Why Environmental Awareness Matters: The Lessons from Recent Covent Garden Stabbing

Covent Garden is not somewhere most people associate with danger.

It is a place people go to meet friends, see a show, eat lunch, shop and explore London. It 's busy, familiar and, for many people, somewhere they feel completely comfortable.

And that is precisely why the recent incident on Endell Street is worth reflecting on, not because we should become fearful of public spaces, but because it reminds us that our environment can change very quickly.

Safety isn't about being afraid. It's about being aware.

Environmental awareness doesn't mean walking around London expecting something terrible to happen. It means maintaining enough awareness of your surroundings that you can recognise when something doesn't feel right and give yourself options.

That might mean noticing:

• Who is around you and what they are doing

• Whether someone's behaviour is becoming increasingly agitated or unpredictable

• Where the exits and alternative routes are

• Whether you are becoming distracted by your phone or headphones

• What is happening around you rather than just directly in front of you

• Where you could move if a situation suddenly deteriorated

What do we mean by prevention?

Sometimes prevention starts with recognising the person. Sometimes it starts with recognising the situation. Often, it requires both.

You can't know someone's intentions simply by looking at them. And sometimes it means dropping the stereotype, often based on appearance, clothing, age, gender, or ethnicity. Sometimes the threat can come from the person you least expected.

Good awareness focuses on behaviour, context and change.

Someone shouting isn't necessarily dangerous. Someone behaving unusually isn't necessarily a threat. A busy street isn't inherently unsafe.

But if the situation around you changes, your response should be able to change with it.

Awareness creates options

Environmental awareness gives people something incredibly valuable in a developing situation: time and choices.

If you're aware of what's happening around you, you may notice an escalating situation EARLY, WHICH IS KEY. That can give you the opportunity to:

Recognise → Assess → Create distance → Move away → Seek help → Report

The objective isn't to confront someone or play the hero.

It's to avoid becoming involved in the first place wherever possible.

Some of the tools we teach on our courses include:

• Seeking immediate exit or using barriers and shields

• Informing others of danger, which involves loud repetition of what is currently happening, pointing directly at the person causing disruption, for example:

  She/he has a weapon! Call the police! Run away! (on repeat)

  
  

A lof of times in an emerging situation there is a lot of confusion and distraction, and notifying others WHO is the threat can be extremely helpful. It can also help others who are running to assist IDENTIFY the person they need to be restraining.

AWARENESS IS ABSOLUTE NUMBER 1 WHEN IT COMES TO PERSONAL SAFETY.

If you're looking to find out more about how you can observe your environment, we will be launching a situational awareness short course very soon, stay tuned!

Stay safe out there,

Joanna