Personal security is the protection of oneself and one’s property from harm or danger.
Personal security is all about ensuring the security of an individual or a family, either so that the person or family in question can feel safe in everyday life. This can include things like having a safe place to live, being careful when you’re out in public, and making sure you don’t share personal information with strangers.
Both private individuals and persons in specific positions in a company, organization or authority can be exposed to high risk situations and may need personal security for preventive purposes. It’s important to take steps to keep yourself safe and secure so that you can live a happy and healthy life.
Ultimately, you are responsible for your safety and security. Being aware of what is happening around you can give you space to think and react in time. Staying alert and using common sense to understand the situation can help you to anticipate, manage and avoid risks.
Hostile actors may seek to catch you off-guard during your normal day-to-day activities. They may try to understand your routines and habits to their advantage.
Adopting a security mindset can help you stay alert in everyday situations and quickly identify issues as they emerge. The earlier you identify a threat, the more options you will have to respond to it. Being fully aware of your surroundings in everyday life can help you make informed decisions as quick as possible.
What is environmental awareness and why does it matter?
Environmental awareness is being aware of what is happening around you and recognizing whether there could be a threat to your safety or security. Well-honed awareness skills help you to recognize the early signs of a threat and enable you to react and respond quickly to potential danger.
In most times, when we have lots of things going on around us, we may fail to notice signs that a situation is changing and becoming more volatile. Sometimes these signs may be very hard to pick up on, and even if we don’t spot something, it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. When we are in noisy and busy environments, such as reception areas or public transport, we can become absorbed in our own thoughts and fail to see and hear signs of a threat.
What can I do?
It is your responsibility to take reasonable care of your own safety, and those around you. Recognizing you might be at heightened risk, and paying attention to what you are seeing, hearing and feeling can alert you to signs of danger. Every situation and all person’s circumstances are different and so there is not a one-way approach that can be applied in all cases. The following section outlines general principles that can help you to develop your personal situational awareness skills.
The earlier you can spot the signs of a potential threat arising, the more choices you have to avoid risk.