How To Be MORE Security Conscious

There are primarily three places were one is prone to threat, risk and danger. They are; at home, at work or in transit (between home and work). To be safe from unforeseen dangers, threat or risk, there are certain things you need to do to be more security conscious.

In this article, I will like to share with you some ways how to be security conscious. I hope by the time you are done reading this, you would be better equipped to cover up any loopholes in your life. All that is required of the enemy (terrorists, armed robbers, kidnappers etc.) is a tiny loophole for them to strike!

Be Informed — Knowledge

Being security conscious begins with a conscious effort to be informed about ones immediate surroundings. To the uninformed, threat, risk or danger is a surprise —an unforeseen event. But to the informed, threat, risk or danger is a probability —an event whose chance of occurrence is equal to its chance of non-occurrence. Being informed is all about staying up to date with the current happenings in your environment. It involves staying abreast with trending security issues around you.

For example, the ongoing boko haram menace in the country. Following up on the story is a good way to be security conscious by being informed. Do not turn deaf ears just because you feel it is happening only in some part of the country. Being informed is about acquiring relevant information about security issues that are likely to affect you, your loved ones and your property.

One of the reasons why we decided in Damog to create this blog, threat alert is majorly to help the Nigerian public to be more informed. As a company we wanted to help raise the security awareness of the nation. The more aware the general populace, the more security conscious they will be and the less prone to threat, risk and danger. In most cases, it is that which you do not know that often harms you!

Be Alert — Vigilant/Observe/Presence of mind

The other side of being informed is being alert. Being informed is all about knowledge relating to security issues. Being alert is all about action relating to security issues. Being alert is being vigilant about your immediate environment. It involves a deliberate effort to observe your immediate surroundings to ensure any sign of threat, risk or danger is identified and avoided early enough before they occur.

Being alert is having a presence of mind wherever you find yourself. Not being carried away or distracted, but being in tune with what is going on around you. The enemy is always looking for a loophole to strike and that loophole is often found when you are carried away. Before you enter a public bus, observe. Before you walk into your compound, observe. Before you get into your car, observe. Always be on the look out as you never know who is watching your every move!

Be Proactive — prevention is the best form of security

Threat, risk and danger don’t send out warning signals before they happen. So the best strategy is prevention. Since you don’t know when the enemy may strike, since you don’t know who they are, where they are, your best response is defense. The fact is that they are watching, the sooner you understand this, the better prepared you will be. If you have something valuable, then be rest assured they are watching.

Planning ahead is how you stay ahead of the enemy. Before they strike, tighten your security. At home, get the necessary security in place. I have written about how you can do it yourself home security. If this isn’t enough, which is obviously the case, feel free to contact us for further threat assessment of your residence.

At your office, I have also written about the safety of your business premises. Your office is not as safe as you often think; every commercial centre is prone to theft, loss and danger. Your best bet is to prevent such from occurring by taking adequate security counter measures. Again, feel free to contact us for further threat assessment of your business premises.

And lastly, for those with children, how safe is your children’s learning environment? The schools your kids attend, do they have professional securty guards in place to ensure the protection of students? In my previous article, I talked about this extensively, you can read about it here —school security.

Be Simple — Less Egoistic

Most security loopholes are self inflicted. Because you want to show off your wealth or that you have arrived, you put on your gold, diamond and platinum jewelries publicly. You buy flashy cars with customized plate numbers. You go about with your Samsung galaxy tablet or your iPad3 to oppress your friends. Well here is the truth; these things you publicly expose are the envy of some. These things position you as a prime object of threat, risk and danger!

The more valuable things you publicly show off, the more eyes you invite to pry into your life. And unless you are backed with tight security at home, at work and in transit (between home and work), then keep things simple. Be less egoistic. Don’t make yourself the object of threat, risk and danger. As they say, if you don’t keep it safe, those who need it will come for it!

Be Restrictive — Access Control

Restriction is another way to be security conscious. The more barriers people have to cross to get to you, the less likely they would. Set up restrictions around yourself such as; visiting time, meeting in public places not in your house, booking appointments before seeing anyone, having private and public phone lines, hiring executive protection, estate security or residential security guards, having a guard dog, installation of CCTV, using technology, and as simple as locking every entry and exit points at home and at work.

Access control is all about making it uneasy for anyone to get to you. The physical barriers you set up is meant to discourage the enemy because it lets them know you are alert.

Your Turn

How have you been security conscious? What other security measures besides these have you been using to keep yourself and loved ones and property safe?

Kindly share your comments below. Thanks and help share this information with others!