Home invasions don’t happen on impulse.
Home invaders plan their attacks carefully, often collecting information over weeks (or even months) before they decide to make a move on your home.
And most often, they use basic surveillance methods to figure out the right time to strike you and your family.
That’s what happened to Mrs. Petit.
She was coming home from the grocery store with her young daughters and didn’t notice the van, rope, and duct tape that was stalking them all the way into their home.
Read their horrifying story here…
This isn’t your typical home invasion, for sure.
But the reason I bring it up here is that IF Mrs. Petit had known just a few counter-surveillance tactics, this whole scenario would never have happened.
It did happen. But it shouldn’t happen to you.
Here’s How To Put Your “Counter-Surveillance Plan” In Place Now…
Before Leaving for Home
- Stay vigilant. Don’t use your phone or get distracted talking to someone. As you make your way to your car, keep an eye out for other cars in the vicinity.
- When you’re in the car, see if anyone else is sitting in a driver’s seat but not departing. If so, wait a few minutes. Pretend to talk on your phone or check email. See if they leave before you. If they don’t, pull out and see if they follow you. If they do, stop again at a safe location (that you can speed away from if necessary) to see if they also stop or if they move on.
En Route
- Keep checking the rear-view mirror every few minutes and taking a conscious snapshot of the vehicles behind you. Mentally say what they are (e.g., red Prius, black SUV, gray van). If you hear yourself repeating a vehicle every time, even after taking a few turns, you could be targeted.
- To get them off your tail, get unpredictable. Speed up or slow down to see if they keep pace with you, or stall at a green light or come to a dead stop (pretty much impossible for them to casually imitate you, so they often let you go rather than reveal themselves).
- Make three right turns in a row, or take a one-way street. Pay attention to whether the car you’ve located – or any others – follow you.
Arriving Home
- If you’re confident you’re being tailed, call ahead for a police officer to meet you at a safe location. Let them know you’ve tried to lose them (this way they’ll know you’re not just assuming someone is following you because they happen to be going the same way) and give them a license plate number if you can. Stay on with 911 and when at the location, the officer should scare them off or can pull them over to investigate.
- Even if you’re not being tailed, get into the habit of backing into your driveway or garage so you can see out into the street as you go in. Home invaders have been known to hide in bushes and slip in behind you as the garage door closes. You’re looking at the back of the garage, so you may not see them at all – and now you’re trapped in the garage with them.
Scared Yet?
Look, you can’t be vigilant all the time.
You can take precautions, but sometimes your attackers won’t be professionals – they’ll be nutjobs or inexperienced burglars who aren’t afraid to get violent if they’re interrupted.
You have to be ready for the sudden, violent attack where you least expect it: in your own home.
When it happens, owning a gun isn’t enough!
And if you wait to start preparing until the threat is already terrorizing your family in your home . . . it’s too late.
The time to master these home defense tactics is now.
