Color Code – Condition Yellow
This is a state of being alert to your surroundings, the state we should stay
in when we are not asleep. Paranoid? Straining to see a bad guy? No,
being in that state of mind would fatigue your mind to the point that stops.
You should always be in a relaxed state but alert to potential danger and
all activity around you. You are not preparing for any particular threat
because you have noticed that there is no threat. Here’s some examples:
When walking down the street your eyes are up and looking around.
Perhaps you pass a store window and, in the reflection, see that someone
is walking behind you. Are they following you? You don’t know yet and so
you have no reason to worry that they are there but you notice they are
there. You have made a mental note that can be drawn from later. You
see some teenagers walking and laughing on the other side of the street.
A couple walking together in front of you. A delivery van stopped in front
of you and you will pass it in a few more steps. A car slowed down and
stops right next to you so you look at it get feedback on what they are
doing. You walk out to get the mail and look around to see if anyone is
around you or the mailbox. No one locks the front door when getting the
mail. When walking to your car in a crowded parking lot, you should walk
down the middle of the aisle not right next to the gap between cars.
Notice people around well enough to describe them later. Do you see a
knife clip hanging out of their pocket? What side? That could be their
strong side and the side they will launch their haymaker from or knife
attack from. Maybe they are wearing a court-ordered ankle bracelet, a
reason to panic? No, but good to be aware of.
When driving, you take note of the cars around you and the occupants.
You know who is following you and note how long they have been. Did
that same car that has followed you for miles, follow you down into an
underground parking garage? At stop lights, you leave enough room to
the car ahead of you to drive around and away if you need to? As you
approach your car, look underneath and behind. Look in the back seat for
someone hiding there. Make sure the car is in the state you left it. Door
locks still locked? Your keys are already out and you can get into your car
quickly and not stand in front of your car looking through your purse for
them.
Again, you are not scared or paranoid, you are simply alert to your
surroundings. Remember from our last Condition White letter? What does
a good victim look like? To a criminal, people in Condition Yellow do not
look like good victims. They want to use the element of surprise against
you. You want to use time and distance against them.