Professionals Don't Have to Be Like Jason Bourne, But...

People go into professions for a variety of reasons. Financial security, a sense of purpose, and serving the community to name just a few.

Acting like Jason Bourne. Probably not one of them. 

In the film the Bourne Identity, Bourne, while seated in a diner, describes how without thinking about it, he automatically catches sight lines, and looks for exits.   

Suffering from amnesia, Bourne doesn’t know why he takes these safety precautions, he just knows that he does them. 

I didn’t start out that way myself. 

I went into investigation work in the late 1980s to help people. And because I liked the thrill of finding things out.

But because of conducting litigation and third party fact-finding investigations, I taught myself to do those very same things automatically as well.

But, unlike Bourne, I knew why I did them. It was fully intentional. I was good at my work, but the results of my investigations could impact people. And some of those people got really pissed off. 

That was just the nature of my work. But that meant taking steps to protect myself and my family too. 

And it’s always better to know who might be coming for you. So that you can take action to stay safe. Than to be caught off guard.

Plus, because I worked in some pretty unsafe places, I had to be able to keep myself safe in order to be effective. 

All of this really hit home for me the day my then young son turned to one of his friends as we entered a restaurant, and told him not to sit in a certain seat at the table because I always sat facing the entrance, so that I could see who walked in. 

Do professionals and business owners have to be like Jason Bourne? No. But, you do need to have a strategy to keep yourself safe from a violent attack. 

I spent 30 years conducting investigations into violent incidents for attorneys. I initially started providing personal safety training to my attorney clients because of the threats to their safety they faced from the work they did. From there, I provided consulting and training services to professionals working in a wide range of fields including medical, education, investment, media, and government.

I’ve put together a free personal safety guide for business owners and professionals to help you avoid being victimized by violence because of the work you do. You can download a copy here. 

In this piece we’ll look at why professionals and business owners face higher rates of violent attacks than the general public, and what strategies you can take to reduce your safety risks.

Professionals Face Higher Risks of Violent Attacks Than the Public

The stats about violent threats and assaults on professionals are pretty eye opening:

• A survey of 28,530 attorneys from 28 states found that 40% of all attorneys had been assaulted or threatened with a physical attack. And for family law attorneys that percentage jumped to 54%.
• Healthcare professionals are 4xs as likely as other professionals to miss work because of a physical assault. 70% of Emergency Room nurses, and 47% of emergency room physicians have been assaulted or threatened with violence.
• 58% of all social workers have been assaulted on the job.
• 1 in 5 K-12 grade teachers have been assaulted or threatened.
• 9% of all real estate agents have been attacked or threatened on the job.

Where Safety Risks Come From

For some professionals, the greatest risk of being targeted in a violent attack comes from those you serve through your work including clients, patients, and customers, as well as their friends and family.

It can also include those you work with like vendors, and contractors who help you provide your services.

Some professions face the risk of violence because they work with people going through difficult situations involving their physical and mental health, economic issues and family matters. Risks of violence increase in situations where emotion drives reactivity.

A violent attack from these source types are most likely to occur during one-on-one meetings. 

And for professionals who visit clients, patients, and customers at their location, the risk of being attacked increases because you’re isolated during the visit.

Some professions work in locations where violence occurs at higher rates than at other places. The risk of you being attacked violently in these areas happens simply because you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

And more recently, as grievance driven violence has reached new levels, professionals can be at the risk of a violent attack simply because of the work they do, and the people they serve. 

Often these types of attacks occur without warning, and are carried out by someone unknown to the victim.

Safety Strategies 

Personal safety strategies should be custom tailored to the nature of the safety threats you face. But, there are certain general strategies that when implemented, will help you to better protect yourself regardless of the work you do.

Because professionals often meet by themselves with others, it’s important to reduce your risk of being trapped in an enclosed space by that person. It’s much easier to carry out a violent attack on someone trapped in an enclosed space.

To avoid the risk of being trapped, focus on positioning yourself between the person you are meeting with and the exit. 

Whether you’re meeting in a conference room, a client’s home, or an exam room, you will need to pay attention to the room’s layout. Note where the door is located, and which way it swings, and place yourself as close as possible to the door without having your back to the door. 

Avoid having your back to the door as you won’t be able to see if someone else comes through, or blocks the door. 

Whenever possible, professionals should have someone they can communicate with in case you feel physically threatened.  

Your window of time is pretty short when an attack happens, so it’s best to preemptively the person if you have safety concerns, to be prepared in case you reach out. 

This works best when meeting at your own location. But there are also ways to do this when you’re working at someone else’s location.

Like Jason Bourne, you should identify exit locations, and sight lines that will help you to know where to go if an attack appears imminent. This doesn’t have to be to the outside, although that’s best when possible, but any location where you’ll be safer than where you are works. 

Most attacks occur without warning, so you may not have the chance to de-escalate. But, should you sense that a person is growing angry or agitated, the best thing you can do is to redirect that person’s focus to somewhere other than attacking you. You can do that by getting the person to talk more, and to listen to you when you talk. 

It’s much harder to launch a violent attack while you’re engaged in an activity like listening or talking. 

When an attack occurs without warning, you’ve got a very small window to keep yourself safe.  

Your first focus should be on taking away the attacker’s initial advantage, that comes from attacking suddenly and without warning. Attackers develop this advantage by forming a plan of attack, just prior to attacking.

To do that, you have to put the attacker onto the defensive, even if momentarily, which forces the attacker to have to recalibrate his attack. 

When you do that, you briefly gain the upper hand. Which can allow you the ability to exit safely, or to engage from a more even footing. 

There may also be times, where you have no choice but to physically defend yourself. An attacker has one main strategy. And that’s to incapacitate you as quickly as possible.

And for an unarmed attacker, most of the time that means a right hand punch to the head. Knowing what’s most likely to come helps you be able to defend against that. Learning a few basic self-defense skills that you can apply effectively can make all the difference in your ability to safely survive an attack.

I’ve put together a free personal safety guide for professionals and business owners. You can download it here.