IntroductionBecause of my sustained look at violence, because I have predicted the behavior of murderers, stalkers, would-be assassins, rejected boyfriends, estranged husbands, angry former employees, mass killers, and others, I am called an expert. I may have learned many lessons, but my basic premise in these pages is that you too are an expert at predicting violent behavior. Like every creature, you can know when you are in the presence of danger. You have the gift of a brilliant internal guardian that stands ready to warn you of hazards and guide you through risky situations.

I’ve learned some lessons about safety through years of asking people who’ve suffered violence, “Could you have seen this coming?” Most often they say, “No, it just came out of nowhere,” but if I am quiet, if I wait a moment, here comes the information: “I felt uneasy when I first met that guy...” Or “Now that I think of it, I was suspicious when he approached me,” or “I realize now I had seen that car earlier in the day.”

Of course, if they realize it now, they knew it then. We all see the signals because there is a universal code of violence. You’ll find some of you need to break that code in the following chapters, but most of it is in you.

-Gavin De Becker

Intuition“Nature’s greatest accomplishment, the human brain, is never more effective or invested than when its host is at risk. Then, intuition is catapulted to another level entirely, a height at which it can accurately be called graceful, even miraculous. Intuition is the journey from A to Z without stopping at any other letter along the way. It is knowing without knowing why.”

De Becker describes a story recounted to him by a rape victim (and would-be murder victim). She stated, “I knew if I had stayed in my room, he was going to come back from the kitchen and kill me, but I didn’t know how I was so certain.”

The power of intuition (or the “gut feeling”) is that it can interpret information, stimuli, etc. without you consciously knowing, and this is the gift of fear that De Becker talks about.

Two factors consistently stand in the way of us honoring our intuition: denial of intuitive signals and inaccurate information.

Manipulation TechniquesDe Becker highlights several techniques that potential criminals commonly use on their victims. Each of these should make you alert to pending danger, and question, “why is this person trying to control me?”

Forced Teaming - This is a sophisticated manipulation, where the criminal establishes premature trust with the victim by using of the word “we.” It’s meant to project a shared purpose or experience, when the criminal has no common link with the victim.

Charm and Niceness - Think of charm as a verb, rather than a noun. It can be used to control, compel, allure, etc.

Too Many Details - When someone is lying, they feel compelled to provide many details, to make their story sound believable.

Manipulation Techniques Cont.Typecasting - The criminal labels the victim in a critical way,

anticipating that the victim will feel a need to refute the label. Example: “You’re probably too stuck up to talk to guys like me.”

Loan Sharking - The criminal offers to help in one way, but they are anticipating that the victim will feel indebted to them afterward. Thus lowering their guard.

The Unsolicited Promise - The criminal tries to convince the victim with a promise of their intention. Example: “I promise I won’t do it again.”

Discounting the Word “No” - “Declining to hear ‘no’ is a signal that someone is either seeking control or refusing to relinquish it.”

The Rule of Opposites

Since we know what types of behavior are acceptable and favorable, then we know that the opposites of those could precede danger.

Pre-incident IndicatorsPre-incident indicators (PINs) are those detectable factors that occur before the outcome being predicted.

The are specific indicators that can be used to predict criminal acts. These vary from crime to crime. PINs for an assassin will differ from those of a violent spouse.

PINs are the most valuable tool for predicting violent behavior.

“If we had to choose just one PIN, we’d want to be aware of above all others, it would be the one we call ability belief. This is a person’s belief that he can accomplish a public-figure attack.”

Predicting ViolenceDe Becker provides us with an acronym, “J.A.C.A.” for predicting violent behavior:

(J) Perceived Justification - “Does the person feel justified in using violence?”

(A) Perceived Alternatives - Does the person perceive that he has available alternatives to violence, that will move them towards the outcome they want?

(C) Perceived Consequences - “How does the person view consequences associated with using violence?”

(A) Perceived Ability - Does the person believe he can successfully deliver the blows or the bullet or bomb?”

As the book continues, these themes repeat: Does a potential attacker have alternatives, or is this their only option? Does the potential attacker believe that they have the ability to conduct a successful attack?

Inappropriate Pursuers“A strategy of watch and wait is usually the wisest first step, but people frequently apply another management plan: engage and enrage. The option of engaging a pursuer will always be available to you, but once it is applied, you cannot simply go back to watching and waiting, even though you may find it wasn’t so bad by comparison.”

Engage and Enrage - The only way to get your desired outcome (detachment from a persistent person), is to avoid contact. “With each contact, you buy another six weeks,” according to De Becker.

Contact is like adding fuel to the fire. If a harasser leaves 20 voice mails and you call them back reluctantly, then you have communicated to them that the price of a call-back is 20 voice mails.

Workplace Violence

The Script Writer - This is the most common type of problem employee. “In this regard, he writes the script for his interactions with co-workers and management. In his script, he is a reasonable and good worker who must be constantly on guard against the ambushes of co-workers and supervisors. The things that go wrong are never his fault, and even accidental, unintended events are the work of others who will try to blame him.”

Domestic Violence

On Restraining Orders

Restraining orders are most effective if the pursuer is less inclined toward violence (minimal emotional investment, no violent history, etc.). Otherwise, the restraining order is more likely to provoke the pursuer to murder/attack the victim.

Assassins“Like all endeavors, assassination is reached by a certain protocol, certain hoops one jumps through. Many of these are detectable.”

Assassins generally follow 10 common behaviors:

1) Displayed mental disorder

2) Researched the target

3) Created a diary/record

4) Obtained a weapon

5) Communicated inappropriately with a public figure

Assassins Cont.10 common behaviors:

6) Narcissistic attitude

7) Exhibited random travel

8) Identified with a stalker/assassin

9) Had the ability to circumvent ordinary security

10) Made repeated approaches to public figures

Two Rules of FearRule #1: The very fact that you fear something is solid evidence that it is not happening.

Rule #2: What you fear is rarely what you think you fear – it is what you link to fear.

Rule #1 informs us that we have time to respond and manage the cause of the fear. Then Rule #2 allows us to follow our fear to its ultimate destination (death would be the most extreme), however, many of our fears will not be linked to death, thus empowering us to control our fears.

Final ThoughtsThis is a powerful book and I hope this note inspires you to read the book in its entirety.

De Becker outlined practical advice that can benefit the layperson or the seasoned security professional. Many of these ideas and themes are timeless. For decades, this book will continue to be a must-read for security professionals, and a must-have reference when assessing potentially dangerous people.

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