The Stages of Building Victimization

[Guest Phantom6]

The Stages of Building Victimization

From my personal experience (lessons learned at the college of hard knocks- long neck to the head in one case and a BIG stick to the right arm in another) and reinforced from training that I have undergone, I would submit that the bad guys out there actually go through some specific stages prior to assaulting, robbing, raping or committing whatever brand of poor social behavior they intend to commit. They practice the procedure and are good at it. After all, their freedom and their lives depend on it. Well sure, the stages may differ slightly depending upon the anti-social behavior de jour but they are pretty much recognizable just the same.

The Potential Victim is Cut from the Herd

First you get the look. The BG checks you out to determine a couple of very important things. The first of these is whether or not you have what the BG is wanting. Do you have the cash, car or some other physical or even mental “thing†that he or she desires? Do you fit his profile of a victim? If the answer to his number one question is an affirmative one then he moves on to question number two.

Could you be a threat to him or her? How alert are you to what is going on around you? Are you aware of the BG’s presence? Do you look like you could be armed and injure or kill him while he is attempting to get what you have that he wants?

If the answer to either one of these questions, “Do you have what I want†and is it safe for me to take it from you is “NO†then he or she will leave you alone and look for someone that fits his needs and seems a much safer target for him. As a rule, most BG’s aren’t looking for a fight but rather an “easy mark†that will safely fulfill their needs. They want to get something from the mark and get away unscathed and unrestrained.

I recall reading an article which described an experiment done by some psychology students a while back that I really need to track down so I can provide the source material for my Personal Protection classes. Their experiment and its outcome was really quite fascinating. They took photographs of regular, ordinary folks as they came and went from an urban business area. They then went to a state prison in order to have access to a large number of criminals (who knew?) and showed these photographs to the felons who were brought into a room one at a time and they asked them to not only identify which of the people in the photos they would select as victims, but which people they would bypass and leave alone as well. Prior to the experiment they speculated that they expected to see about a 15% correlation among the “victim†and “non-victim†groups. The BG’s would pick and choose their victims and the ones that they would bypass based solely on the photos they were shown.

At the termination of the experiment they found to their amazement that there was not a 15% correlation between the two groups but rather a 90% correlation. Surprisingly, ninety times out of a hundred, individual felons, with no communication between themselves and the others, picked pretty much the same people to be their victims, and which ones to leave alone. How in the world did this happen? How did these guys pick their victims? Body language. That’s right, body language. The only information available to these felons regarding the folks in these photos was body language. That however was all it took for them to identify their intended victims as well as the people they would not risk confronting.

Surprisingly enough, when questioned about their choices, size, gender or age had really nothing to do with their selections. They victims were folks who appeared to be shuffling along, head down, avoiding eye contact, or otherwise appeared unaware of their surroundings. In contrast, they avoided choosing people, including small females, who appeared alert, confident, walked with their head up, and looked like they knew what was going on around them. Don’t forget, all they want is to get something from their mark and get away unscathed and unrestrained.

Relative Space

Once the BG selects a victim, he must place himself in a position from which an attack on the victim is possible. This is a key piece of information for you: to commit a crime against your person the BG has to be close enough to talk to you. The BG will attempt to maneuver into a striking position either by stealth (they may run ahead of you in order to set up an ambush, or by trickery or subterfuge. The BG may ask you for change, directions, the time or anything which may distract you and hopefully cause you to look away from him or her. Keep your eye on him and simply but firmly say, “Noâ€.

Positioning prior to the assault is vital to him, as he relies almost totally on your surprise for his success. If you avoid attempts that he may make to properly position himself, you shut down or put off the attack.

The Assault

The assault stage can only come after the cutting and the relative space stages are completed. It’s not possible to assault the victim until the first two stages have been completed. The very best defense, therefore, is to circumvent the assault by not allowing the Culling stage and/or the Relative Space or positioning stage(s) to be completed by the BG. Being alert and using your head will generally ensure that you will be safe and less likely to be seen as a victim.

There you have it. The three stages of determining whether or not a BG has a successful day and you have a bad one.

Otherwise harmless pan-handlers will approach you no matter what your body language says. They are either too hungry or jonesing from lack of their favorite drug and they see pan-handling as being similar to the field of sales - it’s simply a numbers game. They operate on the SW principle. Some Will, Some Won’t, So What. Careful though. There may be a BG lurking among those relentless pan-handlers. Remember, distance is your friend. Keep a good arms length distance between yourself and those that approach you and as Nancy Reagan said, “Just say NO†firmly and finally. Remember, your mind, eyes and ears protect your "six" whether you’re in the city …or in the sticks.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->