Local Security

As you might expect when economic uncertainty and strife rise, what follows is usually an increase in theft and other criminal activities. Our law enforcement officers do an admirable job of risking their lives to protect our communities from such activities, but unfortunately such is not always enough. As one former police officer told me, they cannot be everywhere at every time. Often by the time they arrive at a scene it is too late to prevent what happened, and they are limited to tracking down the perpetrator after the fact. One of the goals of Arm in Arm is to assist our local law enforcement officers in the process of preventing such an escalation of criminal activity.

First and foremost, people need to be educated about what is called situational awareness. Even if you are not armed, there are things you can do to deter crimes. Criminals generally look for "easy marks," as they seek the path of least resistance to a quick buck. Most people walk around in a semi-conscious state, unaware of their environment, precisely because we take our safety for granted. The majority of the time this works perfectly well, but it only takes one moment of letting your guard down to become the victim of a violent crime. By cultivating a mindset of awareness of your surroundings, you have the potential to deter someone from catching you by surprise.

Among the techniques of deterrence there are also several things you can do to better prevent crime. For example, the simple installation of a cheap kill switch in a car can be a very effective mechanism to prevent your car from being stolen. We all have locks on our doors, but criminals have a variety of ways to defeat them. Setting a simple door brace on your front door when you go to bed can be very inexpensive piece of mind at night. There are also a variety of off the shelf modular alarm systems that have become very affordable in the last several years. Also, remember that criminals will usually look for signs that a person is not at home before breaking in. By leaving your lights and television on when you are not at home, and routinely keeping your car in the garage, it will be difficult for a criminal to determine a good time to raid your house.

Additionally, there is the consideration of arming oneself to prevent being taken advantage of. This is particularly a concern with regards to women who could become overpowered by a strong man. One does not have to carry a gun if one is not comfortable doing so, as there are several types of nonlethal weapons such as pepper spray. What is important is knowing how to use them and remembering to carry them with you in a manner such that you will have access to them in times of emergency. That bottle of mace does you no good if you left it at home the day an attacker strikes.

A handgun is arguably one of the best defenses a person could have if faced with an encounter with a violent criminal, particularly, if the offender is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs such that pepper spray or a taser might not stop them in their tracks. In both Washington and Idaho open carry of weapons are allowed, and each state also offers concealed carry permits to qualified citizens. It must be emphasized, however, that if you do carry a firearm, you need to know the statutes on the use of lawful force and need to consider ahead of time what actions are appropriate in a given situation. When the emergency arises, if one is not prepared, one is likely to panic and not be able to process the best action in a given situation. This could result in both a danger to yourself, as well as an innocent bystander.

For these reasons, we believe it is imperative that those who do chose to carry firearms are properly instructed in how to use them. Shooting a handgun accurately is not as easy as it looks in the movies. There is a significant muzzle rise associated with a large caliber handgun, and it therefore takes practice to be able to shoot reasonably accurately. When you throw in the effects of adrenaline in an extreme situation, this can be particularly problematic. If you do not hit the attacker, not only are you leaving yourself open for personal harm, you are also potentially hitting someone else behind him that might just be passing through. Being trained by someone who knows how to handle a weapon is very important to anyone who considers carrying a concealed armament of any kind.

The above examples demonstrate how education can be a key element to creating a safer community. What we want to create in the Arm in Arm is an environment where such knowledge can be more readily disseminated. There are many people in this area who have experience with weapons or security devices, and we would like to network them with those who are novices so that they can get the proper training. As our numbers grow, we would also like to sponsor lectures from local law enforcement officers to better train our local citizens on how they can help prevent crime.

There are also some situations where the above measures themselves might not be enough. If there is a massive economic collapse, we are going to be facing a situation that most of us have never witnessed before. If we are unsuccessful in creating a local economy that can weather this storm, we have to consider the unlikely event that massive rioting and looting could ensue. In this particular area of the country, where the population density is relatively low and home ownership of firearms is reasonably common, this is probably a very small risk. Nevertheless, it is one that we should consider. This was put best in an article called the "The Thin Blue Line" by a writer calling himself Deputy W. I read last year, a portion of which I will quote below:

Now to the big point I’m making. Here’s where it gets really scary, and the vulnerability of the thin blue line becomes apparent. I am employed in a county with a population of 40,000 people. We have a city of 25,000 as a county seat. At most, the agencies in my area could muster about 50 officers. This means that there would be an 800 to 1 ratio of citizens to police officers in our area. It would be impossible to maintain order with this ratio. We would be lucky to be able to hold a few buildings, let alone provide law enforcement service to 1,000 square miles of rural area.

Now imagine this happening in every city in town in America, all at the same time. The number of law enforcement officers, National Guard, and [Reserve Component and active duty] soldiers would be wholly inadequate to even make a small dent in widespread civil disorder. There are many Friday and Saturday nights when our local law enforcement agencies have to stack service calls for two hours due to high call volume, and this is during normal times. If law enforcement agencies can’t answer calls in a timely manner during normal times, how could a reasonable person expect law enforcement to be there during a societal collapse?I also urge you to consider this. There is no way that I, even as a police officer, can abandon my God-given responsibility to care for and protect my own family. There are times when retreat is the better part of valor, and if that terrible time comes, the vast majority of officers will not be able to justify in their own minds fighting a lost cause. They will retreat and take care of their family, which is what the brotherhood of the thin blue line is all about. Don’t misunderstand. The huge majority of law enforcement officers perform a very dangerous profession honorably and to the very best of their ability. But drastic times will call for drastic measures from everyone, and the preparedness minded person can’t assume that the thin blue line will always remain intact.

Hopefully, things will never come to this in the United States. However, that does not mean that we should not be prepared for such an event, because if it ever did happen the consequences would be disastrous. This is why I believe it is imperative that people from their neighborhoods network together and with their local law enforcement officials to plan a contingency plan for just such a situation. There needs to be a system set up where in the event of an emergency, a large group of trained civilian volunteers could be called up by the local sheriff's office to protect the local community in the event of such unrest. In fact, the rapid mobilization of such a group would likely go a long way towards diffusing such unrest before it spirals out of control. More importantly, if we all start working together NOW in terms of economic contingency planning, as well as neighborhood security, there is a much better chance our region will never witness such a scenario even if our worst fears about the economy become true. The key though is establishing these relationships NOW both with your neighborhoods, our elected officials, and our local law enforcement community. Only by coordinating our efforts can we reasonably ensure Deputy W.'s fears do not become a reality in our region.