There are many reasons why people commit crime, but one thing that most people who frequently commit crime have in common is that they are opportunists. Offenders of all types tend to carefully choose the time, place, and target for their offense based on a calculation of opportunity versus risk.

Thus, criminals often seek out particular situations where the chance of getting a good payoff is high, but the risk of getting caught is low. For example, they might take an unattended wallet or victimize someone who is unable to defend themselves. Or, they might strategically target victims in the middle of the night to avoid detection.

Situational awareness can help you anticipate potential threats in your environment, determine when something doesn’t look right, and make informed decisions about how to respond. In this post, we will explain the four benefits of situational awareness and introduce you to our Situational Awareness for Safety course.

Situational Awareness and the Crime Triangle

Opportunity and crime prevention are often depicted by the Crime Triangle and Routine Activities Theory. In order for a crime to occur, there needs to be a motivated offender and a victim coming together at a time and place when capable guardians (e.g., police officers, bystanders, cameras) are absent. Potential victims can reduce their likelihood of being a target by taking steps to reduce opportunity.

Situational Crime Prevention

You can change an offender’s decision to engage in crime by altering or eliminating one of the sides of the Crime Triangle. In other words, you might be able to alter situational factors to decrease the degree to which an offender will see you as an opportunity. For example, you could install cameras or motion-sensor lights on your property to increase surveillance, which acts as a type of capable guardian. Or, maybe you could park your car in a secured garage rather than on the street, which removes their access to a suitable target.

While being a victim of a crime is never your fault, there are some precautions you can take to feel safer and reduce your risk of victimization. According to the research, there are some behaviors or actions that can make someone a more likely target. These include routine activities that increase convergence with motivated offenders, in addition to the display of certain behaviors or interpersonal factors.

One thing that can increase your vulnerability is being unaware of your surroundings. This happens to all of us sometimes, especially when we are distracted by our phones, social media, and the pace of everyday life. But criminals often victimize people who are distracted, leveraging the element of surprise to their advantage. Being more aware of your environment can prevent you from unknowingly walking into dangerous situations and help you make decisions that can possibly save your life.

4 Benefits of Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is the ability to perceive, understand, and anticipate potential threats in your environment. This means paying attention to your surroundings and noticing when something just doesn’t look right. Paying attention to our surrounding can help in four ways.

1. Personal Protection

Being aware allows you to identify red flags and potential threats before they occur, which gives you a chance to think ahead and take steps to potentially avoid or mitigate the threat. For example, you might call for a ride instead of walk home if your environment seems unsafe.

Situational awareness is a useful skill to everyone – store clerks, social workers, neighborhood watch teams, and school teachers. Studies have found it to be effective in reducing crime and violence across a number of populations and circumstances. For example, a 2017 study found that women receiving situational awareness and risk recognition training were less likely to be victims of sexual assault.

2. Workplace Violence Protection

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that employers provide situational awareness training to employees. These programs can prepare employees to identify potentially dangerous situations and learn how to take action to de-escalate them.

3.Reacting in Emergency Situations

In addition to reducing the risk of violence, situational awareness can also be beneficial in emergency situations. For example, individuals who are trained in situational awareness for fire safety may be better able to identify exits and escape routes in the event of an emergency.

4. Driver Safety

Situational awareness can also be useful in everyday situations, such as driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving plays a role in the majority of vehicle collisions. However, research indicates that situational awareness training can reduce distracted driving and help people better anticipate potential hazards on the road.

Situational Awareness Training

No matter where we are, there is always a possibility that we are unaware of potential dangers that exist. While you can never 100% prevent a victimization, situational awareness can help you better identify when something doesn’t look right, make informed decisions on how to respond, and ultimately reduce your victimization risk.

Second Sight can help you get situational awareness training in multiple ways. Our online Situational Awareness for Safety is a one-hour course for individuals that can teach you to be a better observer and more situationally aware. We also have a two-hour instructor-led course.

In both, we teach how to systematically observe the environment, recognize risks, and know how to respond based on your observations. This training incorporates knowledge, tools, and techniques that have been used by law enforcement and military personnel across the world, adapted for individuals who want to enhance their personal safety in everyday life. This course is relevant for anyone who wants to be more aware of their environment and avoid threats.

Visit our personal safety page on our website to learn more.

Learn more

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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2020). “Distracted Driving.” In Countermeasures that Work, 10th Ed. Retrieved May 2023 from https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures/countermeasures-work/distracted-driving
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Senn, C. Y., Eliasziw, M., Hobden, K. L., Newby-Clark, I. R., Barata, P. C., Radtke, H. L., & Thurston, W. E. (2017). Secondary and 2-year outcomes of a sexual assault resistance program for university women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41(2), 147–162. Retrieved May 2023 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29503496
Thompson, S. L., Zurmehly, J., Bauldoff, G., & Rosselet, R. (2022). De-escalation training as part of a workplace violence prevention program. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 52(4), 222-227. Retrieved May 2023 from https://journals.lww.com/jonajournal/Abstract/2022/04000/De_escalation_Training_as_Part_of_a_Workplace.9.aspx
Wilcox, P., & Cullen, F. T. (2018). Situational opportunity theories of crime. Annual Review of Criminology, 1, 123-148. Retrieved May 2023 from https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-criminol-032317-092421

The 4 Benefits of Situational Awareness