So many things bother me about the attempted murder of
Vernon Holbrook, the 78-year-old real estate agent in Yakima who was stalked
and lured to a vacant property where his “clients” savagely attacked him. But the one thing that bothers me most is the
fact that Holbrook’s attackers brought 3 children with them to view the
listing.
According to news accounts, the children were in the car
when one of the attackers beat Holbrook and slit his throat in a bedroom of the
vacant property. There’s a relief. The attackers had enough sense, decency,
whatever, to not subject children to such a horrific spectacle.
The issue that sticks in my mind, however, is not one of
parenting…..It’s the methodical planning these “people” engaged in to lull
Holbrook into a false sense of security.
After all, who among us would expect a vicious attack from someone who
arrived at the scene with his kids? That
kind of set up is as brilliant as it is evil.
When I teach my safety and awareness class, I advise my
students to think like criminals would.
I warn them, for example, that just because a couple presents themselves
as “husband and wife” doesn’t mean they are not capable of causing an agent
harm. There are prisons full of female
criminals, after all.
I also caution that criminals can go to great lengths to
establish trust, create a false sense of security and set the stage before attacking an unsuspecting agent. An attack does not necessarily have to happen
on the first meeting with a client. In fact,
some criminals establish rapport with an agent to determine if that person is
worth victimizing later—using conversation and house hunting as a tool to
gather information about their potential target, scope out their jewelry, cash, etc….
So, each of us is responsible to stay vigilant and always
keep our guard up.
And that’s why the use of children is so effective and
ingenious. It is SO disarming. Every single person with whom I’ve discussed
this story said they would have never suspected anyone would commit a violent
crime with their children around. People
told me straight out: as soon as they
saw children in the car, they would have eliminated all suspicion of the client
and considered themselves completely safe.
It is really troubling on so many levels.
I often say that criminals go to work—just like the rest of
us. They hone their craft. They implement techniques to give themselves
a competitive advantage. They plan their
work day. They perform certain tasks and
expect certain outcomes. They evolve.
It is our job to be aware of this and to expect the
unexpected. The best way to do that is
to prepare in advance of any client meeting--and especially before meeting new clients.
- Research your clients by getting them preapproved with a mortgage lender and discussing their file / situation with your mortgage partner. Look for inconsistencies in their story. This is not only important for safety, but also to avoid wasing time.
- Introduce your clients to people at your office.
- Take copies of driver’s licenses for a file you keep on all new clients.
- Inform your family or colleagues of where you’re going, with whom, and when you’ll be back.
- Let your clients know that you take these and other measures because safety is a priority for you and your office. Use these measures to demonstrate that you will not be an easy target.
None of us can prepare for every eventuality. And no one would want to live like that
anyway. But it is easy to create a
routine consisting of a few simple safety procedures. That routine will eventually become ingrained
in muscle memory. In short order, those
behaviors will become natural and will integrate into our life gracefully and
effortlessly.
As we endeavor to
balance our personal safety with our professional productivity, I urge everyone
to embrace the old adage: An ounce of
prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Until next time,
Stay Safe!
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