The Complete Picture is Critical

Here is another example of the need to take in the complete picture when you meet somebody and remembering to do this could be critical to you regardless of who you are to protect yourself from unsuspecting attack or to detect a criminal despite clever disguises.


 
In this particular example a security officer was stationed in a lane behind a burned building to protect it from thieves or unauthorized entry by homeless persons or people with some criminal intent.


 
He soon met two different men from different races who were in reality the same man, sometimes wearing readily available facial prosthetics that enabled him to create a completely different racial appearance very quickly.


 
Fortunately this guard was trained to take in the complete picture when he met people – meaning not just their physical appearance at any given time but also any voice or physical mannerisms that made them unique from other persons. This enabled him to quickly detect this ruse, take pictures of both individuals which he turned over to the police and be prepared for action.


 
What gave this individual away was the similarity in physical stature shared by the two men: their height, approximate weight, physical shape, shape other their head and eyes and other features – as well as their similar gait when walking and the way the held their cigarette in their left hand.


 
This individual who disguised himself never tried to use his disguise to try and catch the security officer off guard or anything else, but if he had tried the security officer was prepared to take whatever action he had to protect himself and the property he was guarding. And that is the important thing. Whenever he saw either individual he was doubly alert and ready to act.

This need to take in the complete picture like this is critical not just to security people but all of us when we meet new people in this age when it is so easy to somebody to change their appearance so radically and quickly.