They’re watching

Some of you may have read the Inquirer report on how one of our University of the Philippines Diliman faculty members, Perlie Frago, was robbed last Wednesday in our college parking lot.  She was about to open her car when she was distracted by one of the many street children who loiter around the campus. That momentary delay was enough for several men to come up and shove her into the car and to blindfold her.

Thus started an hourlong ordeal where she was driven around, in her own car, probably within the campus, and to a bank.  They made her give them her security PIN, threatening to kill her if the number was wrong.  They were able to withdraw P29,000. The assailants eventually went back to the parking lot, leaving her in the car still blindfolded and handcuffed, warning her not to call the police.  Perlie waited for some time and, despite her handcuffs, was able to drive to a faculty center nearby and get help.

I didn’t get news about the incident until about 7:30 that night, and assumed that the robbery occurred maybe an hour earlier, after dark.  It turned out it was robbery in broad daylight, the ordeal starting at around 4:30 in the afternoon.

Perlie told me she gave the Inquirer an interview because she wants to warn people to be more careful.  I thought I should add more to the interview with some insights, and practical tips.

Professionals

It’s clear that this robbery was not a random act and that we’re not dealing here with petty criminals like your typical street snatchers.  We live now in an age of very “professional” con men who understand human psychology, and who know how to use the techniques of surveillance, much like detectives.  Put bluntly, and ominously, we need to watch out because they are watching us.

Let’s look at this latest UP case.  The parking lot would seem to have been the last place for a heist.  More than a parking lot, it’s a hangout for many students, including fraternities (who do pull occasional hit-and-run attacks on rivals). The lot is part of a university oval road that has become a popular route for joggers and people who just want a leisurely walk.  Most importantly, the lot directly faces Palma Hall or “AS,” a central hub in the Diliman campus where all students have to take liberal arts subjects.

But the criminals knew when to strike.  Classes had ended, with only a few final exams being given, so Palma Hall, and the parking lot, were practically deserted.  We only have two guards on duty at Palma, which is a huge building, while the parking lot is part of a large area assigned to university security personnel who patrol on foot or on a bike.

The criminals also probably knew that 4:30 p.m. was a good time to strike.  Joggers don’t come out until after 5.  The criminals probably knew, too, that if they attacked after dusk, the darkness would have made it more difficult for them as well.

The criminals knew how to take advantage of “normalcy,” make potential victims feel at ease.  Having street children around was probably not just to distract victims but to make them feel it was just another day.

The scariest part is knowing that the criminals identify victims beforehand, choosing those who seem easy to attack: women, especially if they look frail, as in Perlie’s case.  They also look for routines, knowing the approximate times when people are about to leave for home.

I don’t want to make people paranoid but knowing that we’re being watched helps us to prevent crimes.  The standard advice of having a companion when going to more isolated or crime-prone areas still holds.  But more than that, we need to change our routines.  That’s not just a matter of where we park or the time we leave, but also our mental routines.  We can’t afford to be caught off guard.  Look at our cars as places that invite crime, which means that our brains go on red alert as we move toward the vehicle.  Sadly, that applies as well to our homes.  The gruesome murder of Kae Davantes underscores that vulnerability: She was attacked inside a subdivision, as she got out of her car to get to her house’s gate.

If criminals try to distract you, be ready as well to distract them, make them feel an attack might not be worth it.  Once you sense something is wrong, is there a way for you to call for help, loudly and with force?  Having a whistle, or one of those emergency gadgets with a flashlight and siren, can go a long way.  A quick-thinking friend of mine told me that once, when she saw suspicious-looking people hanging out near her car, she quickly turned around, whipped out her cell phone and spoke in the loudest voice and in Filipino, “Uy, Jun, sorry, sorry, I’m here in our parking lot but I left a bag so I’m going back to the office.  Can you bring it down? … Meet you at the entrance.”  Then run she did, for dear life, and she knew her potential assailants were not going to go after her either.

Thinking without thinking

Malcolm Gladwell made millions of bucks with his book “Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking,” which is mainly about trusting your instincts.  We accumulate experiences through time, and the feelings of uneasiness and anxiety are part of our evolutionary arsenal for survival.  If you feel uneasy about a street, or a parking lot, turn around.  Better to overreact than to pay for underestimating your intuition.

It does help if there’s institutional support for crime prevention. UP Diliman sorely needs more support for security measures in terms of personnel and lighting. I used to love our sunsets but now feel that the Tagalog term, “agaw-dilim,” a struggle between light and darkness, sounds almost sinister.

At my own college I’ve asked our faculty, staff and students to request guards to accompany them to parking lots, or to get public transportation.  The guards have been instructed to be the ones to call for taxis, and to record the taxi driver’s name and the vehicle’s license plate number.  We’re looking now into an iPhone and Android app called Grabtaxi to get taxis quickly and safely. I would appreciate hearing from readers about their experiences with this service, as well as other tips for outwitting the professional criminals.

A final point: Let’s not forget the “ber” months are not just a time for anticipating the December holidays.  Criminal activities, petty and professional, also increase around this time.  It’s not just a matter of criminals in need of money but their knowing that the festivities and the larger crowds in streets and malls make us less vigilant.   They know, and they watch.

E-mail: mtan@inquirer.com.ph