After yet another attack on a Western style democracy by a lone terrorist in the U.K just this week many people in both Canada and the U.S are asking the question of how they can protect themselves in the event something un-towards happens while they are either traveling or at home.

While law enforcement does an excellent job in Canada of making sure that we are as protected as possible we are also responsible for making sure that we are aware of what is going on around us.

Attacks like the San Bernardino shooting last year make it quite clear that people around the perpetrators knew that something was not right yet failed to tell the authorities of their concerns despite seeing things occur that would have led them to believe that there was criminal activity taking place.

While it is certainly not the job of ordinary Canadian to supplant Law Enforcement there are things we CAN do to make sure that as Canadian we are all as safe as we can be and that includes keeping our eyes and ears open and being sure to report things that we think may be of concern.

Some of the tips that CSIS, the Canadian spy agency, and American intelligence counter parts suggest that we do as regular citizens are compelling and can be of utmost importance in identifying those who may seek to do us harm.

What these agencies suggest we, as citizens, should be aware of are those who seem to be very interested in public fixtures or icons of the community such as the C.N Tower or other highly visible things of that nature. We also need to be aware of anybody who tries to elicit information on military or law enforcement capabilities or who is attempting to test the security of buildings or structures of importance.

Of course, if you know of anybody who is trying to acquire explosives or weapons that may be used in attacks you need to immediately notify your local law enforcement contingent.

In no way is anybody suggesting that you take matters into your hands or to profile people from another country or religion as history has shown that attacks can happen from just about any one and the vast majority of incidences were committed by people who were citizens in the country that was involved.

All the professionals suggest is that you, as a citizen, keep your eyes open to any thing that may be out of the ordinary and relay that information to your local law enforcement whenever you feel it is warranted.

We are all citizens of a global community and it is incumbent on all of us to try and thwart the plans of those who hold our freedoms and democracy in contempt.

While we are fortunate here in the Toronto area not to have to deal with terrorism on a large scale we still have to be astute about our regular security precautions for your home and business and Pre-lock are the experts to help with that.