Counter the Stalkers
Author: Manny OG, Pencak Silat Sharaf UK
Have you ever felt like you’re being watched, under surveillance, followed or to use a more frightening term, stalked? According to the National Center for victims of Crime. “1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed”. Women are nearly three times more likely to be stalked than men. It is important to remember both men and women can be victims of stalking. Plus, nearly 3 in 4 victims know their offender in some capacity and some victims have no idea what to do about it and sometimes are too scared to go to the authorities. With that in mind, one must know how to handle oneself when in that situation, and more importantly, how to identify, evade, and counter a stalker. This is where anti-surveillance skills play a huge role in keeping you safe, and believe me, this is a very useful skill to develop.
Anti-Surveillance involves actions or maneuvers that a person carries out to confirm that they are under surveillance, evade and lose the surveillance team or stalker. If you’re foot make sure you frequently look behind you and always change direction especially on a street with few people, here you can easily pick out anyone following you. You could also walk into a large store or shop and position at a spot where you can observe the doorway and the windows (most shops do have very large glass windows) for any seeming stalker, make sure you are satisfied before leaving the shop otherwise stay there and call for help. Phone boxes on the street come in handy as well in such situations, you can use a telephone box to watch your surroundings, then observe again if the person lurks about, just close enough to have view of you. If you happen to see anyone suspicious call for help or immediately get yourself into a safe haven, which can be anywhere around you that you believe you would be safe in.
If you are driving you could use similar techniques as explained earlier. Look for persons in parked cars, persons who look suspicious and trying to hide their face in parked cars. Note the actions of any following vehicles (sharking) and note if any vehicles pull out behind you immediately. One of my favourites is the roundabout, this is where you go round a roundabout with your vehicle two or three times and see which car follows you to do the same, if there is any, that must be your stalker. However, if no vehicle follows you round, watch out for any vehicle that seems to be waiting at the junction you just exited, when you enter the next road or street observe if that same vehicle enters the same street as you.
While driving you could also alter your speed, jump a red traffic light, indicate one direction and then move off in a different direction. You could also exit the motorway at the next junction and rejoin at the next carriageway, while observing any suspicious vehicles that could be following you. When static, examine the vehicle and persons behind you. Are they talking into radios or phones? Are they making notes? And yes, before you ask, most stalkers do take notes just as much as any surveillance team would. Don’t forget, make sure you get their number plates as well, this is very useful if things escalate to involve the law. You could also watch them as well, make them aware that you have identified that you are under surveillance and you may also stare at the suspicious person constantly, this might create an uncomfortable feeling in them and probably call off their stalking, or you may let them carry on until you lure them into a trap you might have set when you phoned for help.
