Andrew Kain - The SAS+ Security Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Yourself Safe at Home & Abroad

PUBLISHING INFORMATION

PUBLISHED BY APOSTROPHE BOOKS LTD

www.apostrophebooks.com

ISBN: 9781910167274

First published in hardback by William Heinemann 1996

This completely revised, expanded and updated digital edition produced in 2014, Apostrophe Books Ltd.

Copyright Andrew Kain 1996 and 2014

Andrew Kain has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Apostrophe Books Ltd Reg. No. 7612239

Cover image: public domain illustration.

Cover design by Jamie Downham.

Contents

As with all sections of this book - and repeated throughout the objective is to enable people and ensure peace of mind.

In all of this we need to be realistic. If after all we live in a low risk environment or our holiday destination is crime free we must defend against being overly paranoid. The key is actually understanding the risks and responding accordingly; Awareness , understanding the risks Anticipation , being able to anticipate dangerous developments/situations and Avoidance . Understanding of risk and ability to anticipate will enhance avoiding becoming a victim.

What are you protecting?

This is certainly one area where you really have to have control.

The first question you must answer is: What are you protecting? To some extent, the value of your possessions will dictate the extent of the security you need. There is a minimum level, however, no matter how humble your circumstances, for you are also trying to protect something of infinitely higher value than your property: the safety of yourself and your family.

You must get the security in working order first; only then can you relax and enjoy your house as a home. Remember always that youre not just guarding against deliberate attack or theft, but against accidental perils like fire and injury as well.

That said, the reality of security is that what affects us most is our perception of the threat to us from criminals and, indeed, terrorists. For most people, this perception is built from what they see on the TV, read in the papers or get from social media, and it can create a distorted picture. In truth, for most people there is little risk; for a few there is serious risk. There are criminal black spots in every city and country, and there are radical, politically or religiously inspired, terrorists or wanna-be terrorists across the globe. Modern media of all types has the effect of narrowing the optic to the extent of promoting fear and further polarizing communities. For all of us, there is a real risk of our worst fears becoming self-fulfilling.

In effect what I am suggesting is that you must address your fear/perception of the risk to you and your family. It may be that when you have done some analysis, you need little or no security. What you should have is the confidence that you are in control of your situation. You are looking to achieve peace of mind.

When youre planning your security, its also very important that your home remains a home; you still have to live in it. With regular scare stories in the press, its very easy to overreact the house down the road has been turned over, I need this, I need that and before you know it, youre living in a fortress, not a home. Theres also another danger in too much security: you dont want to make it so safe that you cant get out of it in the event of fire.

People often say, Ive got nothing worth stealing, but everyone has something worth protecting. Possessions such as family memorabilia, photographs and ornaments may have no commercial worth but they have a sentimental value beyond calculation. Theyre irreplaceable and though they may not be stolen in a break-in, they may well be damaged or trashed.

Even if nothing at all is stolen, you still dont want anyone coming into your home uninvited, because of the traumatic effect that can have on you afterwards. If youre insured, you can replace the television and the DVD player, but the sanctity of your own home is also vital.

What is the threat?

In addition to these personal factors, the level to which you should take your security measures also depends on the dangers the threat in your own particular neighbourhood. You will obviously need greater protection living in a ground floor flat in a run-down inner city neighbourhood than in a crofters cottage in the Outer Hebrides.

Wherever you live, burglars dont go round looking for the biggest challenge, the hardest house to break into. It doesnt work like that. The reward has got to equate to the effort. If you make it easy, theyll do it, simple as that. Yet do the job right and your house will appear so unattractive to a burglar that you could leave the door unlocked without being in any danger of being robbed not that I would recommend you try it.

However, drug addicts may pay little attention to a rational approach and in a drug induced state do anything without regards to the consequences.

The Three Principles