A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance.

Naval application

Lookouts have been traditionally placed in high on masts, in

crow's nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...

s and

tops Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), ...

. The

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972, also known as ''Collision Regulations'' (''COLREGs''), are published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and set out, among other things, the "rules of the road" o ...

(1972) says in part: : Every vessel must at all times keep a proper look-out by sight (day shape or lights by eyes or visual aids), hearing (sound signal or Marine VHF radio) and all available means (e.g.

Radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, ARPA, AIS, GMDSS...) in order to judge if risk of collision exists. Lookouts report anything they see and or hear. When reporting contacts, lookouts give information such as, bearing of the object, which way the object is headed, target angles and position angles and what the contact is. Lookouts should be thoroughly familiar with the various types of distress signals they may encounter at sea.

Criminal definition

By analogy, the term "lookout" is also used to describe a person who accompanies criminals during the commission of a

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

, and warns them of the impending approach of hazards: that is,

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

or eyewitnesses. Although lookouts typically do not actually participate in the crime, they can nonetheless be charged with aiding and abetting or with

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

, or as accomplices.

Railway use

A lookout may be used when performing engineering works on an operational railway. They will be responsible for ensuring that all staff are cleared of the track in advance of an approaching train.

References

Crime Marine occupations {{Job-stub