Have you ever entered a familiar room and felt that something was out of place but could not quite put your finger on it?

Did curiosity win out causing you to enter the room in an attempt to uncover the mystery? Consider the following the next time this occurs.

1. No matter how careful an intruder is, he is bound to leave something disturbed that a security minded person will seize upon on immediately. It may be as subtle as tracking fresh grass clippings to the threshold of your front door, clearly you would never leave such a mess, or, perhaps the presence of a foreign fragrance that is not your own. In each instance, your senses are working overtime and with practice, you can learn not to ignore them. The first step involves the understanding that we adapt to our environment, and this adaptation is an instrument of our survival. From use of our senses we are able interpret sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Once stimuli is identified, we process the information and place it into two categories, Threat and non-Threat.

A problem occurs when we are unable to recognize stimuli or we improperly categorize the information, e.g. the fresh grass clippings at the threshold. Clearly, in this instance we must conclude that someone unbeknownst to us has waltzed across our freshly manicured lawn and has at least proceeded as far as the front door to our home.

As we work to acknowledge our senses and categorize the stimuli correctly, we begin to increase our security posture and enhance our well-being.

2. Now, for those individuals who need a little boost or advantage in this area, there are some simple tricks practiced by security-minded professionals. They are referred to as Traps. Traps involve prearranging items in a manner known only to the person who sets them. For example, personal items in a hotel room may be laid out in a pattern you establish prior to heading out for the afternoon meeting, or an evening meal. Should you return to your room and notice the pattern has been disturbed, alarms bells sound indicating that someone has been in the room during your absence, or worse, is lurking in the closet or bathroom.  Who among us hasn’t seen the savvy foreign agent, dressed in his tux, pluck a strand of hair from his head and tack it skillfully across the doorframe before heading to the hotel casino?

These simple security practices can be applied at home as well. The Trap can be as intricate as you like. However, simple traps work best and should employ redundancy.

Try it, and remember the next time something seems out of place it probably is. Be Safe!