Assess – Plan --  Act

Whether your are working in the law enforcement and security fields or just going about your daily business, social, or recreational activities this is a critical formula if you want to protect yourself.



Now I know that everyone does a lot of this stuff automatically, but if you're at all like me you probably don't do it as much as you should and the more we make a conscious habit of all this the more likely  the APA habit will become more a beneficial havit in  our all of our daily activities.


A perfectly good example of this is a little accident I just had in running my car wheel up against the roadside curb. This resulted in one of the plastic hub caps getting pushed in.  My first inclination after taking a quick look at the wheel was to run over to Canadian Tire here in Vancouver and buy a new hub cap which I was sure was ruined.


Then I remembered the APA formula, drove the car home and discovered that the damage was wasn't as bad as I thought and that I could probably repair it  myself with a kitchen knife and a small hammer.  In the end this worked and I saved  myself a needless bill (about $75.00 Cdn.) for a new hubcap.  So making that careful assessment, then planning  -- before acting worked. And it can work for everyone in a wide variety of situations.


It involves the need to carefully assess situations we are entering either while working as a security professional or while just out for a stroll in the evening.

You need to constantly analyze the situation you find yourself in. This of course requires not only that you stay aware of not only of your ability to handle any possible violent encounter, but also of any sudden changes in disposition or demeanour in the person or persons you are dealing with.

Their initial friendliness or cooperativeness could be only a tactic to get you to let your guard down, leaving you open to assault.

It is also critical to maintain good peripheral vision when dealing with anybody you do now know -- or when you are just talking down the street by yourself -- to protect yourself from being suddenly attacked by somebody you were not even aware was nearby.

Even professional security professionals , such as a Loss Prevention Officer in a store who was suddenly attacked by a person with bear spray make this mistake. He was so engrossed in dealing with another man that he had not noticed his attacker sneak up on the other side of him. He took a full blast of bear spray right in the face. Fortunately in this case a paramedic team just happened to be parked outside the store and were able to flush out his eyes.

You might not be so lucky. One young lady I was reading about in the news a few weeks ago was not. She ran down a trail into a park by herself and just disappeared. Her burned body was found some time later.

This assessment should continue from the start of our encounter with this other person or persons -- or while we are passing through a potentially dangerous area by ourselves -- right through to the time it is all over and you are away from the person or area.

You do not want to make a nervous wreck out of yourself with all of this but you do need to be constantly assessing your surroundings and then be ready to take quick evasive action to protect yourself from dangerous people and other threats.



It is even something you should be doing when out riding your bicycle in traffic or driving your car or other vehicle. You should stay aware of your surroundings, alert to potential dangers and ways to protect yourself from them.

What would you do, for instance, if a car suddenly cut you off while you were riding your motorcycle or bicycle. or was suddenly heading right for you from behind? Or what would you do if an approaching vehicle suddenly swerved into your lane and was on a collision course with your car or truck? Is there another lane to turn into? Would it be better to go over a bank? These are things you should thinking about (in a very relaxed manner).

Such assessing, planning, and acting (sometimes very hastily) could become a part of your daily activities.

Although we are talking only about physical dangers here this APA formula can be put to good use in just about all of your daily activities – even when you are planning and engaged in carefree recreational activities.