Transitional Spaces

A transitional space is any space where you are making a transition from one place to another, like a parking lot or an alley between one building or another. These are excellent places for an ambush, so always be extra alert, and have a plan A and B and possibly C for getting out of there.

Getting in and out of the car. When you park your car, look around and make sure that you are in a good location with lots of visibility and away from people. If there is room, park in a space that is not next to another car, especially if there is someone sitting inside. I also have a personal rule that I never ever park next to panel vans. (Maybe I have watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds, but in my mind panel vans are way too easy to jump out of and grab someone with no one seeing anything.) 

When coming back to your car, look around. Make sure you know who is in the area and have a clear line of travel to your car. This is why you park in spaces with good visibility, so that no one can be hiding near your car when you come back. When you get to the car, don’t bury your head in the trunk. Put your stuff in the car, get in, shut the door and lock it immediately. 

At the gas station. When you pull into a gas station, take a good look around at everyone who is there. There should be people minding their own business and pumping their gas. If someone is loitering, it’s not necessarily a no-go but pay attention to them. Pull up to a pump, get your card and keys out, step out of the car and immediately lock it. Most cars these days have the electronic key fob so as you step out and shut the door, hit the button. I have lost count of the number of videos I have seen of people stealing purses through unlocked cars at gas stations, even if the owner of the car/purse is standing mere feet away. Proceed to pump your gas but every few seconds or so just look around you. Since it’s an open space, I like to turn my back to the open part of the parking lot so that anyone who approaches me has to walk a long way in the open and I will definitely see them coming. When you get back inside your car, hit the lock button as soon as you sit down and shut the door. 

Any building entrance or exit. The entrances to apartment buildings, office buildings, homes and stores are all transitional spaces and are popular places for predators to attack people. This is because there are usually great places to hide behind bushes or gates and people are generally distracted when they are transitioning from one place to another. These spaces are the spaces in which you should be the most aware. Scan the area and look for things out of place, locked gates that are open or ajar, or people who don’t belong. There is a story that has stuck with me for many years about a department store incident. A lady was going to leave a department store but she noticed two men flanking the exit door. Fortunately for her, she listened to her intuition and didn’t go out that exit. She waited awhile, did some more shopping and checked again. They were still there, so she called security. Turns out they were waiting for women to exit the door alone so they could grab them on their way out of the store. That is a really good example of noticing people out of place. Men don’t typically hang out at department store exits for hours so seeing something like that should definitely set alarm bells off in your head. 

Stairways, hallways and elevators. These spaces are tricky because they tend to be small spaces that you may or may not be able to get out of easily. With stairways and hallways, if you can’t see the whole passage, then you run the risk of being surprised. (This is a good reason to learn some close quarters dirty fighting techniques; a subject for another post.) If you’re in a business or hotel it’s probably not an issue. I try to avoid sketchy stairways in parking garages, for example, and dark alleys, which is just common sense. My rule for elevators is if someone is on the elevator that I have a bad feeling about or I’m just not in the mood, I don’t get on. I can always catch another one. In “The Gift of Fear” there is a quote that says it all for me. “Which is sillier, waiting a moment for the next elevator, or getting into a soundproofed steel chamber with a stranger she is afraid of?”