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Safety Tips for Personal Protection against
Crimes of Rape, Assault, Robbery and more!
CRIME PREVENTION: SAFETY TIPS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION
What Works Best? Self Defense Tactics or Personal Protection Products ...
Concealed Carry Firearm, Defense Baton, Pepper Spray, Stun Gun, etc.?
About Violent Crime and How it Affects You
As a former police officer, I know how badly crime affects families, especially when they involve face to face confrontation with one or more potentially violent criminals.
If you study the criminal mind, you'll be surprised to learn that they don't think like you and I. They have no empathy for people. They can't put themselves in your shoes and feel sadness or remorse for their victims. Instead, they feel or sense vulnerability in others and learn to take advantage of it.
Crimes of Rape, Assault, Robbery ...
Violent crimes like rape, date rape and sexual assault happen to both young and old. Children, teens, working age adults, and senior citizens are all targeted by various sexual predators. Most victims are female, but some are male. No one is exempt. Some rapes may be sexually motivated, especially in the case of date rape. Many rapes aren't about sex but about power. (more info - crime of rape)
Assault and domestic violence are crimes that are increasing rapidly. They may
start out simple as a result of lost tempers, but can too often escalate into murder.
(more info - assault-domestic violence-murder)
Robbery, armed robbery and carjacking are motivated by need or want of money. These crimes can also result in brutal assault to break down any resistance or can result in murder to get rid of witnesses and avoid detection, arrest, prosecution and prison. Many criminals are repeat offenders and tend to be more brutal or deadly.
(more info - robbery-armed robbery-carjacking)
Burglary is usually motivated by a need or want of money, but becomes aggravated burglary if someone is home or likely to be home at the time of a home break-in.
The reason for this is because a burglar can often panic when encountering an unexpected occupant in the home. When they panic, it can result in a violent assault on the homeowner or family member at home. The potential for violence makes aggravated burglary more serious than mere burglary. Home invasion, however, is a violent break-in of a home when family members are expected to be home. This is the work of one or more violent predators, sociopaths who are looking to intentionally terrorize, brutalize, rape, and or murder the occupants as well as rob them. These predators usually come prepared and frequently cut phone lines to a home prior to the intrusion in order to stop burglar alarms from notifying alarm companies or police. You'll need extra protection measures if you want to stop these predators.
(more info - burglary - home invasion)
Being the victim of any of these violent crimes and criminals can be traumatic,
leave a lifetime of nightmares and anxiety, as well as ruining lives entirely.
Note: Information and resources for unarmed self defense, self defense weapons ...
non-lethal and lethal, and home security information and products can be found on this website at:
The Big Problem with Sociopaths is You Can't Recognize Them
Now here's the problem. Most of these sociopaths look like you and I. They are you and I except for either a biological/neurological error or big mistakes in nuturing and socialization. They blend in very well. They may be fellow students, neighbors, service people; a guy at a bar, coffee shop, grocery store or any one we routinely meet in our days travels and don't think twice about. Locally, we even had one individual who was a "stalker-voyeur-burglar-rapist" with a several year crime spree who after being caught, turned out to be a respected fireman. These criminals often learn how to be very disarmingly friendly or charasmatic so you let your guard down or don't notice them.
Some criminals are deceptive in this way and others learn how to hide or blend in so they can blitz attack or surprise you when least expected.
Victims are Traumatized or Worse
Regardless, these crimes end up traumatizing their victims emotionally and physically. Whether it be a robbery, an injury assault, a rape, abduction or resulting murder, you don't want yourself or your family to be the victim of such an event. Yet we still need to go about our daily lives with family, with friends, doing chores like shopping, going to a doctor visit, at work, leaving work, or while travelling. We need to live our lives feeling happy and safe, but still not be complacent or naive. We can best do that not by expecting the worst, but at least being aware and prepared.
My Experience with Crime
Before becoming a police officer, I earned my 2nd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. I felt safer, but not safe enough. Later, after leaving the police force, I went through "CCF - concealed carry firearm licensing" so I could again carry a handgun with me when I felt the need. Even after years of police training and experience, I still get a bit apprehensive because there are severe consequences if I pull my firearm on someone mistakenly or use my firearm if I mistakenly perceive myself or another in a life threatening situation and I'm wrong. The other side of the coin ... there are severe consequences if I don't pull my handgun and use it when I truly needed to defend my life or the life of someone in my family.
Feeling Vulnerable
Even with years of police experience and 20 years of martial arts practice, I still personally feel vulnerable -and- because of what I've learned over the years about crime, even in suburbs, and the criminal mindset, I feel helpless when it comes to protecting my family and friends. They haven't seen what I've seen. They think I'm being negative and paranoid. I think I'm being prepared, practical and realistic.
Crime in the Suburbs Often Hidden from the News
4 I don't live in a high crime suburb, and yet my brother's family was the victim of a burglary. Their back door was literally kicked in, bolt lock on a sturdy door. I still remember their reactions when they came home to find their belongings and personal items strewn about. My brother was angry and my sister-in-law said she felt personally violated.
4 My sisters home was being broken into while she was home but the burglar was frightened away when she yelled her husband's name telling him to get the gun ...
her husband wasn't even home.
4 A woman shopping at a local mall with her two children, was abducted, raped, tortured and killed by two boys ages 18 and 19, her body left in her own van at an RTA station.
4 A female student and her boyfriend at the Ohio college campus where two of my children attended were stabbed but fortunately survived. The attacker turned out to be a jealous ex-boyfriend.
4 A young woman I worked with, went to walk her dog at the local park in my suburb and was murdered when a recent parollee went to rob her. The assault and robbery escalated into a murder. The attacker didn't want her to identify him. I was at the wake. The family was stunned and will continue to hurt and the horrific memory haunt them.
I don't know how many times I heard, "How could this have happened here?" It happens too often, but because it's usually not us or our family, we dismiss it and forget it.
It's just news ... or is it?
4 An elderly woman was assaulted and had her purse snatched in the parking lot of a local suburban mall by a young couple. The elderly woman had just reached the parking lot when the female distracted her. Her male partner pushed the victim to the ground roughly, threatened her, then took her purse.
4 An 18 year old girl was abducted and raped when leaving work at 10pm. She was in the parking lot of a local wuburban mall area getting her keys out when she was forced into her car at knifepoint. This was a mall in an upper middle class community. She was forced to drive to a more quiet parking lot nearby then raped. He left on foot. Although he let her live, her description of the predator did not lead to an arrest.
4 Two young men were gunned down during an attempted robbery in the parking lot of their apartment just two blocks from my home. Both were left for dead, the attacker hoping to eliminate witnesses. Both victims did live, although one was in critical care for over a week. They found and arrested the attacker several weeks later. In the attacker's home was found a large stash of weapons and ammunition.
Not to Scare You, but to Make You Aware of Reality
All of these crimes occured in suburban areas of Ohio and all but one of them, within 30 minutes of my home in low crime areas. I could continue with more incidents, but I think you get the point. My suburb, although a large suburban area, is typically no more dangerous than the average suburb, but crime still happens ... and most of us are too consumed with our own immediate lives to know what's happening in our own towns.
Being a former police officer, I can tell you that most local police departments don't tell the news media everything. Mayor's are worried about the attractiveness of their cities and getting re-elected. Having crimes reported in the local news doesn't help keep property values high (which creates higher property value tax revenues).
My Point ... My Recommended Solution
My point is this. Live your life happy but not naively. Be reasonably prepared to fight off a potentially dangerous attacker. Take some self-defense classes. Most martial arts or self defense classes don't typically give you the hardcore defense tactics you'll really need to fight off a true street predator. Predators don't have fancy attack methods but they are mean, brutal and highly aggressive. If you really want to see a predator in action, I believe Japanese film-makers captured the true predator character and actions in a 2011 movie called "I Saw the Devil" (Extreme Brutality).
In most cases when you're attacked on the street, you are likely fighting for your life. Being with a friend, date, spouse, or kids at the time of an attack will make you feel desperately helpless.
"With Power or Use of Force, Comes Great Responsibility"
An attack from a true Predator is much different than the ego driven, bully type, alpha male type fight, although these can escalate into life and death as well if adrenalin gets over flowing in the attacker or an attacking group of people. 'YouTube' had a barfight video where during a verbal confrontation, a young man threw one punch. The victim fell and hit his head on the hard bar floor. The victim died and the young man who threw the punch went to prison. His life will never be the same.
Should I Own or Carry a Firearm?
Own a gun for at home if you don't have children living in the home, and learn how to use it safely. For most people, I wouldn't recommend carrying a concealed handgun unless you're very familiar, comfortable and competent with them ... know the 'use of force' laws well, don't have a temper, and make sure you have your CCF license if you do carry outside the home. A little known fact ... unless you live in a state that has passed something called the "castle law," you will be surprised to know that you can be charged with aggravated assault, attempted murder, negligent homicide or outright murder if you successfully defend yourself against at attacker and it results in serious permanent injury or death to the attacker...even in your home. It sounds unbelievable, but it's true.
An Unbelievable Law about Defending Yourself
Most states require you to use every effort to escape an attacker whether on the street or even in your own home. Only after you've exhausted every reasonable way to avoid or escape the attack, and feeling that you're at risk of serious permanent injury or possibly that your life is in danger from the criminal, can you use lethal or near lethal force against an attacker. Fortunately, Florida has enacted "castle law," and recently, Ohio has followed the example. Castle law allows you to assume that your life is in danger if you are home when someone breaks in. It allows you to defend yourself within reasonable means and with lethal force if necessary. Both Florida and Ohio have extended castle law to any car you are riding in if personally attacked, such as in a carjacking attempt. You do need to justify why you believed that your life or the life of your family was in jeopardy. You need to check your own state laws to see if your state has castle law.
This 'use of force' law in most states applies to using any defensive force that could result in injury to another person .... yes, even against an attacker or brutal predator with a past criminal record. I remember being in court, observing a case against a young adult charged with auto theft and possession of stolen property. The prosecuting attorney was not allowed to introduce this defendant's past record of similar crimes as a means of establishing the likelihood that he was again involved in these crimes. The evidence of the crime being brought before the courts had to stand on its own merits. The same would be true in most cases of prosecuting someone for assault, or defending yourself in court for causing injury to your attacker. But first things first, I'd be more concerned with saving myself from an attack than about any resulting court case. Just be sure you're not using more force than is necessary. I'll have more to say on this subject on the following three webpages: unarmed self defense, self defense weapons and home security.
Personal Protection Possibilities and Recommendations
Most of us go about our day unarmed. That doesn't mean you have to be unprotected against a violent assault. On the unarmed self defense page, you'll get information on numerous defense options. I'll give you the scoop, based on my own experience, on what methods are useless, which are of some use, and the very few that can be most effective so you don't waste your time or money on something that probably won't work for you on the street. Worse than that, you don't want to have invested several years of time, effort and money to find out your new know-how doesn't work when you're face to face with the nightmare of being a potential victim. I'll point you in the most effective direction, so that isn't likely to happen. You'll also learn about the various levels of defense and appropriate use of force against attacks from an average fellow citizen, someome who is properly socialized; against attacks from the a-social personality; and against attacks from the anti-social personality, otherwise known as a sociopath.
Non-Lethal and Lethal Self Defense Weapons
Home Security Defense against Burglary or Home Invasion
BE PREPARED, BE SAFE, PROTECT YOUR FAMILY!
More Information is available on protecting yourself, family and friends against street predators using effective unarmed self defense tactics, use of practical self defense weapons, and useful home security information and weapons against burglars and brutal home invaders. This information is on the following webpages:
- You're at home or on the go, but violent predators can strike at any time. Be aware of your surroundings and be prepared regardless of where you are.
Protect yourself:
For More Crime Prevention Safety & Personal Protection Tips on:
Campus Safety - Protecting Your Home - Parking Lot Safety
Safety While Travelling - Street Smarts - Crime Watch Info
Kid Safety - The Best Self-Defense Tactics for the Street
Recommended Personal Protection Products
Recommended Websites - and more ...
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- going to work
- leaving work
- coming home
- while at home
- dog walking
- while jogging
- visiting friends
- on campus
- dormitories
- laundry rooms
- parking lots
- at parks
- coffee shops
- on dates
- while shopping
- travelling
- at rest stops
- at hotels
- neighborhood block watch
- absolutely anywhere and
everywhere you want to
feel and be safe
Copyright (C) April 9, 2010 by InnerCircleResources
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DISCLAIMER: This site is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website or any site linked to is considered to be legal advice or a guarantee of personal safety. There are no guarantees when it comes to crime, criminals or the result of their actions. Products recommended are based on my experience but no guarantees or warranties are implied.
