or anything else.
Why? Because if they want to take you somewhere else, the outcome is likely to be really bad.
So, the best chance you will have to win is going to be at Crime Scene #1. As a result, you fight with everything you have right there, on the spot.
Many times we feel like we can “wait for the ideal moment or opportunity”. That will likely never come yet presents itself at Crime Scene #1.
Now that you understand Crime Scene 1 vs Crime Scene 2
Where was her next error? Getting out of the car rather than leaving the scene.
And then? Peacefully getting into the trunk!
“Why didn’t she just hit the gas and run him over?”
It’s a really simple yet rarely understood explanation:
Because running someone over is completely counter to our nature and what we’ve been taught throughout life. We’ve been programmed to avoid hitting anything when we are driving. Heck, people crash and/or roll their cars simply to avoid hitting an animal. In fact, people die trying to avoid hitting an animal!
So, while running him over may seem like an obvious choice when analyzing someone else’s incident, when we are “in the moment” we are likely to do what we have been trained to do or what is natural.
There is much more required to really understanding these situations and how to prevent and prepare for “winning and going home” when prevention fails. The question is - how important is this to you? It’s not what you learn from this article, its what you do beyond reading this that really matters.
To sum this up very generally:
Avoid ATM’s that are in places that would allow for convert victimization
Be constantly aware of what is going on around you while you are at the ATM..or anywhere
Prepare your will to be at the level needed to do whatever is necessary to win and go home!