Coming up in the next couple of weeks, a few new things here on the blog:
Beth Tindall of Cincinnati Media will discuss website design and how to evaluate a professional web designer so that you get what you need.
My publicist/events planner Carol Haggas will offer some thoughts on promoting yourself and your work.
Thirty-year Illinois State Police veteran and former small town police chief Mike Sliozis will tell you all you need to know about the art of making traffic stops.
And I'll continue the series you have all been following with breathless anticipation...the Every Secret Crime Book Tour...including some unanticipated glitches with the publisher's distribution system that had one book store owner furious!
All here on the Every Secret Crime blog.
Stay tuned...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Where Doug Sold More Books Than They Had in the Store
As easily as some of you can sense the mood of the room as you walk into a meeting at work, or even a party at the neighbors', an author can gauge a store's attitude toward book signings.
Two clues were apparent as I walked in the door of the chain book store an hour from my house this afternoon.
Nothing to announce the event. No books displayed. Not one of my books on the shelves in the mystery section. One sign on an empty table near the front of the store proclaimed, "Author Book Signing Today!" with no indication whether it was to be Oprah or . . . me.
A fellow came toward me carrying my books like they were something smelly left on his desk by mistake. At 5'6 and probably 250 pounds, super-size belly pushed out in front of him, chips firmly attached to both shoulders, he was Fat Pat the Store Manager. Hard little beetle eyes signalled Fat Pat was a man who was Not Taking Any Guff.
"Here. We got all your books available in the entire country." Plunked them down on the "Author Book Signing Today" table.
"Wow. Nine whole books? I was told you ordered twenty. Did you sell the rest?"
"No. This is all. You should be thankful we got these," he said. And then with a triumphant little twist he added, "If had a bigger publisher, maybe they'd have more books for you."
"I have a few in the car, if we run out shall I bring them in for you to sell..."
"No. Can't do that. We can't buy books from you. Company policy."
The business of selling began.
First there was the lovely lady who I thought wanted to buy a book but who really just wanted to use my table to wrap a present. When she was finished, she held out her trash. "Throw this away, will you?"
"Sorry," I said. "No waste basket."
"Well, there should be somewhere I can put it!"
"I'm sure there is, but it wouldn't be very comfortable for you."
Then some friends stopped by and my attitude improved. And people started buying books. One bought three and so on until I was sold out.
But people kept coming. One brought the article from the Chicago Sun-Times about me and asked me to autograph it. Others said they'd heard me on the radio. Two asked about my first book and why the store didn't have it available, too.
Feeling like a street corner crack dealer, keeping an eye out for Fat Pat, I sold one book for cash. Sold another. Sold a third. After all, he'd said he couldn't buy books from me to sell...but had said nothing about me selling them myself.
Final tally: total books in store...9. Total books sold...12.
Readers rock, you know that?
Two clues were apparent as I walked in the door of the chain book store an hour from my house this afternoon.
Nothing to announce the event. No books displayed. Not one of my books on the shelves in the mystery section. One sign on an empty table near the front of the store proclaimed, "Author Book Signing Today!" with no indication whether it was to be Oprah or . . . me.
A fellow came toward me carrying my books like they were something smelly left on his desk by mistake. At 5'6 and probably 250 pounds, super-size belly pushed out in front of him, chips firmly attached to both shoulders, he was Fat Pat the Store Manager. Hard little beetle eyes signalled Fat Pat was a man who was Not Taking Any Guff.
"Here. We got all your books available in the entire country." Plunked them down on the "Author Book Signing Today" table.
"Wow. Nine whole books? I was told you ordered twenty. Did you sell the rest?"
"No. This is all. You should be thankful we got these," he said. And then with a triumphant little twist he added, "If had a bigger publisher, maybe they'd have more books for you."
"I have a few in the car, if we run out shall I bring them in for you to sell..."
"No. Can't do that. We can't buy books from you. Company policy."
The business of selling began.
First there was the lovely lady who I thought wanted to buy a book but who really just wanted to use my table to wrap a present. When she was finished, she held out her trash. "Throw this away, will you?"
"Sorry," I said. "No waste basket."
"Well, there should be somewhere I can put it!"
"I'm sure there is, but it wouldn't be very comfortable for you."
Then some friends stopped by and my attitude improved. And people started buying books. One bought three and so on until I was sold out.
But people kept coming. One brought the article from the Chicago Sun-Times about me and asked me to autograph it. Others said they'd heard me on the radio. Two asked about my first book and why the store didn't have it available, too.
Feeling like a street corner crack dealer, keeping an eye out for Fat Pat, I sold one book for cash. Sold another. Sold a third. After all, he'd said he couldn't buy books from me to sell...but had said nothing about me selling them myself.
Final tally: total books in store...9. Total books sold...12.
Readers rock, you know that?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Every Secret Crime Book Tour Blog Part One
I get a kick out of book touring.
It's fun to talk about books, about writing and about my background. Selling is fun, too, especially when the buyer is a little reluctant at first. And you never know what sort of character is going to show up . . . or work in the store. For a writer, meeting characters is always a hoot.
So my launch event was terrific. The owner of the (independent) bookstore is just a great guy and a huge fan of writers. Friendly, helpful, professional and eager to sell books, he was ready to do whatever it took to back me up. There was great store signage as well as pre-signing publicity about me in the local newspaper. People who had seen the article came as well as others who remembered me from my radio news days.
The best part? After I thought we were finished, the owner got two phoned-in book requests. He was just tickled about that. Said it had never happened before.
The second book signing, at another independent, was just as much fun and I sold more books than I expected including several copies of my first novel which I'd brought along. The bookstore owner had devoted an entire window display to my book and made up small cards promoting it to hand out at the register. Her staff was friendly and helpful and just fun to be around. They obviously love books and get even more pleasure from knowing and helping their customers.
Ah yes, the third signing. Yet another independent but one with an attitude. Just out of curiosity I checked the store an hour before I was supposed to show up. Found minimal promotional signage, no display of my book in store or in the window. The owner was gone and the person assigned to assist me did so with all the enthusiasm of a correctional officer escorting an inmate to court. The table for the signing was in the back of the store, typical for their signings, and they'd put out eight chairs, obviously expecting a huge turnout. What was fun was watching my escort constantly running to add more chairs every time another person showed up. I think we ended up with about twenty people there, most of them buying books. What a great time.
On the way out, I realized the lack of signage was nothing personal. Martha Stewart will soon be appearing in the store yet the only mention of her was on a small card at one of the registers. When I remarked about it, one of the booksellers laughed and said, "We're looking forward to her visit. She's coming a day early...to clean."
On a high from those first three signings...I arrived for my fourth at one of the large chain stores an hour from my house. Talk about a surprise...and characters!
More on that tomorrow.
It's fun to talk about books, about writing and about my background. Selling is fun, too, especially when the buyer is a little reluctant at first. And you never know what sort of character is going to show up . . . or work in the store. For a writer, meeting characters is always a hoot.
So my launch event was terrific. The owner of the (independent) bookstore is just a great guy and a huge fan of writers. Friendly, helpful, professional and eager to sell books, he was ready to do whatever it took to back me up. There was great store signage as well as pre-signing publicity about me in the local newspaper. People who had seen the article came as well as others who remembered me from my radio news days.
The best part? After I thought we were finished, the owner got two phoned-in book requests. He was just tickled about that. Said it had never happened before.
The second book signing, at another independent, was just as much fun and I sold more books than I expected including several copies of my first novel which I'd brought along. The bookstore owner had devoted an entire window display to my book and made up small cards promoting it to hand out at the register. Her staff was friendly and helpful and just fun to be around. They obviously love books and get even more pleasure from knowing and helping their customers.
Ah yes, the third signing. Yet another independent but one with an attitude. Just out of curiosity I checked the store an hour before I was supposed to show up. Found minimal promotional signage, no display of my book in store or in the window. The owner was gone and the person assigned to assist me did so with all the enthusiasm of a correctional officer escorting an inmate to court. The table for the signing was in the back of the store, typical for their signings, and they'd put out eight chairs, obviously expecting a huge turnout. What was fun was watching my escort constantly running to add more chairs every time another person showed up. I think we ended up with about twenty people there, most of them buying books. What a great time.
On the way out, I realized the lack of signage was nothing personal. Martha Stewart will soon be appearing in the store yet the only mention of her was on a small card at one of the registers. When I remarked about it, one of the booksellers laughed and said, "We're looking forward to her visit. She's coming a day early...to clean."
On a high from those first three signings...I arrived for my fourth at one of the large chain stores an hour from my house. Talk about a surprise...and characters!
More on that tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Random Thoughts From a Morning Bike Ride
I'd regularly ride my bike on the sidewalk as my city mandates if:
All drivers backing out of their hidden-by-shrubs driveways would honk before reaching the sidewalk;
All pedestrians would keep a heads-up attitude so as not to leap into my path in fright when I call out, "Passing on the left!";
Other bikers would pick one side of the sidewalk or the other and not choose the middle;
The city would mandate tree branches be trimmed to above head level;
All pedestrians walking their pets would keep a heads-up attitude so their dog doesn't leap into my path in fright with teeth bared when I call out, "Passing on the left!";
Pet-owners would not let their dogs leave "gifts" in the middle of the sidewalk;
Sidewalks were free of root-heaving and the grass alongside was trimmed so the drop between grass and cement was visible;
Drivers would yield to bikers in crosswalks;
Drivers would yield to bikers in crosswalks without dropping the F-bomb;
Drivers intending to turn into their driveway would keep a heads-up attitude and notice when I am in the middle of crossing said driveway;
Children would learn that walking three abreast in front of me when I'm pedaling at 15 mph will result in them becoming the human equivalent of bowling pins in front of a strike-bound ball;
Parents who are walking with children holding ice-cream cones would discourage their children from attempting to share said ice cream "as a surprise" with a passing biker.
All of the above?
Priceless.
All drivers backing out of their hidden-by-shrubs driveways would honk before reaching the sidewalk;
All pedestrians would keep a heads-up attitude so as not to leap into my path in fright when I call out, "Passing on the left!";
Other bikers would pick one side of the sidewalk or the other and not choose the middle;
The city would mandate tree branches be trimmed to above head level;
All pedestrians walking their pets would keep a heads-up attitude so their dog doesn't leap into my path in fright with teeth bared when I call out, "Passing on the left!";
Pet-owners would not let their dogs leave "gifts" in the middle of the sidewalk;
Sidewalks were free of root-heaving and the grass alongside was trimmed so the drop between grass and cement was visible;
Drivers would yield to bikers in crosswalks;
Drivers would yield to bikers in crosswalks without dropping the F-bomb;
Drivers intending to turn into their driveway would keep a heads-up attitude and notice when I am in the middle of crossing said driveway;
Children would learn that walking three abreast in front of me when I'm pedaling at 15 mph will result in them becoming the human equivalent of bowling pins in front of a strike-bound ball;
Parents who are walking with children holding ice-cream cones would discourage their children from attempting to share said ice cream "as a surprise" with a passing biker.
All of the above?
Priceless.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
One Hankie, Maybe Two
If you love animals as much as I do, this may well make your day.
Just a suggestion: keep a tissue handy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U
Just a suggestion: keep a tissue handy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Does That Scanner Make My Butt Look Fat?
Reading in the Chicago Tribune today about the full body scanner the government will soon have in place at O'Hare to check travelers more completely for hidden weapons and/or explosives. Fully body scanner. Wow. Sounds like something out of Star Trek, doesn't it?
The writer describes the machine's function as providing a "virtual strip-search," of passengers, though he says the face of the person being scanned will not be visible, nor will the images be retained in the system. From what I can tell, the machine is designed to detect weapons and explosives hidden in body cavities or elsewhere difficult to search by other means. This machine, the article says, will update technology from the 1970's which is still in use.
The article indicates the scans won't be done in front of a leering audience of other travelers (which could actually be a welcome diversion for those waiting in the security line) but in a booth where only TSA personnel will be watching.
Illinois ACLU officials and a number of people interviewed at O'Hare and who posted their thoughts in the comments section fear the machine and call it an abridgement of their rights. They apparently don't like the idea of being naked in front of strangers.
Okay, let's see if I have this straight.
The idea is to update equipment that's been outdated for thirty years and, thus, keep airline travel safer. Presumably the body scans will also speed up passage through the screening procedure for at least some travelers.
The downside is that some folks will be embarrassed to have others see their flabby bellies and butts and . . . so forth. Yet, TSA says the old fashioned frisk will still be available for those who are afraid the screeners might guffaw at their virtual image (and perhaps illicitly save the images for trading . . . like baseball cards).
And the alternative might be . . .what?
Without the machine, someday, somewhere, the highly trained expert security specialists of the TSA might miss an explosive device that an immodest terrorist has hidden, shall we say, where the sun don't shine. Which then would result in an explosion and all those body parts people want to hide being strewn all over the landscape for hapless evidence collectors to dig out of trees and the sides of houses and so forth, leaving the ones the CSI's miss for animals to gnaw on.
Hmmm. Which would I prefer to encounter in my travels?
A screener who, after the first half-dozen scans will care less if the flier has a double-D cup, is built like John Holmes or had surgery two weeks ago?
Or continued reliance on outmoded equipment that could allow The Bad People to blow my equipment and everyone else's into chunks of fish food?
All I can say is this. A couple of years ago, I bought one of those spy coats with fifty hidden pockets, some of them large enough to store a big screen TV and my entire Pez collection. I figured it would be great for those last minute items I always forget when I'm packing a suitcase. The problem is, some of those pockets are so well hidden that I've lost valuable stuff.
I think this new machine may be a Godsend for me.
The writer describes the machine's function as providing a "virtual strip-search," of passengers, though he says the face of the person being scanned will not be visible, nor will the images be retained in the system. From what I can tell, the machine is designed to detect weapons and explosives hidden in body cavities or elsewhere difficult to search by other means. This machine, the article says, will update technology from the 1970's which is still in use.
The article indicates the scans won't be done in front of a leering audience of other travelers (which could actually be a welcome diversion for those waiting in the security line) but in a booth where only TSA personnel will be watching.
Illinois ACLU officials and a number of people interviewed at O'Hare and who posted their thoughts in the comments section fear the machine and call it an abridgement of their rights. They apparently don't like the idea of being naked in front of strangers.
Okay, let's see if I have this straight.
The idea is to update equipment that's been outdated for thirty years and, thus, keep airline travel safer. Presumably the body scans will also speed up passage through the screening procedure for at least some travelers.
The downside is that some folks will be embarrassed to have others see their flabby bellies and butts and . . . so forth. Yet, TSA says the old fashioned frisk will still be available for those who are afraid the screeners might guffaw at their virtual image (and perhaps illicitly save the images for trading . . . like baseball cards).
And the alternative might be . . .what?
Without the machine, someday, somewhere, the highly trained expert security specialists of the TSA might miss an explosive device that an immodest terrorist has hidden, shall we say, where the sun don't shine. Which then would result in an explosion and all those body parts people want to hide being strewn all over the landscape for hapless evidence collectors to dig out of trees and the sides of houses and so forth, leaving the ones the CSI's miss for animals to gnaw on.
Hmmm. Which would I prefer to encounter in my travels?
A screener who, after the first half-dozen scans will care less if the flier has a double-D cup, is built like John Holmes or had surgery two weeks ago?
Or continued reliance on outmoded equipment that could allow The Bad People to blow my equipment and everyone else's into chunks of fish food?
All I can say is this. A couple of years ago, I bought one of those spy coats with fifty hidden pockets, some of them large enough to store a big screen TV and my entire Pez collection. I figured it would be great for those last minute items I always forget when I'm packing a suitcase. The problem is, some of those pockets are so well hidden that I've lost valuable stuff.
I think this new machine may be a Godsend for me.
Friday, July 18, 2008
This is a request from the moderator of the Murder Must Advertise group on Yahoo. MMA is a great resource for mystery writers/readers and I'm more than happy to do Jeff a favor. We all owe him one, don't you think?
---------------------
For those of you who don't know, I'm the moderator of MMA, the manbehind the curtain who tries to keep things going smoothly aroundhere.Normally I don't ask anything of anyone on the this group. I do thisfor my own pleasure and edification, but I was hoping to ask a favortoday. I've had to curtail a lot of my travel this summer for my newbook, due to a rather lengthy and painful ear infection. My earpopping is extremely painful, so obviously plane travel is out. It'smeant that I can't do many appearances for my new book, AnthonyBoucher (ISBN: 978-0-7864-3320-9).My favor and my hope is that you would request that your locallibrary purchase this book. The publisher McFarland is focused mainlyon library sales, so that would be sufficient for my sales.I'm also doing a postcard mailing to hundreds of libraries where I'vespoken in the past, but I'd also welcome other ideas to promote thebook without travel. I'm likely to miss B'con this year, but I havewritten an article about Boucher for their program book and websitewhich hopefully will generate some sales. If you cared to post thison other lists as well, that would be great..
Thanks
Jeff (aka the moderator)Jeffrey Marks
www.jeffreymarks.com
---------------------
For those of you who don't know, I'm the moderator of MMA, the manbehind the curtain who tries to keep things going smoothly aroundhere.Normally I don't ask anything of anyone on the this group. I do thisfor my own pleasure and edification, but I was hoping to ask a favortoday. I've had to curtail a lot of my travel this summer for my newbook, due to a rather lengthy and painful ear infection. My earpopping is extremely painful, so obviously plane travel is out. It'smeant that I can't do many appearances for my new book, AnthonyBoucher (ISBN: 978-0-7864-3320-9).My favor and my hope is that you would request that your locallibrary purchase this book. The publisher McFarland is focused mainlyon library sales, so that would be sufficient for my sales.I'm also doing a postcard mailing to hundreds of libraries where I'vespoken in the past, but I'd also welcome other ideas to promote thebook without travel. I'm likely to miss B'con this year, but I havewritten an article about Boucher for their program book and websitewhich hopefully will generate some sales. If you cared to post thison other lists as well, that would be great..
Thanks
Jeff (aka the moderator)Jeffrey Marks
www.jeffreymarks.com
Signings and Such
Just a reminder that I'll be signing books at Lake Forest Bookstore in Lake Forest tomorrow from 1 to 3.
Sunday morning around 8 or so, catch me on Rick Kogan's Sunday Papers show on WGN Radio. That's at 720AM or live on www.wgnradio.com.
Wednesday the 23rd, I'll be signing books and chatting about the writing life at the Book Stall in Winnetka.
If you come to one of those signings and are the first to mention you learned about them here, I'll give you one of the fantastic Every Secret Crime t-shirts or an ESC ball cap.
Sunday morning around 8 or so, catch me on Rick Kogan's Sunday Papers show on WGN Radio. That's at 720AM or live on www.wgnradio.com.
Wednesday the 23rd, I'll be signing books and chatting about the writing life at the Book Stall in Winnetka.
If you come to one of those signings and are the first to mention you learned about them here, I'll give you one of the fantastic Every Secret Crime t-shirts or an ESC ball cap.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Traffic Enforcement
As gas prices rise, we should all slow down.
And I like the effort being made by an 11 year old boy in Louisville Kentucky to keep his neighbors from flooring it as they cruise his subdivision. Photo credit Charlie White, the Louisville Courier Journal.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Just Whose Fault Is It?
Because I nearly came close to doing the same thing when I was a brand new deppitty sherf, the headline of an AP story this morning caught my eye.
"Officer Wrecks Squad Car 20 Minutes into Job."
The A.P story, however, didn't match the headline. Turns out the car was parked in the hapless officer's own driveway when some goofball who "tested positive for drugs" ran into it and then hit a tree. The now car-less copper was not behind the wheel.
Reminds me of a story I reported several years ago. A woman was murdered in her home. Police actively hunted throughout the neighborhood for her killer and found him hiding under a house nearby. My anchor teased the story with, "Police managed to find a murderer today..." Like the officers had been sitting in a donut shop when the guy strolled in.
No wonder cops hate reporters. No wonder why a large percentage of the news-consuming public doesn't trust the media. The message is being managed so it best catches the eye. Accuracy? Pfffft!
Let's look at it in wider scope. How much of our country's financial nightmare is being caused by headlines that don't match the stories and, more important, stories that don't quite match the facts?
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a stock market expert. My economic forecasts will never make Maria Bartiromo's knees quiver. My checkbook is balanced only because Quicken, in Garrett Morris' eternal words, "been berry berry good to me."
But, damnit, I know hype when I see it. I recognize the symptoms of a media frenzy.
Every day we're bombarded with messages that encourage us to panic.
"Gas prices shoot higher than...", "Cars abandoned; more people walking and biking as gas prices rise..."
"Stomach wrenching drop to Dow."
I was waiting for comparisons to 1929 and they finally started a few weeks ago. "Worst month for stocks since the Depression."
Just as I'm not a financial guru, I'm also not the poster boy for a positive attitude. I realize we're seeing a, and let me turn on the pompous announcer voice, "significant economic downturn." Anticipating that my days spent in front of a keyboard are numbered, I've been practicing my Wal-Mart greeter smile and watching how the best cart-wranglers do their job. And, just in case it gets worse than that, I've got my spoon and a big bowl ready for the soup lines.
But, c'mon people, do we have to opt for headlines and stories that are written to terrify? As if the gas station price boards and the signs over produce carts and in the meat aisle don't depress us enough.
Each time the national media hypes the disappearance of civilization (and Starbucks) as we know it, we edge ever closer to the End Times.
Come to think of it, that's not a bad name for a newspaper I could start when we're all living in tunnels. After the stock market crashes and the asteroid hits.
"Officer Wrecks Squad Car 20 Minutes into Job."
The A.P story, however, didn't match the headline. Turns out the car was parked in the hapless officer's own driveway when some goofball who "tested positive for drugs" ran into it and then hit a tree. The now car-less copper was not behind the wheel.
Reminds me of a story I reported several years ago. A woman was murdered in her home. Police actively hunted throughout the neighborhood for her killer and found him hiding under a house nearby. My anchor teased the story with, "Police managed to find a murderer today..." Like the officers had been sitting in a donut shop when the guy strolled in.
No wonder cops hate reporters. No wonder why a large percentage of the news-consuming public doesn't trust the media. The message is being managed so it best catches the eye. Accuracy? Pfffft!
Let's look at it in wider scope. How much of our country's financial nightmare is being caused by headlines that don't match the stories and, more important, stories that don't quite match the facts?
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a stock market expert. My economic forecasts will never make Maria Bartiromo's knees quiver. My checkbook is balanced only because Quicken, in Garrett Morris' eternal words, "been berry berry good to me."
But, damnit, I know hype when I see it. I recognize the symptoms of a media frenzy.
Every day we're bombarded with messages that encourage us to panic.
"Gas prices shoot higher than...", "Cars abandoned; more people walking and biking as gas prices rise..."
"Stomach wrenching drop to Dow."
I was waiting for comparisons to 1929 and they finally started a few weeks ago. "Worst month for stocks since the Depression."
Just as I'm not a financial guru, I'm also not the poster boy for a positive attitude. I realize we're seeing a, and let me turn on the pompous announcer voice, "significant economic downturn." Anticipating that my days spent in front of a keyboard are numbered, I've been practicing my Wal-Mart greeter smile and watching how the best cart-wranglers do their job. And, just in case it gets worse than that, I've got my spoon and a big bowl ready for the soup lines.
But, c'mon people, do we have to opt for headlines and stories that are written to terrify? As if the gas station price boards and the signs over produce carts and in the meat aisle don't depress us enough.
Each time the national media hypes the disappearance of civilization (and Starbucks) as we know it, we edge ever closer to the End Times.
Come to think of it, that's not a bad name for a newspaper I could start when we're all living in tunnels. After the stock market crashes and the asteroid hits.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Nice to Be Among Friends
I spent two and a half hours of major market radio talk show time last night and this morning...talking about Every Secret Crime.
Talk about a great promotional platform! I even got to plug the work of a few of my friends.
Sunday, the book launch at Centuries and Sleuths in Forest Park drew about a dozen people, mostly new friends who either read articles about me or heard me talking about the signing.
If you have the time, this Saturday I hope you'll stop by Lake Forest Books at 680 N. Western Ave in Lake Forest (1pm)and on Wednesday the 23rd, the Book Stall at 811 Elm Street in Winnetka (7pm).
Hope to see you there!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Have a Listen!
I'm not sure if call-ins are encouraged tonight but, if they are, please feel free to call and ask a question or make a comment at 312-591-7200.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Threat Assessment Part Two
My apologies for the late posting. Technical difficulties logging into the site.
Continued from yesterday...
by Susan Sciara
Violence is a process.
Most media portrayals of extreme violence would lead you to believe that people suddenly snap and become violent. Nothing could be further from the truth. Violence is a process that starts in an individual’s head. First comes the idea that killing would solve current problems, then the fantasizing begins, and eventually a plan takes shape. The thinking stage leads to active steps toward making it happen: buying the equipment, practicing with it and following and learning as much about the target’s routine as possible.
For example, consider the following sequence of events:
Joe believed his supervisor was picking on him. He felt that no matter what he did, it was never good enough. He began to believe his supervisor was out to get him. Others advised him to let it go or to transfer to another area of the company. But Joe wasn’t going to let “that SOB drive me off”. It wouldn’t be right; it wouldn’t be fair. And how would it look to the others? Joe was not going to let that supervisor win. Joe began to think of all the real and imagined slights that he had experienced from the supervisor over the years and began to ruminate about it. He had difficulty sleeping at night and began drinking heavily to be able to sleep. He often ended up hung over the next morning or overslept and was late for work. The final straw happened when the supervisor handed Joe a notice that he had been suspended for two weeks and told him if he kept it up he would be fired. Joe thought, “I ought to kill him for that”. He later told a buddy at work that he’d like to kill the supervisor. The buddy replied, “Wouldn’t we all?”
Thoughts of killing the supervisor became more frequent and Joe was convinced that he would be doing a good deed for the others in the work unit if he killed the supervisor. He started to think about how he would do it and when the best time would be. Sometimes at night, especially when he had been drinking, he could see the whole scene unfold in his mind and his co-workers were cheering him and telling him that someone should have killed the supervisor a long time ago.
Joe’s work began to exhibit more and more mistakes and he became belligerent when it was pointed out to him. His temper outbursts increased and his co-workers avoided him. Joe became more isolated and argued frequently with those around him.
Joe purchased some automatic weapons at a gun show and started target practicing in the woods near his rural home. He casually mentioned to a few of his co-workers that he’d like to give the supervisor what he had coming. Another time, he told a co-worker that the supervisor wouldn’t have that smirk on his face if he got a look at his AK-47. The co-workers shrugged it off and thought Joe was just blowing off steam.
Joe obtained the supervisor’s schedule for the week and decided that Tuesday, when everyone would be there, would be the perfect day. The night before, Joe practiced in front of the mirror, wearing his camouflage jacket. That morning, he shaved his head and appeared as though he was preparing for war as he loaded his pockets with rounds of ammunition, guns and knives. He got in his car and drove to work.
You can predict the end to this story and can clearly see that Joe did not suddenly snap. There were numerous clues along the way that indicated Joe was contemplating violence and moving closer and closer to it.
Action should not be predicated upon the presence of a threat.
Many security personnel and law enforcement officials do not take action until an individual makes a threat. Law enforcement professionals have traditionally been trained to respond to an event, not prevent one. Relying on the presence of a threat to take action is going to miss the majority of incidents. More recent research has indicated that the majority of those who commit significant episodes of workplace violence do not directly threaten their victim. For example, a study of 30 mass murders in the United States and Canada over a 50-year period revealed that only 20% of the perpetrators ever threatened their victims prior to the act (Hemple, Meloy, and Richards, 1999).
Another study of 246 incidents of workplace violence over a 30-year period found that only 27% of the violent offenders had previously threatened violence in the workplace (Southerland, Collins and Scarborough, 1997). Instead, they are more likely to reveal their intentions in ways other than making direct threats. They make cryptic statements, discuss plans with co-workers, talk about other acts of violence, and show other Pre-Incident Indicators.
6. Each situation is different.
Despite some “experts” who recommend automatic firing for all employees who pose or make a threat or advise targets of stalking to seek a temporary restraining order (or order of protection), there is no cookie cutter approach that works with all cases. One size does not fit all. Even situations involving similar circumstances will require far different types of interventions. The best way to know the type of intervention that will work is to thoroughly assess the case and continue to assess it for changes.
As Gavin de Becker stated in a presentation to the CIA, “There is no one answer. Anybody with only one speed should get off the racetrack, because they’re causing accidents.”
Thanks to Susan Sciara for her post. Please feel free to ask questions or comment.
Continued from yesterday...
by Susan Sciara
Violence is a process.
Most media portrayals of extreme violence would lead you to believe that people suddenly snap and become violent. Nothing could be further from the truth. Violence is a process that starts in an individual’s head. First comes the idea that killing would solve current problems, then the fantasizing begins, and eventually a plan takes shape. The thinking stage leads to active steps toward making it happen: buying the equipment, practicing with it and following and learning as much about the target’s routine as possible.
For example, consider the following sequence of events:
Joe believed his supervisor was picking on him. He felt that no matter what he did, it was never good enough. He began to believe his supervisor was out to get him. Others advised him to let it go or to transfer to another area of the company. But Joe wasn’t going to let “that SOB drive me off”. It wouldn’t be right; it wouldn’t be fair. And how would it look to the others? Joe was not going to let that supervisor win. Joe began to think of all the real and imagined slights that he had experienced from the supervisor over the years and began to ruminate about it. He had difficulty sleeping at night and began drinking heavily to be able to sleep. He often ended up hung over the next morning or overslept and was late for work. The final straw happened when the supervisor handed Joe a notice that he had been suspended for two weeks and told him if he kept it up he would be fired. Joe thought, “I ought to kill him for that”. He later told a buddy at work that he’d like to kill the supervisor. The buddy replied, “Wouldn’t we all?”
Thoughts of killing the supervisor became more frequent and Joe was convinced that he would be doing a good deed for the others in the work unit if he killed the supervisor. He started to think about how he would do it and when the best time would be. Sometimes at night, especially when he had been drinking, he could see the whole scene unfold in his mind and his co-workers were cheering him and telling him that someone should have killed the supervisor a long time ago.
Joe’s work began to exhibit more and more mistakes and he became belligerent when it was pointed out to him. His temper outbursts increased and his co-workers avoided him. Joe became more isolated and argued frequently with those around him.
Joe purchased some automatic weapons at a gun show and started target practicing in the woods near his rural home. He casually mentioned to a few of his co-workers that he’d like to give the supervisor what he had coming. Another time, he told a co-worker that the supervisor wouldn’t have that smirk on his face if he got a look at his AK-47. The co-workers shrugged it off and thought Joe was just blowing off steam.
Joe obtained the supervisor’s schedule for the week and decided that Tuesday, when everyone would be there, would be the perfect day. The night before, Joe practiced in front of the mirror, wearing his camouflage jacket. That morning, he shaved his head and appeared as though he was preparing for war as he loaded his pockets with rounds of ammunition, guns and knives. He got in his car and drove to work.
You can predict the end to this story and can clearly see that Joe did not suddenly snap. There were numerous clues along the way that indicated Joe was contemplating violence and moving closer and closer to it.
Action should not be predicated upon the presence of a threat.
Many security personnel and law enforcement officials do not take action until an individual makes a threat. Law enforcement professionals have traditionally been trained to respond to an event, not prevent one. Relying on the presence of a threat to take action is going to miss the majority of incidents. More recent research has indicated that the majority of those who commit significant episodes of workplace violence do not directly threaten their victim. For example, a study of 30 mass murders in the United States and Canada over a 50-year period revealed that only 20% of the perpetrators ever threatened their victims prior to the act (Hemple, Meloy, and Richards, 1999).
Another study of 246 incidents of workplace violence over a 30-year period found that only 27% of the violent offenders had previously threatened violence in the workplace (Southerland, Collins and Scarborough, 1997). Instead, they are more likely to reveal their intentions in ways other than making direct threats. They make cryptic statements, discuss plans with co-workers, talk about other acts of violence, and show other Pre-Incident Indicators.
6. Each situation is different.
Despite some “experts” who recommend automatic firing for all employees who pose or make a threat or advise targets of stalking to seek a temporary restraining order (or order of protection), there is no cookie cutter approach that works with all cases. One size does not fit all. Even situations involving similar circumstances will require far different types of interventions. The best way to know the type of intervention that will work is to thoroughly assess the case and continue to assess it for changes.
As Gavin de Becker stated in a presentation to the CIA, “There is no one answer. Anybody with only one speed should get off the racetrack, because they’re causing accidents.”
Thanks to Susan Sciara for her post. Please feel free to ask questions or comment.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thoughts on Violence Assessment and Prediction
Susan M. Sciara spent 11 years working for an agency of the Federal Government that is commonly associated in the public’s mind with workplace violence. She headed the Threat Assessment Team, trained supervisors how to identify Pre-Incident Indicators, interviewed countless disgruntled employees with violence on their minds, trained the Postal Inspection Service on the psychology of violence and prediction and assessed over 1000 threat cases. She has spoken to numerous professional groups and was a board member of the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. She consulted on and contributed to Workplace Violence Prevention: A Practical Guide, which is used by a number of Fortune 500 Companies. She also helped write the policies and procedures on workplace violence for a major airline.
Susan will be joining us here through Saturday. Please feel free to offer comments or ask her questions.
The assessment of threats of violence is an evolving practice – a blend of art and science. When the field of threat assessment first emerged in the early 1990’s, there was little research and much of what was believed was based on anecdotal information from few cases. Since the early days, a great deal has been learned through research and by thoroughly studying crime scenes and looking for commonalities. The fact that over the years there have been more crime scenes makes for a better understanding of what is still a relatively rare event – the workplace mass homicide. The following compose what is the current thinking in the field of threat assessment and prevention.
Profiles are not particularly helpful.
The year 1986, for all intents purposes, put workplace violence on the map as far as most Americans were concerned. That was the year Patrick Sherrill killed 15 co-workers, injured six others and then killed himself in the Edmond, OK Post Office. Prior to this, the majority of Americans felt safe at work. The idea of the person who works next to them turning on them and killing them was a foreign concept.
In the years that followed, Americans were inundated by media stories recounting violence at one workplace after another. We were told workplace violence is the fastest growing crime; that workplace violence is the number one killer of women at work. “Experts” were quick to rise to the occasion and develop profiles of the typical perpetrator of workplace violence. He was described as a middle-aged, white male with a military background who is a loner and chronically disgruntled. Thousands upon thousands heard this portrait in the media, in corporate trainings and from the experts themselves. Unfortunately, while this profile may fit some or many of the perpetrators of past violence, it is not helpful in the least in determining if someone poses a threat to anyone.
As the research into mass homicides in the workplace improved, more information emerged that identified the kinds of behavioral cues that individuals exhibit prior to the act. Gavin de Becker, a national expert on the prediction of violence, calls them Pre-Incident Indicators or PINS. I will discuss PINS in more depth in an upcoming essay. The important thing to remember is the predictors of violence are behaviors, not individual characteristics or demographics.
Violence is situational.
Many articles, books, and videos have discussed the “potentially violent” individual. The problem with this thinking is that there will never be a group of personal characteristics that one can use to determine if someone will become violent at some future time. Violence is situational and we all have the capacity to become violent depending on the circumstances. There is a big difference between the potential for violence and the intent for violence.
Violence is the product of the interaction among three factors:
- An individual who sees violence as a means to an end,
- A setting that permits, facilitates, or does nothing to stop the violence, and
- A precipitating event, or “final straw” in the perpetrator’s life.
Without all factors there is no violence. Any one of these can be manipulated or intervened in to prevent the violence from occurring. Focusing solely on an individual without looking at the setting and the stressors being brought to bear is incomplete and unlikely to be successful.
One-time assessments are not useful.
An assessment of the risk of violence is not and cannot be a one-time event. Since the risk is based on situational factors, those factors can change, along with the risk. Each situation must be continually monitored to determine what is changing in the individual’s life. Are the factors that are likely to escalate the violence increasing or decreasing?
What about the factors that are likely to mitigate against violence such as steady employment, financial resources, a marriage and children? A subject can appear to be low-risk only to have that risk quickly escalate when the spouse leaves, is suspected of having an affair, employment is terminated, and/or heavy drinking clouds the judgment. Real cases are never static but always produce an ebb and flow.
Susan’s posting continues tomorrow…
Susan will be joining us here through Saturday. Please feel free to offer comments or ask her questions.
The assessment of threats of violence is an evolving practice – a blend of art and science. When the field of threat assessment first emerged in the early 1990’s, there was little research and much of what was believed was based on anecdotal information from few cases. Since the early days, a great deal has been learned through research and by thoroughly studying crime scenes and looking for commonalities. The fact that over the years there have been more crime scenes makes for a better understanding of what is still a relatively rare event – the workplace mass homicide. The following compose what is the current thinking in the field of threat assessment and prevention.
Profiles are not particularly helpful.
The year 1986, for all intents purposes, put workplace violence on the map as far as most Americans were concerned. That was the year Patrick Sherrill killed 15 co-workers, injured six others and then killed himself in the Edmond, OK Post Office. Prior to this, the majority of Americans felt safe at work. The idea of the person who works next to them turning on them and killing them was a foreign concept.
In the years that followed, Americans were inundated by media stories recounting violence at one workplace after another. We were told workplace violence is the fastest growing crime; that workplace violence is the number one killer of women at work. “Experts” were quick to rise to the occasion and develop profiles of the typical perpetrator of workplace violence. He was described as a middle-aged, white male with a military background who is a loner and chronically disgruntled. Thousands upon thousands heard this portrait in the media, in corporate trainings and from the experts themselves. Unfortunately, while this profile may fit some or many of the perpetrators of past violence, it is not helpful in the least in determining if someone poses a threat to anyone.
As the research into mass homicides in the workplace improved, more information emerged that identified the kinds of behavioral cues that individuals exhibit prior to the act. Gavin de Becker, a national expert on the prediction of violence, calls them Pre-Incident Indicators or PINS. I will discuss PINS in more depth in an upcoming essay. The important thing to remember is the predictors of violence are behaviors, not individual characteristics or demographics.
Violence is situational.
Many articles, books, and videos have discussed the “potentially violent” individual. The problem with this thinking is that there will never be a group of personal characteristics that one can use to determine if someone will become violent at some future time. Violence is situational and we all have the capacity to become violent depending on the circumstances. There is a big difference between the potential for violence and the intent for violence.
Violence is the product of the interaction among three factors:
- An individual who sees violence as a means to an end,
- A setting that permits, facilitates, or does nothing to stop the violence, and
- A precipitating event, or “final straw” in the perpetrator’s life.
Without all factors there is no violence. Any one of these can be manipulated or intervened in to prevent the violence from occurring. Focusing solely on an individual without looking at the setting and the stressors being brought to bear is incomplete and unlikely to be successful.
One-time assessments are not useful.
An assessment of the risk of violence is not and cannot be a one-time event. Since the risk is based on situational factors, those factors can change, along with the risk. Each situation must be continually monitored to determine what is changing in the individual’s life. Are the factors that are likely to escalate the violence increasing or decreasing?
What about the factors that are likely to mitigate against violence such as steady employment, financial resources, a marriage and children? A subject can appear to be low-risk only to have that risk quickly escalate when the spouse leaves, is suspected of having an affair, employment is terminated, and/or heavy drinking clouds the judgment. Real cases are never static but always produce an ebb and flow.
Susan’s posting continues tomorrow…
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
What Your Car Tells People About You
I’ve been writing about violence the past couple of days.
I offered the thought that victims often contribute to their victimization. Sometimes by what they do. Sometimes by what they fail to do.
The woman who lives alone and leaves her blinds open, inviting a would-be serial rapist to have a glimpse of her life.
The person who ignores warning signs of violence in their spouse-to-be.
I suggested embracing the intuitive ability we all have to stay alert to potentially violent situations and I provided Jeff Cooper’s Color Codes of Mental Awareness as a way to hone those intuitive skills.
I even mentioned how my cat, Socks, helped me learn to stay at Cooper’s condition Yellow.
It helps if you can program yourself to think like a predator.
When I was a deputy sheriff, a wise corrections officer warned me to keep something in mind whenever I worked in the county jail. He said, “You can spend eight hours a day in here trying stay safe but the prisoners have twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to figure out ways to f___k you up.”
Crooks look for the exact same opportunities on the outside, too. Here are some ways they might use your car as a resource:
I offered the thought that victims often contribute to their victimization. Sometimes by what they do. Sometimes by what they fail to do.
The woman who lives alone and leaves her blinds open, inviting a would-be serial rapist to have a glimpse of her life.
The person who ignores warning signs of violence in their spouse-to-be.
I suggested embracing the intuitive ability we all have to stay alert to potentially violent situations and I provided Jeff Cooper’s Color Codes of Mental Awareness as a way to hone those intuitive skills.
I even mentioned how my cat, Socks, helped me learn to stay at Cooper’s condition Yellow.
It helps if you can program yourself to think like a predator.
When I was a deputy sheriff, a wise corrections officer warned me to keep something in mind whenever I worked in the county jail. He said, “You can spend eight hours a day in here trying stay safe but the prisoners have twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to figure out ways to f___k you up.”
Crooks look for the exact same opportunities on the outside, too. Here are some ways they might use your car as a resource:
- Do you have vanity plates with your name on them? (Getting you to lower your guard while approaching you, a predator could say something like, “Hey, Lucy, I haven’t seen you since high school…”).
- Is your address on any slip of paper, envelope or box to be shipped that can be read from outside the car? Do you leave letters to be mailed face up on the seat or dash?
- Do you ever leave your car with a parking valet? With a mechanic? Is your house key on the ring with the ignition key you provide them?
- Is your garage door opener in the car (they have codes that can easily be read and duplicated)?
- Is your home address on anything in your glove box or under the seat? How about in your briefcase?
- Are there pictures of your children inside your car? The name of their school?
- For that matter, do you ever leave your car running with your child inside for “just a minute” while you duck into a store?
- Do you ever leave your car unlocked?
- Do you look in the back seat before entering your car after it’s been parked for awhile?
- Is there an emergency release in the trunk for the trunk lid?
- Do you carry your cell phone on your person at all times or leave it in your car?
Expand this list and look through a predator’s eyes at your home, your daily activities, and your children’s lifestyle.
Consider the chinks in your armor. Unlocked doors, open windows, unknown key-holders (do your kids’ friends have keys? Neighbors who moved away? Former employees?).
Analyze the every day things you and your family do and say that could put you at risk. Do you talk about family vacations or mention your kids’ schools or the teams they play on to people who have no need to know?
If you’re a single parent dating on the internet, did you include pictures of your children on your profile?
Do you walk with your head up, body erect, your eyes watchful, listening to the world around you?
Do you trust your intuition?
For the next couple of days, Susan Sciara will be writing here. A past board member of the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, she spent eleven years heading the Threat Assessment Team for “an agency of the Federal Government that is commonly associated in the public’s mind with workplace violence.” Show of hands, class… now which one could that be?
Hope you enjoy.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
My Cat Socks And How To Become Color Coordinated
I covered crime in the Chicago suburbs for more than seventeen years. In interviewing neighbors of homicide victims, I never once heard the comment, “Oh yeah, we expected one day someone would be shot on their front lawn right here on our street.”
Instead, just like reading from a script, the most common reaction was, “You never figure that kind of thing is going to happen here.”
You don’t have to expect it to be aware that violent crime can touch you anywhere you go.
Before I was a reporter, I worked as a security consultant. I often had to fight with the families of corporate CEO’s about simple things like varying their routes to and from work, installing alarm systems and not announcing their travel plans on the society pages of the newspaper. Their most common reaction?
“I don’t want to always be afraid something will happen to us.”
You don’t have to live in fear to raise your threat awareness level from Jeff Cooper’s White to Yellow. Basic precautions are a good beginning and will give your instincts a chance to get up and stretch.
I walk my cat, Socks Monster the Feline Action Hero, on a leash (okay, okay I’m a wild man, what can I say?). One thing I notice before we go out is that he spends about five minutes peering through the screen door before he ventures onto the patio. His ears are perked and his gaze takes in everything. He’s scoping out his environment.
Now I do it, too. Before I walk outside, I look through the window. Five or ten seconds worth, not five minutes, but I’m not hoping to spot dinner, either.
After twenty years in this house I know the neighbors, their cars, and the landscaping services they use. I know the postal carrier, the trash collectors for this route, the meter dudes and the Orkin man. I know which families have kids. I know what time their bus stops, school in winter and camp in summer. More importantly, I know who parks on the street at night and who is out walking their dogs or otherwise moving around. I am aware of my surroundings.
Anything or anyone I don’t recognize takes me from Yellow to Orange even before I step out the door.
When Socks goes outside, I notice his ears keep flipping back and forth and he stops and stares under bushes, up in the trees and into the distance. The other day I was cleaning the car and he was leashed to the wall of the house. He suddenly made a beeline for the back door. I let him in, went back to what I was doing, looked up and was staring at a fox standing six feet away at the front of the car. Mr. Fox was no more startled to see me than I was to see him. Socks went from Yellow to Orange and so did the fox and I.
Animals don’t blunt their senses the way humans often do.
Think about it this way. If you saw two friends walking down the street and wanted to jokingly throw a scare into one of them, which one would you choose? The one with her head down watching the ground, posture slouched, iPod earphones in both ears? Or the girl walking tall, head up, listening to the world around her, eyes roaming, who spotted you well before you saw her and gave you a great big smile because she knows the kind of prankster you are?
It’s hard to recognize Yellow, much less move there, if your eyes are closed, your ears are blocked and your thoughts are focused on the dinner party you’re throwing tomorrow night.
Tomorrow, some ways to anticipate threats and avoid becoming a victim.
Later in the week, my guest will be Susan M. Sciara, who spent eleven years as head of the Threat Assessment Team for, as she puts it, “an agency of the Federal Government that is commonly associated in the public’s mind with workplace violence.” She’ll discuss threat assessment and prevention and debunk some of the myths we hear and read about.
Instead, just like reading from a script, the most common reaction was, “You never figure that kind of thing is going to happen here.”
You don’t have to expect it to be aware that violent crime can touch you anywhere you go.
Before I was a reporter, I worked as a security consultant. I often had to fight with the families of corporate CEO’s about simple things like varying their routes to and from work, installing alarm systems and not announcing their travel plans on the society pages of the newspaper. Their most common reaction?
“I don’t want to always be afraid something will happen to us.”
You don’t have to live in fear to raise your threat awareness level from Jeff Cooper’s White to Yellow. Basic precautions are a good beginning and will give your instincts a chance to get up and stretch.
I walk my cat, Socks Monster the Feline Action Hero, on a leash (okay, okay I’m a wild man, what can I say?). One thing I notice before we go out is that he spends about five minutes peering through the screen door before he ventures onto the patio. His ears are perked and his gaze takes in everything. He’s scoping out his environment.
Now I do it, too. Before I walk outside, I look through the window. Five or ten seconds worth, not five minutes, but I’m not hoping to spot dinner, either.
After twenty years in this house I know the neighbors, their cars, and the landscaping services they use. I know the postal carrier, the trash collectors for this route, the meter dudes and the Orkin man. I know which families have kids. I know what time their bus stops, school in winter and camp in summer. More importantly, I know who parks on the street at night and who is out walking their dogs or otherwise moving around. I am aware of my surroundings.
Anything or anyone I don’t recognize takes me from Yellow to Orange even before I step out the door.
When Socks goes outside, I notice his ears keep flipping back and forth and he stops and stares under bushes, up in the trees and into the distance. The other day I was cleaning the car and he was leashed to the wall of the house. He suddenly made a beeline for the back door. I let him in, went back to what I was doing, looked up and was staring at a fox standing six feet away at the front of the car. Mr. Fox was no more startled to see me than I was to see him. Socks went from Yellow to Orange and so did the fox and I.
Animals don’t blunt their senses the way humans often do.
Think about it this way. If you saw two friends walking down the street and wanted to jokingly throw a scare into one of them, which one would you choose? The one with her head down watching the ground, posture slouched, iPod earphones in both ears? Or the girl walking tall, head up, listening to the world around her, eyes roaming, who spotted you well before you saw her and gave you a great big smile because she knows the kind of prankster you are?
It’s hard to recognize Yellow, much less move there, if your eyes are closed, your ears are blocked and your thoughts are focused on the dinner party you’re throwing tomorrow night.
Tomorrow, some ways to anticipate threats and avoid becoming a victim.
Later in the week, my guest will be Susan M. Sciara, who spent eleven years as head of the Threat Assessment Team for, as she puts it, “an agency of the Federal Government that is commonly associated in the public’s mind with workplace violence.” She’ll discuss threat assessment and prevention and debunk some of the myths we hear and read about.
Shameless...
I'll continue the series of posts about personal safety and the prediction of violence later today but thought I'd post this for anyone looking for a little light reading (about me, of course!):
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=215185
I should mention that, if you're the first to tell me you've read the Herald article, I'll send you a t-shirt.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=215185
I should mention that, if you're the first to tell me you've read the Herald article, I'll send you a t-shirt.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Keeping One's Head Out of One's Posterior
I went for a bike ride today and nearly got hit by a car. I wasn’t thinking ahead.
I assumed the car was going to stop. It not only didn’t, but speeded up, as though going faster meant it wouldn’t be in the intersection long enough for a cop to see the violation.
I didn’t anticipate. Fortunately, I have good brakes and, at the last moment, I spotted the warning signs.
How often do we assume things to be true when they really aren’t?
I’m okay walking down this street after dark because I’ve done it twenty, thirty, one-hundred times before. I don’t lock my doors because I live in a safe neighborhood. I’ll get into an elevator with someone who my intuition tells me might be dangerous because it’s too embarrassing not to do so. Cars always stop at stop signs.
Gavin deBecker, the author of The Gift of Fear trilogy and an international expert in the prediction of violence, believes we should listen to our intuition, our gut feeling, our instinct:
“The truth is that every thought is preceded by a perception, every impulse is preceded by a thought, every action is preceded by an impulse, and man is not so private a being that his behavior is unseen, his patterns undetectable.”
We all have intuition. Some of us are better at paying attention to it than others. Unfortunately, as deBecker points out, some understand what their instinct was trying to tell them only after something happens. The point is to be open to not only hearing that little warning voice in our heads, but heeding its advice.
Perhaps Jeff Cooper’s color code system can help. Cooper was the father of what’s called the “Modern Technique” of shooting a handgun but you don’t need to own a weapon to give your instincts a regular workout.
Cooper’s system of four color codes of mental awareness (which have nothing to do with the Homeland Security defense codes) is explained thus:
I assumed the car was going to stop. It not only didn’t, but speeded up, as though going faster meant it wouldn’t be in the intersection long enough for a cop to see the violation.
I didn’t anticipate. Fortunately, I have good brakes and, at the last moment, I spotted the warning signs.
How often do we assume things to be true when they really aren’t?
I’m okay walking down this street after dark because I’ve done it twenty, thirty, one-hundred times before. I don’t lock my doors because I live in a safe neighborhood. I’ll get into an elevator with someone who my intuition tells me might be dangerous because it’s too embarrassing not to do so. Cars always stop at stop signs.
Gavin deBecker, the author of The Gift of Fear trilogy and an international expert in the prediction of violence, believes we should listen to our intuition, our gut feeling, our instinct:
“The truth is that every thought is preceded by a perception, every impulse is preceded by a thought, every action is preceded by an impulse, and man is not so private a being that his behavior is unseen, his patterns undetectable.”
We all have intuition. Some of us are better at paying attention to it than others. Unfortunately, as deBecker points out, some understand what their instinct was trying to tell them only after something happens. The point is to be open to not only hearing that little warning voice in our heads, but heeding its advice.
Perhaps Jeff Cooper’s color code system can help. Cooper was the father of what’s called the “Modern Technique” of shooting a handgun but you don’t need to own a weapon to give your instincts a regular workout.
Cooper’s system of four color codes of mental awareness (which have nothing to do with the Homeland Security defense codes) is explained thus:
- White: Relaxed, unaware and unprepared. Basically you have your head up your butt and have no idea danger is approaching until you’ve already been overwhelmed.
- Yellow: Relaxed alertness. As Cooper puts it, “Your mindset is, ‘today could be the day I may have to defend myself.’” Your head is up, your posture says you’re alert and you’re using your eyes and ears to actively observe the world around you. You are prepared to take action if necessary.
- Orange: Specific alert. You’re noticing something wrong in your immediate environment. A person looks suspicious. A noise gets your attention. A van is parked too close to yours in the parking lot late at night. Someone is glancing at your child in the park a little too often. It’s the middle of summer and a customer in the back of the convenience store is wearing a coat.
- Red: Fight trigger. You’re thinking, “If x happens, I will do y.” You have already prepared yourself to react, whether to step closer to your child, avoid going to your car in that dark parking lot, or even to scream and be ready to fight off an assailant.
Many of us spend our lives in White. I sure was in it on my bike today! We know the world can be a nasty place but we assume our world is safe. Sometimes we take it a step further, figuring not only our world is safe but, if things suddenly change, there are people who will take care of us should danger approach.
Anyone who has been the victim of a crime will tell you that assumption is false.
I’ll offer some thoughts about moving from White to Yellow tomorrow.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Ignoring the Warning Signs...And Paying For It
Yesterday, I wrote about the seemingly innocent actions people take that may walk them into a world of hurt.
Dana King's comments, posted after yesterday's blog, are right on point. Take a look. They're worth reading.
While we have the right to do many things, leaving our blinds open and parking wherever we choose among them, that entitlement comes with a price. Predators consider our innocence as opportunity. Where we see an unlocked door as a family convenience, they see an invitation to enter and steal. Or worse.
Crime is not random. It follows a pre-cast set of circumstances. We play right into that by ducking our heads and not watching the world around us.
Domestic violence often occurs for the same reason.
I'll use a college friend's experience as an example.
Sheri began dating a guy who all of us thought was terrific. Within weeks of meeting, bang! they got enagaged. They scheduled the wedding a few months later. Every time we got together, he seemed to be the life of the party, though they partied with us less and less the longer they remained a couple.
The night they returned from their honeymoon, he beat her and threw her down a flight of stairs, blackening both eyes, breaking three of her ribs and leaving her with a concussion.
We were shocked. He must have just snapped, we said. Must have been drunk.
Turned out, he wasn't drunk and the warning signs had been there all along. In our innocence, even though many of us were cops and prosecutors, we missed them. He was a clever predator; none of us saw through him. Except Sheri.
She told me later she sensed the storm approaching but just didn't take cover. She thought the lightning and thunder would pass.
She said he started acting strangely right after their engagement.
He insisted she stay at home rather than spending time with her friends and family. That she drop off her dog with her parents and leave it there. That she leave grocery shopping, and even answering the phone, to him. He shoved her away when she noticed a picture of his ex-girlfriend in his wallet. During an argument, he broke a ceramic figurine she loved. He took sexual roughousing to painful extremes. On their honeymoon, he was verbally abusive to the hotel staff, to the point of chasing a maid out of their room when she walked in as they were having sex. He snapped at Sheri when she told him he was acting unreasonably.
Sheri said nothing about her fiancee's behavior to anyone else because he always apologized after every nastiness. Brought flowers and other gifts for her. Left a huge tip for the room maid and the restaurant servers he regularly abused.
She thought something was wrong but convinced herself she was crazy.
One of the nation's leading experts in predicting violent behavior, Gavin deBecker, offers the example of a woman who sees an edgy looking guy on an elevator she wants to use. He makes her very nervous but she gets on anyway, thinking herself foolish for being fearful.
Warning signs ignored. Precautions not taken. Trouble's approach denied.
Do we draw from this that Sheri is partly to blame for what happened to her? Of course not.
No more than the drunk guy who parked in the bad neighborhood should be blamed for being beaten up and car-jacked. No more than the woman who gets on the elevator.
It's not about blame or fault or guilt or even "paying the price of stupidity" as some would argue.
The penalty for marrying a manipulative and abusive jerk should be divorce, never two black eyes and broken ribs.
It's about warning signs ignored. Precautions not taken. Trouble's approach denied.
Later this week, I'll offer some thoughts on becoming more alert to the warning signs of victimization and violence and how to, as my friend Dana pointed out in his comments yesterday, "think the extra steps down the road when making a decision."
I've also invited a guest blogger to discuss the elements that need to exist for violence to occur.
Stay tuned!
Dana King's comments, posted after yesterday's blog, are right on point. Take a look. They're worth reading.
While we have the right to do many things, leaving our blinds open and parking wherever we choose among them, that entitlement comes with a price. Predators consider our innocence as opportunity. Where we see an unlocked door as a family convenience, they see an invitation to enter and steal. Or worse.
Crime is not random. It follows a pre-cast set of circumstances. We play right into that by ducking our heads and not watching the world around us.
Domestic violence often occurs for the same reason.
I'll use a college friend's experience as an example.
Sheri began dating a guy who all of us thought was terrific. Within weeks of meeting, bang! they got enagaged. They scheduled the wedding a few months later. Every time we got together, he seemed to be the life of the party, though they partied with us less and less the longer they remained a couple.
The night they returned from their honeymoon, he beat her and threw her down a flight of stairs, blackening both eyes, breaking three of her ribs and leaving her with a concussion.
We were shocked. He must have just snapped, we said. Must have been drunk.
Turned out, he wasn't drunk and the warning signs had been there all along. In our innocence, even though many of us were cops and prosecutors, we missed them. He was a clever predator; none of us saw through him. Except Sheri.
She told me later she sensed the storm approaching but just didn't take cover. She thought the lightning and thunder would pass.
She said he started acting strangely right after their engagement.
He insisted she stay at home rather than spending time with her friends and family. That she drop off her dog with her parents and leave it there. That she leave grocery shopping, and even answering the phone, to him. He shoved her away when she noticed a picture of his ex-girlfriend in his wallet. During an argument, he broke a ceramic figurine she loved. He took sexual roughousing to painful extremes. On their honeymoon, he was verbally abusive to the hotel staff, to the point of chasing a maid out of their room when she walked in as they were having sex. He snapped at Sheri when she told him he was acting unreasonably.
Sheri said nothing about her fiancee's behavior to anyone else because he always apologized after every nastiness. Brought flowers and other gifts for her. Left a huge tip for the room maid and the restaurant servers he regularly abused.
She thought something was wrong but convinced herself she was crazy.
One of the nation's leading experts in predicting violent behavior, Gavin deBecker, offers the example of a woman who sees an edgy looking guy on an elevator she wants to use. He makes her very nervous but she gets on anyway, thinking herself foolish for being fearful.
Warning signs ignored. Precautions not taken. Trouble's approach denied.
Do we draw from this that Sheri is partly to blame for what happened to her? Of course not.
No more than the drunk guy who parked in the bad neighborhood should be blamed for being beaten up and car-jacked. No more than the woman who gets on the elevator.
It's not about blame or fault or guilt or even "paying the price of stupidity" as some would argue.
The penalty for marrying a manipulative and abusive jerk should be divorce, never two black eyes and broken ribs.
It's about warning signs ignored. Precautions not taken. Trouble's approach denied.
Later this week, I'll offer some thoughts on becoming more alert to the warning signs of victimization and violence and how to, as my friend Dana pointed out in his comments yesterday, "think the extra steps down the road when making a decision."
I've also invited a guest blogger to discuss the elements that need to exist for violence to occur.
Stay tuned!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Are We Really So Helpless?
I shared some good conversation over dinner tonight with a nationally acclaimed expert on the prediction and mitigation of violence. It got me thinking.
As a nation, we tend to avoid responsibility. Denial is one of our most inherent traits. If bad things happen, we don't like to admit fault. Better that it's the other guy or the collective "them."
We insist, "Those greedy oil companies are keeping gas prices high. Me and my Hummer aren't the problem."
"The cops should arrest those drunk drivers before they kill someone. It's not my place to take their car keys away."
"It's not my fault that I got beaten up and carjacked. All I did was drink a li'l too much and walk to my new Mercedes convertible down a dark alley in a questionable part of town. The carjacker was the one with the gun for cryin' out loud!"
And, of course, shame on the thoughtless, sexist bastard who would ever suggest that a woman who is sexually assaulted may have done something to precipitate it.
Consider this, however. We know that sexual predators frequently begin their careers by prowling homes and peeping in windows. Should it then come as a surprise that convicted rapists report choosing their victims on the basis of who keeps their blinds open?
Think about what a creep might see when peering in a woman's window. Not just her nakedness. The fact she lives alone. The layout of the place, allowing mental preparation for a later home invasion. The lack of a security system or a dog. The placement of telephones or the fact the woman uses only a cell phone which she frequently forgets to charge. Perhaps even the location of potential weapons such as kitchen knives. The list goes on.
So, is it "wrong" to leave blinds open? Is it "bad" to drive a Mercedes? Can we be "blamed" for having a few drinks in a questionable neighborhood?
Of course not. But we need to be aware that each of these innocent actions may contribute to later victimization.
Crime doesn't "just happen."
I don't believe domestic abuse does either.
More tomorrow.
As a nation, we tend to avoid responsibility. Denial is one of our most inherent traits. If bad things happen, we don't like to admit fault. Better that it's the other guy or the collective "them."
We insist, "Those greedy oil companies are keeping gas prices high. Me and my Hummer aren't the problem."
"The cops should arrest those drunk drivers before they kill someone. It's not my place to take their car keys away."
"It's not my fault that I got beaten up and carjacked. All I did was drink a li'l too much and walk to my new Mercedes convertible down a dark alley in a questionable part of town. The carjacker was the one with the gun for cryin' out loud!"
And, of course, shame on the thoughtless, sexist bastard who would ever suggest that a woman who is sexually assaulted may have done something to precipitate it.
Consider this, however. We know that sexual predators frequently begin their careers by prowling homes and peeping in windows. Should it then come as a surprise that convicted rapists report choosing their victims on the basis of who keeps their blinds open?
Think about what a creep might see when peering in a woman's window. Not just her nakedness. The fact she lives alone. The layout of the place, allowing mental preparation for a later home invasion. The lack of a security system or a dog. The placement of telephones or the fact the woman uses only a cell phone which she frequently forgets to charge. Perhaps even the location of potential weapons such as kitchen knives. The list goes on.
So, is it "wrong" to leave blinds open? Is it "bad" to drive a Mercedes? Can we be "blamed" for having a few drinks in a questionable neighborhood?
Of course not. But we need to be aware that each of these innocent actions may contribute to later victimization.
Crime doesn't "just happen."
I don't believe domestic abuse does either.
More tomorrow.
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