Have you ever thought and planned for your personal safety and security in different environments and circumstances that you find yourself in your daily activities? Many people have thought about their safety and security but majority of people never plan for it. In fact most people in Kenya take their safety and security for granted and only react when they encounter threats or actually become victims of unsafe situations.
Your personal safety may be defined as your state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused to you by some agent under defined conditions. You may for instance say, "John is safe now because the police have just arrived at his gate while the thieves were still trying to break his door." Your personal security on the other hand could be defined as the state of your being free from danger or injury. You may say, "John was secure when the thieves broke into his house because the safe haven he was hiding in, in the house, had an unbreakable door." You can therefore see the line between the two is thin hence the two terms are often used interchangeably. The difference is however discernible when certain terms like food safety and food security are used. Safe food means it is highly unlikely to cause harm to consumers while food security means the food is available and accessible to consumers.
The thought of security to most people brings images of guards, police, thugs, military etc. The concept of personal safety and security is however much broader and encompasses issues of physical and emotional wholesomeness and well being.
All of us are involved in vital activities every day that expose us to insecure and unsafe conditions. Imagine when at home relaxing or doing home chores. The simple act of failing to lock the main gate or the doors to your house exposes you to insecurity. Some people tend to forget boiling water in a kettle or on the gas cooker only to find the water has dried up and the pot or kettle is red hot. Such mistakes threaten your safety because the house could easily catch fire.
What of that watchman or house girl you employ without thorough background check, references and positive identification? You expose your household to insecurity.
Other times you are walking in town and you lock your eyes with a stranger, he smiles and extends the hand for you to shake with the common line, "You look familiar." Fearing to embarrass the stranger, you shake the hand and start wondering where you could have met. Those handshakes could be the beginning of a security nightmare for you.
One of my office colleagues, Mike (not his real name), in February 2009 learnt how insecure and unsafe he could be in the middle of the street, in fact at a bus stop. He was waiting for a bus when a young man locked eyes with him and smiled. Mike smiled back and the young man extended his had saying, "I think we have met before". Mike extended his hand and shook the young man's. From the man's grip, Mike immediately knew the handshake had nothing to do with greetings. It was firm, tight and sustained. The young man read the surprise in Mike's eyes and drew very close to him laughing like though they were good buddies. Once close enough, he whispered to Mike to hand over his mobile phone or face unspecified dire consequences. Mike quickly gave out his phone. The young man coolly took it, released Mike's hand and disappeared into the crowd wishing Mike a good evening until next time.
This story may sound unbelievable but criminals are some of the best unofficial psychologists around. It is Mike's personal vulnerabilities that sold him off. We all have vulnerability factors, some of them from within and others from the environment we live in.
Your safety and security depends to a large extent on how well you are able to minimize your environmental vulnerabilities and manage your innate ones to make them least noticeable. That is why security experts will always tell you "Your safety and security begins with you."
In this section of our website, we provide you with information on practical ways of maximizing your safety and security as you go about your day to day activities. We will also keep you well updated on tricks that criminals use as they keep evolving. Stay with us, stay safe and secure.
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