Criminal Minds
Your Intuition

Intuition is your early-warning survival system to detect criminal minds.

A young woman working late at a tanning spa became alarmed after a man asked her when the shop closed and whether he could use the bathroom. He did, and left without incident. It wasn't any particular thing, but she felt uncomfortable with the man's questions. Her instinct proved prophetic. She mentioned him to a husband and wife who were tanning that night. The couple checked the outside of the building for the clerk. ... Police arrested him a little bit later. They said he was waiting outside with a ski mask, handcuffs, an 8-inch butcher knife and sexual aids. Police say the man, already wanted for another rape, had unlocked the spa's back door before leaving.
Excerpted from The Chicago Daily Herald – 14 January 2005

Nature’s most complex creation, the human brain, must first of all ensure its own survival. Thus, its early-warning-system – intuition – is its most sophisticated function, ruling the all-powerful survival instinct.

Intuition senses without rational thinking – it guesses or feels with a "sixth sense." The subconscious mind constantly evaluates millions of bits of information, detects subtle conflicts within patterns, and alerts the conscious mind when something is awry. We call this awesomely complex process our gut feelings, suspicions, or hunches. It saved our ancestor’s hides throughout history.

But modern, socially-imposed good manners and political correctness have tamed you into trusting only logic and ignoring your gut feelings – as security expert Gavin de Becker pointed out in “The Gift of Fear.”

Police are searching for the person who killed real estate agent Lindsay Buziak. Her body was found Saturday in a new home listed for sale. People at her office said Buziak had a really bad feeling about the appointment.
Excerpted from The Calgary Herald – 04 February 2008

Intuition – a faint wisp, a fleeting radar blip, a subtle nudge that something isn’t quite right – is ignored while the criminal minds of Friendly Predators, skilled in the art of deception, coerce and entice you into traps. Your intuition – the ultimate alarm – already shyly quiet, gets shushed down as mere silliness.

Since hindsight is 20/20 vision that makes the obscure seem obvious, only afterward do we recall and pay heed to the piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit. That is, if we’ve survived with memory intact.

INTUITION LAPSES
Again, we tend to see and hear what we want to see and hear. However, sometimes intuition fails to warn us. We weren’t ignoring it – it simply took a nap and left us flatfooted. Perhaps we were distracted. Yet other times, a false alarm poses as intuition. Maybe a hint of an old fear nudges us warily yet ultimately proves to be nothing.

Nonetheless, just as a smoke detector may sometimes give a false alarm, only a fool would ignore it in the future. So it goes with intuition. It’s a lifesaver if we pay close attention. Don’t explain away your suspicions. Honor your doubts. Live by the street-savvy maxim: When in doubt, leave it out!

THE GOLDEN RULE FOR DODGING LURES, AMBUSHES, TRAPS
After parking one evening in her apartment building’s parking lot, Helen heard what sounded like a woman’s voice coming from behind a garbage dumpster sobbing, “I’ve been raped. Please help me!” Helen rushed to the prostrate, longhaired figure wearing a dress only to be smashed in the face with a brick. A man disguised as a woman brutally raped then threw her, unconscious, into the dumpster. Paraphrased from “Armed & Female" by Paxton Quigley

A woman arrived at her locked apartment building to find an exasperated man standing outside, holding keys in his hand, lamenting having forgotten his keys. Assuming he was a neighbor who meant he’d forgotten the proper keys, she didn’t think twice about letting him in with her. The con man later pushed-in and raped a neighbor woman.

A woman discovered that her purse was missing from her parked car. “The next day she received a phone call from a man who said he had found some property from her purse and wanted to return it to her," police said. When the woman arrived, she's robbed of additional cash and sexually assaulted and sodomized.
Excerpted from WLKY TV32 Louisville KY – 07 February 2005

A predator chooses the plan, the time, the place, and the prey. He has the advantages of deception, surprise, intimidation, and a familiarity with violence. Yet, clever lures and traps of criminal minds all depend upon one critical factor: the prey must be unwary, naďve, trusting, and easily bamboozled.

A serial killer in the Chicago area, Paul Runge, murdered and sexually assaulted seven women. He looked for opportunities to make acquaintances with them, such as seeing a room-for-rent sign and asking to look at it – or he'd post ads himself. He sexually assaulted and killed two of the young women he had lured to his house with a promise of work as house cleaners.
Excerpted from The New York Times – 15 June 2001

Think of yourself as a member of a herd. Like lions, hidden predators with criminal minds lurk about searching for those not paying attention, those who’ve strayed too far toward the secluded fringe, or those too tame to sense danger. Always remember: predators often go hunting when and where their prey least expect them.

Some rapists answer Lost and Found pet ads and insist that the (female) owner come to an address to retrieve her lost dog or kitten. The endless varieties of traps of criminal minds have one common goal: to isolate the victim. That is your tip-off! Absolutely never let anyone isolate you – in your home or anywhere – not even for a moment!

“Let me in. Can I use your phone?” Andrew Patti had a bad feeling about the teenager at his door. He said he had car trouble, but Patti wasn't buying the story. Maybe it was the family dog barking minutes earlier, apparently at something outside, or possibly Patti's sense that someone was watching him through the window. ... “No,” said Patti. ... “C'mon, let me use your phone.” ... The incident took place six months before two Dartmouth College professors were killed in their home. But Patti had the advantage of being armed with a handgun, along with the resolve not to open the door, fearing a city-style “push-in” robbery attempt. ... Patti was unaware that the stranger had brought along his friend crouched in a bush. They both had hunting knives. ... Patti showed the stranger his gun. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” he replied. “I just want to use your phone.” Patti instead offered to call a local garage. But when he picked up the phone, it was dead. Before knocking, the two teens had cut the phone line. ... Patti spent the night staring at the door, waiting for the potential home invaders to try again. ... Robert Tulloch, 17, and his 16-year-old friend, James Parker, never returned to the Patti house, but they managed to con their way into the home of Half and Suzanne Zantop, the two Dartmouth professors well known for their kindness and killed them in a stabbing frenzy.
Excerpted from The Boston University Bridge – 16 January 2004

(This was an attempted Scam-In / Push-In combination.)

Blow away your naiveté with:
• Criminal Minds - Overview of the treacherous criminal mind of the predator you’re facing and what tricks might be up his sleeve.
• Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: friendly predators you'd never suspect.
• Quick Tricks: insights into sleight of hand and physical bluffs that criminal minds use to bamboozle you.
• Mind Games: how master manipulators control you like a puppet on a string.
• Intuition (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE): trusting your early-warning survival system.
• Predator Profiles: robber's, rapist's, and killer's criminal minds.
• Predatory Mind: an extraordinarily enlightening view into the heart of darkness - and how to beat him at his own game.
• Recap of Criminal Minds.
• Security Products - Overview

Return to
Criminal Minds - Overview
Crime-Safety-Security Home Page