Agent Safety When Working Alone
The kidnapper of a West Midlands estate agent in January 1992 was refused parole this week. Michael Sams kidnapped Stephanie Slater at knifepoint after booking an appointment under a false name, then held her captive for four days until releasing her when her employer paid a £175,000 ransom. Sams was convicted in 1993 for kidnapping Stephanie, and also for the murder of Leeds woman Julie Dart the year before. Sams is now 78 years old and will have to spend at least another year in prison as he is still seen as a threat to members of the public.
Stephanie Slater never returned to the property market and later moved to The Isle of Wight. She wrote a book about her ordeal, but sadly passed away in 2017 at the age of just 50 after a battle with cancer.
Susie Lamplugh
Probably the most famous case of an estate agent going missing after a property viewing was that of Susie Lamplugh (25) who disappeared after going to a meeting with Mr Kipper in July 1986. Susie's body has never been recovered and no one has been convicted. Prime suspect John Cannan is due for parole in 2022 after serving more than 30 years for the murder of factory worker Shirley Banks in 1987. Cannan denies being involved in Susie Lamplugh's disappearance and claims police are trying to prevent his parole in 2022 by naming him as their prime suspect.
So how can agents keep safe when meeting clients at properties?
Always make sure co-workers have access to your calendar appointments.
This goes without saying really. Your office, co-workers, and family should always know where you are and when you are expected back throughout the work day. But it’s important to make the rules clear about the amount of time that should pass before they contact police.
Check in and out of property viewing appointments with your office by text or phone call.
It's a good idea to have someone at your office that you can check in with before your appointments and directly afterward. If you don't check in after an appointment, that person can attempt to reach you to make sure you have just forgotten to get in touch, or if they fail to contact you, they can alert the authorities.
Have a code that you can use on the phone or by text if you are in trouble.
If you implement the step above, it is a good idea to have some sort of code in case you are being forced to falsely confirm that you are alright. You can use certain trigger words or use names of people that don't exist.
Use a personal protection device.
There are a number of personal protection devices available. Amazon is a good place to start when looking for such devices.Devices like the Police Preferred Personal Attack Alarmor the iMaxAlarm are both inexpensive and discrete.
Apps
There are many Lone Worker apps available for Apple and Android phones. OK Alone - Lone worker App and Safe Hub are such apps. Check the Apple App store of Google Play for your device.
Take a self defence class, but preferably do a more intensive one on one training.
There are plenty of self defence classes available in just about every town or city, but I would recommend getting in touch with a good instructor and explaining why you need to be able to protect yourself. A decent instructor will teach you more aggressive measures in a shorter space of time than a regular class will allow.
Conclusion
The chances of any harm coming to an estate agent during a viewing are not that high in the grand scheme of things. Cases like Susie Lamplugh and Stephanie Slater are memorable because they are so unusual. It's easy to think that the world is a more dangerous place than it was twenty or thirty years ago, but that's just because we are plugged in to doomsday news 24/7 these days. Bad news sells, good news doesn't.
But although these incidents are few and far between, staying vigilant and taking precautions like the ones mentioned here are essential to stay safe during viewings.