Realtor Safety: Prevention vs. Reaction

Before we can examine the various safety products on the market, we must first start with an understanding of crime against agents. The types of individuals who shoplift are different from those who rob banks, and the techniques of the two types of criminals are different. This is also true for those who commit crimes against agents and those who commit random street crimes. These are entirely different types of criminals who think differently and use entirely different techniques.

Crime against real estate agents is a predatory crime carried out by predators. To illustrate this point, let's break down the timeline and process of an attack on an agent:

1. The predator must "shop" for a victim
2. The predator must choose a victim
3. The predator must research the victim
4. The predator must choose a site
5. The predator must develop a plan to get the victim to be alone with him at the site
6. The predator must develop a plan to get the victim isolated where he/she can't be seen or heard while they are at the site
7. The predator must execute on those plans
8. The criminal must attack.

As you can see, an attack on an agent is not an impulsive act by an opportunistic criminal. It requires planning and patience. Crimes against agents are entirely different than random street crimes or home invasions, and the tools that can help in random street crimes or home invasions DO NOT work in the case of crimes against agents. To further complicate the issue, agents must sell. They often meet with people they do not know in empty residences and often feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, their livelihood depends on staying with those individuals even when they feel uncomfortable.

Staying safe means preventing the crime in the first place, and once an agent is alone with a prospect, the only way to prevent a crime without blowing a legitimate sale is to have another individual casually show up at the house within minutes of when the agent starts to feel uncomfortable. If the individual is dangerous and it takes someone 20 or 30 minutes to arrive, then it's too late. If the agent waits until they feel scared instead of just uncomfortable, then an attack is imminent and it's too late. If the agent alerts police when he/she is just uncomfortable and the prospect is not dangerous, he/she has just lost a sale.

Many features of personal safety apps are mobile app based versions of the same safety procedures the industry has employed for years: "Tell people where you'll be and how long you'll be there" and "Call/alert a friend, family member or colleague if you're in trouble." Unfortunately, these policies only let people know that an agent has been attacked. Neither one of these policies prevent an attack from occurring.

Let's for a moment take the typical scenario—that our agent has been contacted by someone who does not seem threatening over the phone and has met the individual alone at a property. At some point during the showing, the agent becomes uncomfortable. Keep in mind that at this point our agent is uncomfortable. He/she does not know if the prospect is dangerous, socially awkward, or thinks himself a Don Juan.

Now that we have set our stage, let's look at the various types of personal safety apps and devices being marketed to real estate agents:

Personal Safety Apps, Wearables and Features that Alert a Pre-set List of Contacts

These types of features do not keep you safe because they do not prevent the crime from occurring in the first place. The key problem with these is that, more than likely, the five or so "pre-set" individuals may be 30 minutes away, or in a meeting, at a doctor's appointment, etc. There are two scenarios where our agent might use this feature: issuing an alert when he/she first becomes uncomfortable and issuing the alert when he/she is scared.

Let's consider the scenario that our agent issues the alert when he/she first becomes uncomfortable:

• If the prospect IS dangerous, the contacts would need to be close enough to arrive within a few minutes. Otherwise, they will not be close enough to do anything that can prevent an attack. Also, if they arrive after an attack has started, they will likely be attacked as well if there are no features designed to keep the responder safe.
• If the prospect IS NOT dangerous and panicked contacts show up at the house while the showing is still happening, the agent risks losing a sale. After that happens once, most agents will never use it again.

Now let's consider the scenario that our agent waits until he/she is scared before issuing the alert:

• In this case, the attack is imminent, and no one can get there fast enough to prevent the attack.

Personal Safety Apps or Wearables that Alert a Call Center or Police

These apps or devices allow you to alert police or a call center that will then either call the police for you or ask you if you need the police.

The vast majority of the time that an agent feels uncomfortable with a prospect, the prospect is not dangerous. The problem, of course, is that an agent doesn't know who is and is not dangerous until it's too late. If these systems are used when our agent is just uncomfortable, he/she will likely lose every sale where they feel uncomfortable and the prospect was not dangerous. Consequently, these systems are not practical as a means of prevention.

If our agent waits until he/she feels scared, then an attack is imminent and it's too late even if the police are called.

Personal Safety Apps or Wearables that Work Off a Timer or Geo Fence

Some apps will notify a preset list of contacts if you have not turned a timer off before the timer expires and/or if you leave a pre-set geographic area. These are also completely ineffective at keeping the agent safe because they do nothing to prevent the attack from occurring. If our agent has not turned the timer off, then he/she has either forgot to turn it off or is incapable of turning it off.

In the case that nothing has happened, but the agent forgot to extend or cancel the timer:

1. If panicked contacts show up at the house while the showing is still happening, the agent risks losing a sale. After that happens once, most agents will never use it again.
2. If an agent continues to use the app and forgetting about the timer becomes a habit, then contacts will begin ignoring the alerts because they will become used to false alerts.
3. If contacts start calling, this could cause a difficult conversation for the agent with the prospect, thereby jeopardizing a sale. If the agent does not answer, and either panicked contacts show up or call the police, this too puts a sale in jeopardy.

In the case that the agent has been attacked and is incapable of cancelling the timer, or is taken outside the area against his/her will:

• Clearly, in this case, the agent has not stayed safe and the app is merely letting contacts know where to start searching.

Let us also consider one additional scenario: the prospect is dangerous and has, by coincidence, initiated an attack after the timer expired and sent an alert.

1. If contacts come to the house, they have now been put in grave danger because they have no way of knowing that an attack has occurred. So by entering the house, there is a high likelihood that the predator will attack them. Now we have two victims, and one of the victims is a victim as a result of the safety app because the app did not provide the responder with any information that could be used to protect the responder.
2. If the contact calls the police, that's great, but the attack has already occurred.

Lethal and Non-Lethal Weapons:

Police are trained to use the 30-foot rule. If the attacker is within 30 feet, then don't use your weapon because there is not enough time to use the weapon. Attacks on agents do not occur from across the room. An attacker will attempt to isolate a victim where he/she cannot be seen or heard and then attack from arm's length away. Consequently, unless an agent is willing to carry the weapon, safety off, in his/her hand, the agent will not have the time to take the weapon out, aim, and fire.

What Does It Take to Prevent Crime Against Agents?

Staying safe as a real estate agent means preventing the crime from occurring. Any product that can prevent crime must contain a few key features at a minimum.

• The product must be clandestine so that the agent can use it without concern about making a legitimate prospect uncomfortable.
• Since predators follow behavior patterns, the product must be rooted in behavioral science.
• Considering the ineffectiveness of background checks and social media checks, the product must allow the agent to see behavior-based "red flags" based on the prospect's behavior and the reaction of others to that behavior.
• The product must provide a way for the agent to have another individual casually come by when he/she first becomes uncomfortable without worrying that he/she will lose a sale if the prospect is legitimate.

These are the bare minimum features a product must have to be able to prevent a crime against an agent. A product may have additional features that enhance its effectiveness—however, these features must exist in order for the product to prevent the crime from occurring.

Lee Goldstein is the CEO of Real Safe Agent.