Springtime Is Here...Get Ready For Crimetime

The trees are budding, the grass is growing, the birds are chirping and the weather is warmer.  Spring is here!!

The end of Winter and the beginning of Spring brings increased temperatures, increased outside activities, increased daylight hours and unfortunately increased crime!  The warmer months are the time of year with higher occurrences of crime, especially personal crime such as assaults, robberies, rapes and murders.

Whenever you have more people interacting with each other you have increased occurrences of crime.  This is especially true when you have teenagers and young adults who are out of school with not much to do.  "Idle hands are the devil's tools".  Add heat to bored people in large groups and you have a prescription for crime.

If course, the reasons for the increase in crime are really not all that important to most people.  The resulting increase in crime is what we have to deal with.  Fortunately there are simple, inexpensive tactics and tools that you can use to decrease your chances of being a victim of crime.  Here are just a few:

1. Lights -
1. Leave your porch lights on.  Criminals are like cockroaches...they avoid the light and scurry when light is shined on them. 
2. You can use motion-sensing lights to conserve energy and timers so you don't have to remember to turn them on. 
3. Using a timer on at least one light so it turns on the same time all-year long is a great way to make a criminal who is "casing" your house think there is someone home all the time. 
4. Timers are also good for when you are on vacation.  They allow you to simulate activity in your residence.
2. Locks -
1. Having and using locks is one of the best ways to defeat crimes of opportunity and non-professional criminals. 
2. Lock your vehicle doors all the time.  When you get in your vehicle, lock your doors IMMEDIATELY.  Even before you put the key in the ignition or put your seatbelt on, LOCK YOUR DOORS and keep them locked until you are ready to immediately exit your vehicle.
3. ALL doors that lead out of your residence should have quality dead-bolt on them.  This includes on the front door, side doors and rear doors.  It also includes doors to any attached garage, sunroom or breezeways.
4. The locks MUST have adequate screws attaching them to the frame.  A minimum of 3" screws must be used on all locks, hinges and other contact points between the door and you door-frame.  The frame is the weakest part of the door and is usually what fails when there is a forced-entry.
3. TLC -
1. The condition of your house can actually be a deterrent to crime.  If you have a well-kept yard it tells criminals that there is someone who cares about their property and probably has taken steps to protect it.  It can also make them think there is an able-bodies person who lives there...even if there is not.
2. Keeping valuables out-of-sight discourages simple theft.  Lock up bicycles, lawn equipment and other items that can be stolen and then sold or pawned.
3. Keep ladders and other tools that can be used to break into your residence.  Criminals will use anything and everything they can to commit their crimes.  Don't have them use your own tools against you.
4. Dogs -
1. Dogs are one of the best crime deterrents there is.  The mere threat of being bitten by a dog can cause even the most toughened criminal to move on.
2. Studies have shown that criminals fear a dog more than an armed home-owner.  This is partly due to the fact that you cannot reason with a  dog they way you can reason with a human.  If a dog decides he/she is going to bite you...YOU WILL BE BITTEN.  You cannot say, "Never mind Fido, I'll leave."  If you violate a dogs territory, they are awfully unforgiving.
3. Dogs can give you an early-warning when someone is on your property.  They can attack someone who has broken into your home and the mere presence of a dog can cause a criminal to look elsewhere for their target.
4. Even if you don't have or want a dog, you can still use one.  Buy a "Beware of Dog" sign and put it in your front yard.  Get a large dog bowl and write "Killer" on it and put it on your porch.  Ask a neighbor with a dog if you can have some old chew toys and put them in your back yard or on your back porch.  All of these can trick a criminal into thinking you have a dog.
5. When you go for a walk, run or whenever you go out-and-about, having your dog with you is a great deterrent.  Of course the size and breed of the dog makes a difference in the amount of apprehension that a criminal will have.
5. Go Armed -
1. Having a personal protection tool  and knowing how to use it is a good idea. 
2. This is especially true if you encounter a criminal who is unimpressed by all the other tactics and tools your have employed to deter criminal attack.  If a criminal is cunning enough, crazy enough, desperate enough to defeat or ignore all of your preparation, then having a way to quickly and effectively stop their criminal attack will be needed. 
3. A firearm is one of the best ways to stop a criminal attack.  Whether it be a handgun on your person or a rifle or shot shotgun in your safe-room, using a firearm may be the only way to stop someone from hurting your or someone you love.  Training is VITAL to ensure you know how to safely and effectively own and use a firearm.
4. Pepper-spray is also an effective means of stopping someone.  In some instances it can be as effective or even more effective than a firearm.  Using a mist or fogger type of spray can create a barrier that is very difficult (but NOT IMPOSSIBLE) for someone to penetrate.  Stream or foam pepper-spray canisters can be used as direct use on the attackers eyes and mucus membranes.  Again, training is imperative so that you know when and how to deploy pepper-spray.  Knowing what is can and cannot or may not do is also important.

These are just some of the things you can do to deter and/or stop a criminal attack.  As with all things, nothing is guaranteed and you MUST be prepared for the failure of each and every one of the above.  You must have a plan as well as a backup plan.

Only by seeking knowledge and training and then taking action will you increase your safety and security.  As we often say: Your mind is your ultimate weapon.  It is up to you whether you will arm it and use it effectively or not.


Get Trained and BE SAFE!