3-tips-for-crime-prevention-while-in-public

3 Travel Tips For Crime Prevention

3-tips-for-crime-prevention

When you are away from home, out in public or away traveling, here are three tips for crime prevention to help keep you from becoming a victim…


 

Know Your Area Of Travel

Particularly before you head out to a new area of travel, discover more about it or the place where you will be. Take a look at a map (online or otherwise) and capture a basic understanding for the routes of travel. Search for and read online reviews about a given place.

Try to find out ahead of time if the area or particular destinations suffer from higher crime. One tool to understand the history of crime for an area is an online resource, CrimeReports.com which show area maps dotted with crime reports in Canada, the U.S., and the UK.

Basically, better security is inherent when you don’t just go blindly into an area or place unfamiliar to you without doing some preliminary recon.

 

Situational Awareness Around You

Most people are mostly ignorant of their surroundings, and pay little to no attention to what’s happening beyond the few feet in front of them (or their smart-phone screen). If there is to be a victim, they often are the first to become victims. Predators look for the weaker prey. Someone who is always looking down, or who appears to be in their own little world, are prime targets for criminals.

Instead, scan around you from time to time. Walk with confidence, with your head up straight and walk with purpose – shoulders back, and confident. Not only might you avoid troublemakers, but they might avoid targeting YOU. Use situational awareness.

 

Eye Contact

While walking, or in crowded public places, make purposeful but relatively quick eye contact with others. Most people purposely avoid eye contact in public places – they want to remain in their own little world; and by looking down or avoiding eye contact they believe they are safe in their cocoon. The reality is that they are entirely wrong.

Occasionally scanning and making quick eye contact with others, will signal any potential criminal that you are not afraid. Staring though, will provoke.

6 Comments

  1. I use the scan technique , used to be a deputy and learned to read a lot of people by checking their eyes , there are some folks you can read . Also body language is a real tell on some folks , I try to be very aware of my surroundings and do not get into my own little world , that can get you screwed up bad .Be prepared and ready.Keep your powder dry.

  2. Avoid the bad part of town. When walking in public leave one arm free of carried items preferably your strong arm. When two or more people are walking towards you walk close to the building or fence so that they all must pass you on the same side preferably your weak side. When someone passes you turn your head slightly and with your peripheral vision make sure they don’t turn to approach you from behind. Keep moving even if a stranger starts talking to you, say something like “I’m not interested and keep putting distance between you and him/them. Watch out for someone overly friendly or asking questions. Muggers will often appear friendly and get close to you where they can sucker punch you with minimum risk or noise. If you choose to answer them keep at least an armslength from them, don’t let them distract your attention looking at something and don’t let them get close to you. Watch for anyone hanging around a chokepoint like a doorway, gate or narrowing area of the sidewalk. If it looks suspicious change your course to avoid them. If it is a group/gang of kids/people cross the street well ahead of passing them. Don’t sit in public, like a park or subway unless you can have your back to a wall. Stay in lighted areas and with other people. If you are approached by someone or a group who appear suspicious don’t focus on one of them keep your view wide and put yourself in a fighters stance without actually appearing to be ready to fight. That is feet shoulder width apart with typically your left foot 12 inches or so in front of your right foot. You can cross your arms without actually interlocing them and even better put your left hand on or near your chin like you were thinking. Your hands/arms should be ready to deflect a punch. Expect one to try to distract you and someone else to sucker punch you. Unless you are really good you can’t beat two or three men but you can hurt one of them and sometimes that’s enough. But you must hurt them not spar with them because you will be left open to attack. A fast punch to the Adam’s apple or a kick to the knee or groin. If you’re gonna take a beating anyway at least try to do some serious damage to one or more of your attackers. Talk about this ahead of time with your wife. Good advice for her is to stay back but not mor then ten feet or so from you. If you are attacked she should not jump in until and unless you are knocked to the ground. Then she can effectively distract the assailant long enough for you to get up. If it comes to a fight she should search for a weapon, a rock, a stick, a nail file, etc and be prepared to use it. She should dial 911, yell and scream distract the enemy.
    Carry a weapon, a small flashlight, a pocket knife, your keys. Don’t brandish a weapon use one only if attacked. They are more effective when the assailant doesn’t know you have it. A really good weapon that I carry when out walking is two large fish weights, the round cannonball type about 8 oz each. Tie one firmly to each end of 20” of paracord. You should then have two wieghts and you grasp one firmly and swing or “slingshot” the other towards your target. You must be fast to prevent the person from grabbing it and it is more effective that way. Don’t let them see it if possible it is most effective coming out of nowhere. It may well be illegal to use so just be aware of that.

    1. I like your idea for a weapon. I would make the connections of the cord to the two weights extremely hardy, so that if you pulled on them with all your might, they would continue to hold. I would seek a connecting cord which is thin and supple, a metallic braid perhaps, which could not be easily cut, and which could be as strong as possible. Not only could you swing one weight, you can grasp the cord’s center and swing both. The weights could be used to load your fist. Grabbed by the weights, the cord becomes a garrotte. If the connecting line is thin, it could be used to instantly kill an enemy, if you know how. It would be cheap to make, hide, abandon after use (garrotte), and thrown away. Silent, not readily recognized as a weapon, and potent in the hands of a trained fighter. A good defense against a knife attack. To my knowledge, such a device has no legal restrictions upon it, while a fighting knife is usually felony. If you use lead balls, and non-ferrous connections and connecting line, you could pass metal detectors with it.

      Another weapon is simply a wire garrotte, which uses two, thin, 1 1/2 inch metal pulls swagged at both ends. It is worn using the pulls under your shirt collar, like collar stiffeners, where the very thin titanium wire passes thru a hidden button hole, under the collar, at the rear of the neck. The wire’s tension loops down your back under your shirt. With your hands raised in submission at the height of your shoulders, they are perfectly placed to quickly remove your hidden collar stiffeners, and pull the garrotte from its place for instant use. The wire will form a loop on its own, as your hands stay close together, and you swiftly bring the loop over the head of the enemy. A quick, two-punch, action of your arms, causes the wire to cut the enemy’s neck and cause his death. You do not strangle with this weapon. You then let go of the garrotte, as it would take too long to retrieve it. Airport proof, Federal Building proof, very light, silent, lethal, cheap, unexpected. The entire thing can be made from NiTiNol, nickle-titanium alloy. Non-magnetic, never rusts, never breaks, reflects no light, very light, very strong stuff.

      The whole idea is to make and carry weapons which go undetected and are not easily recognized as being weapons. Use a small, extremely powerful, police, tactical style, flash light from Streamlight. It can easily blind an enemy, and is sturdy and weighty enough to load your fist, and to be used like a Kaga stick. Simply get the MOST powerful, and fist sized, flashlight, made of machined alloy, available on Earth. I used one for years, when I wore a badge. I loved it. Still have it.

  3. I assume you are all aware of the new app download which allows anyone with a cell phone to snap your picture and using the downloadable(?) app to use facial recognition software to pull up all public info on you, i.e. address, phone #, credit rating, criminal history, etc.

    Sorry for the run-on sentence.

  4. A good pair of runners and good cardio. Just run like a crazy person before the bad guys have time to approach you. Crazy works. A block away, they’ll just give up a look for another target.

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