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05/06/2006 | Key Steps to Avoid Falling Victim to Crime

Stratfor Staff

A 35-year-old man awaited trial in Alabama on June 5 following his indictment on five felony counts in connection with the armed abduction and sexual assault of Birmingham lawyer Sandra Eubank Gregory.

 

The suspect, Dedrick Griham, allegedly took Gregory from the parking lot of her apartment complex the morning of May 31 and forced her to make cash withdrawals from a series of ATMs. Details on the case, including surveillance video of the abduction, clearly indicate this began as an "express kidnapping."

Common in Third World countries, but unusual in the United States, express kidnappings are easy to perpetrate and often last only a few hours. In Gregory's case, Griham allegedly took her by surprise in broad daylight, pulling a gun on her from behind as she fumbled in her purse while exiting her car. After forcing her back into the car, her boyfriend's Lexus RX300, the gunman forced Gregory to withdraw cash from three different ATMs. Police arrested Griham and rescued Gregory at a Comfort Inn motel nine hours after the abduction. The two apparently had never met prior to the incident, and it appears that Gregory was simply chosen at random.

Video of the crime scene suggests the 34-year-old Gregory made two mistakes during the initial moments of the kidnapping: She apparently failed to practice situational awareness and she let herself be taken from the primary crime scene.

Being aware of one's surroundings is paramount in this day and age -- so much so that it should be routine in everyday life. This is especially true because criminals tend to select victims who are not paying attention, and tend to shy away from those who have made eye contact. This latest kidnapping only highlights the fact that even in a downtown apartment complex in broad daylight, an unaware person can easily be taken by surprise. Although a large pickup truck in the next parking space may have obscured the kidnapper's approach until he and the victim were virtually face-to-face, it probably did not help that Gregory was looking into her purse instead of checking her surroundings.

People who are not familiar with an area, tourists for instance, can be easy targets for criminals because they may be more focused on the surrounding scenery and not on the people. But people also can become targets in their usual surroundings precisely because they are in familiar territory and thus assume they are safe. In the Gregory case, the attacker did not simply "appear from nowhere," as victims often are tempted to say. Since he approached the victim on foot, he doubtless was waiting nearby, casing for someone to grab. Gregory probably saw her attacker before he approached her. The question is whether she noticed him, and what she might have done differently if she had.

Perhaps Gregory's biggest mistake was allowing herself to be taken from the parking lot. A victim has the greatest chance of survival during the first moments of a kidnapping, making his or her reaction during this brief period crucial. Once victims are taken to a secondary crime scene, they no longer are in a familiar setting and are less likely to be able to obtain help -- and so the advantage falls to the kidnapper. Statistics clearly show that resistance and escape, even when facing a firearm, yields better odds of survival than going to a secondary crime scene. In this case, just as the suspect was backing Gregory's car out of her parking spot, a second woman entered the lot. If Gregory had only delayed a few moments longer or screamed for help, the second woman might have been able to, at the very least, summon help. As a general rule, then, victims should resist an assailant's attempts to force them into a vehicle, even one belonging to the victim. In this case, the assailant was only a robber. Had he been a sexual predator or a killer, he would have had ample time to commit his more violent crime.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to be aware of potential threats in the immediate vicinity and take proactive measures against them. By establishing early eye contact with potential assailants, people often can ward off attacks, as this small gesture communicates a nonsubmissive posture without being overtly confrontational. Most criminals seeking a target of opportunity will target a victim that displays less-assertive behavior. In interviews with law enforcement after a crime, many victims report they had felt something was wrong, or had a bad feeling about their assailant immediately before the attack, but that they took no preventive measures such as crossing the street or taking some other evasive action. Trusting one's instincts or "inner voice" and not allowing one's denial to override common sense often is the best way to avoid becoming a victim.

Robberies and express kidnappings are, for the most part, crimes of opportunity. A person can reduce his or her chances of becoming an easy target by remaining alert at all times.

Stratfor (Estados Unidos)

 



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