For security professionals, it’s always priority to position yourself for survival. That’s because when it comes to public places such as restaurants, we always want to remain aware of our surroundings and the small choices we can make to help maintain our situational awareness.
As Imminent Threat Solutions points out, “Bad criminals exhibit telltale signs like wide kid-in-a-candy-store eyes, soaking in everything around them and pausing too long at certain places. You’ve seen it before, you just either paid attention to it, or ignored it. That’s the goal here, stop ignoring things that are out of place. It’s the first sign you’ll get before something even worse occurs.”
Something that will give you a leg up in your reconnaissance of the building and more advance notice of impending threats is to sit facing the door. Be that as it may, I know a lot of folks who just don’t think about choosing where to sit or stand in a restaurant, bar, store, school or anywhere else, for that matter.
Not only should the right location give you a vantage point overlooking the entire restaurant, but it will also let you observe the foot traffic through the primary entrance. Ideally this would be a seat with your back against a wall and as close to a secondary exit as possible.
Realizing that danger is coming and possibly even seeing it coming, may provide you with life-sparing seconds that you wouldn’t have had if your back was to the threat. It all starts with forming that habit. I challenge you all to begin picking out the best place to sit or stand (and the best way to leave) every time you enter a new space. Whether it’s a restaurant, business, or even another person’s home, I hope you all begin taking these actions to improve your situational awareness at all times.