Has Situational Awareness Ever Saved You?

Peetzakiller

If the good old USA is not a warzone then explain overcrowded prisons. Explain the persistant felony offender charge? I'm not advocating trenches and walls around every home but with the current generation of children born from 1990 on the amount of ADHD related medicines out there due to parental drug use during conception leads to a grim outlok. High drug use goes hand in hand with high crime.
 
Colonel Custer, in some ways I agree with you... However...

If drug possession and use were de-criminalized, that over-crowding problem would probably be gone next week.

Related crimes, IE thefts, assaults, etc by addicts would still exist - but those would be crimes in any case.

Point being, if you want to increase the crime rate, legislate more things into crimes. If you want to over-crowd your prisons, toss in some non-discretionary minimum sentences.

There can be more than one cause for any number of problems.
 
How does ADHD tie in with parental drug use?:confused:

Overcrowded prisons don't only include violent criminals. Since what was stated was the violent crime rate has been on the decline, and we know overcrowded prisons don't only have criminals convicted of violent crimes there, then the argument of overcrowded prisons equating a warzone doesn't add up.
 
peetzakilla
Violent crime has been on the decline as a nation wide average for years. "Your" town may not follow the trend.


Regardless, that's not even the point. The person to whom I was responding said that situation in American cities is "grim" and they resemble "combat zones".

Argue crime rates and find exceptions for sake of argument all night long, "grim combat zones" is asinine.

Here are some charts that get the point across:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

Notice the peak in the early 90s with a steady decline ever since.
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Violent crime OVERALL has decreased in this country (if you can believe the numbers) BUT also has shifted from big cities like NYC to 2nd tier and smaller cities. I tried to upload a denormalized spreadsheet of the FBI Crime Stats for the 1st half of 2011 to TFL but it would not take Excel spreadsheets. Go to THR, I'd posted it there. Anyone with a basic knowledge of MS Excel can filter through and sort the data to their liking. Some results are truly surprising.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=632375

This is only speculation, however, I believe one of the main reasons why big cities have experienced a drop in the violent crime rates is due to policing and surveillance (cameras). This is something that the budgets of smaller cities lack. So, if you live in a big city the news is good. If you live in a budget stricken 2nd or 3rd tier city - things ain't so good.
 
Onward Allusion, I think you'll find that meth has been behind a lot of that shift. People can build a meth lab in a trailer or small apartment.

We just moved from an area near a nice city that frequently makes "Top Ten places to live in America" lists (at least three or four times in the last 20 years). It's still nice.. but its hospital has a very large meth clinic, that is typically operating at capacity.

I have friends in rural Washington state who complain about meth labs near their neighborhoods; also rural NC; rural KS; rural TN... You get the idea.
 
http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/secure.aspx


Here are the Farmers Insurance Group’s Most Secure U.S. Places to Live for 2010:
Top large metro areas
Top medium size metro areas
Top small metro areas

Large Metro Areas (500,000 or more residents)
1.Madison, Wis.
2.Des Moines–West Des Moines, Iowa
3.Syracuse, N.Y.
4.Austin–Round Rock, Texas
5.Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine
6.Rochester, N.Y.
7.Honolulu, Hawaii
8.El Paso, Texas
9.Bethesda–Gaithersburg–Frederick, Md.
10.Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.
11.Pittsburgh, Pa.
12.Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, Minn.
13.Nassau–Suffolk Counties, N.Y.
14.McAllen–Edinburg–Mission, Texas
15.Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk, Conn.
16.Raleigh–Cary, N.C.
17.Albany–Schenectady–Troy, N.Y.
18.Wichita, Kan.
19.Buffalo–Niagara Falls, N.Y.
20.New Haven–Milford, Conn.
Mid-Size Cities (150,000 - 500,000 residents)
1.Olympia, Wash.
2.Sioux Falls, S.D.
3.Bellingham, Wash.
4.Kennewick–Richland–Pasco, Wash.
5.Fargo, N.D.–Moorhead, Minn.
6.Rochester, Minn.
7.Duluth, Minn.–Superior, Wis.
8.Binghamton, N.Y.
9.Lynchburg, Va.
10.Burlington, Vt.
11.St. Cloud, Minn.
12.Green Bay, Wis.
13.Yakima, Wash.
14.Appleton, Wis.
15.Spokane, Wash.
16.Bremerton–Silverdale, Wash.
17.Boulder, Colo.
18.Cedar Rapids, Iowa
19.Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, Ark.
20.Las Cruces, N.M.
Small Towns (Fewer than 150,000 residents)
1.Lewiston, Idaho–Clarkston, Wash.
2.State College, Pa.
3.Ithaca, N.Y.
4.Bismarck, N.D.
5.Logan, Utah
6.Wenatchee, Wash.
7.Morgantown, W.Va.
8.Billings, Mont.
9.Corvallis, Ore.
10.Midland, Texas
11.Sioux City, Iowa
12.La Crosse, Wis.–Winona, Minn.
13.Elmira, N.Y.
14.Rapid City, S.D.
15.Oshkosh–Neenah, Wis.
16.Eau Claire, Wis.
17.Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Wash.
18.Fond du Lac, Wis.
19.Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford, Va.
20.Grand Forks, N.D.–Crookston, Minn.


There are places in this world far worse than anywhere in America.


Keep your eyes open and ears on, avoid bad places.
 
Situational awareness has kept me out of trouble plenty of times. I also find it hard to believe how many people are oblivious of what is around them. This particular instance was before I had my LTCH but I still made sure I had a knife on me at all times. (Yeah I know, school trip and I'm carrying a knife. What can I say? I don't trust people. I kept it to myself and turned out I was happy I had it.)

I was on a school trip in Washington DC and towards the end of the week a bunch of us had gone to a mall. Myself and one other buddy and been walking around and we ran into a few of the girls who were in our group. We started talking when a man walked by real close (the mall wasn't terribly crowded and the proximity just seemed weird) and eyed one of the girls rather intently. Over the next 30 minutes I noticed the same man maybe 3 or 4 more times. Somewhere in there I went from yellow to orange. At this point we go to the food court and grab some lunch. The same girl I mentioned earlier gets up to use the restroom which is down a hallway close to where we are sitting. The hallway had, I think, a row of payphones, followed by the men's bathroom, then the woman's bathroom at the end. As she is walking to the bathroom I noticed the same man, once again eyeing my friend and walking towards her. At this point I'm standing but not doing anything yet. He turns down the hallway and I'm starting to walk towards him, deciding not to act further unless he walks past the men's bathroom, for all I know the whole thing is just a weird coincedence. The moment he walked past the men's bathroom door I started running. I went from orange to red and remember grabbing the knife from my pocket (I never did open it though). I remember yelling at him to get away from the door and get lost (I won't repeat the actual phrasing). He turned around and at first looked ready for a fight, he saw me (I'm a bigger guy and at the time I was hitting the gym 5 days a week) and my buddy who I guess realized what was going on and followed me. The guy then gets all apologetic and gives the whole "I'm sorry," "And I'm not looking for a fight," and "its not what it looks like." I told him to get lost, waited for the friend, who never noticed anything and looked completely bewildered to find us both standing outside the bathroom when she walked out, and we phoned the chaparone and left. I reported it to mall security and gave a description, in hopes the same thing could be prevented in the future.

I think what got me the most is that had I not noticed him, who knows what may have happened. Everyone else in the group said they hadn't noticed a thing until I was out of my chair and running.
 
I believe one of the main reasons why big cities have experienced a drop in the violent crime rates is due to policing and surveillance (cameras).
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Another is that the trash is moving out of the big cities for the suburbs. For example, witness the drop in crime over the years in Detroit, but the rise of same in it's surrounding cities. Detroit hasn't been the murder capital for quite a while as it spreads it's refuse to it's neighbors. Our housing crisis has had a lot to do with the flight of Detroit's worst.
 
Yikes, if Spokane WA is the 15th most safe place in America, wow, we are under siege. I have most of my medical appointments in Spokane while up in Idaho. Spokane is a town that I would not want to venture after dark, period. Here are some crime stories from earlier this year. Home invasions seem to be one of the biggest things we always hear about on the news and radio while up in Idaho.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sirens/tags/home-invasion-robberies/

Here is the latest from today:

http://www.khq.com/story/15976623/early-morning-home-invasion-attempt-thwarted-by-resident

Home invasions are one of the most dreadful crimes, and that is what we hear all the time while up there. We only hope that the folks in Spokane never learn how to drive down the road to Idaho anytime soon. In any case, up in Idaho, too many rednecks armed to the teeth. Maybe that is why they don't drive down the road to our neck of the woods 30 minutes away.

In any case, I am not impressed with how "safe" Spokane is and I am always on condition yellow in that town.
 
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Not me really but it saved my partner once. We were enroute to an event and had to fuel the ambulance. We stopped and my partner who was driving got out and was fueling. All the sudden I hear him talking to someone. I look in the back and all of my crew is in the truck. I quietly open my door and walk around back of the truck. I find 1 guy chatting up my partner and 3 others on the corner staring at him. Now we've got the first guy between us and I'm between him and the other 3 guys. He realizes I'm there and watching him. He now knows the jig is up, ends his conversation and rolls out. He rejoined his buddies and they all walked down the street together. I'm sure we were gonna get jacked for our drugs. If it wasn't for my partner getting hurt in the process it might have been funny for them to try (i said might, obviously we don't know if they were armed. Unlike a normal ambulance with just 2, there was 6 young guys in the truck (we were shuttling to the event).
 
Some of the "situational awareness" incidents that some have mentioned, would have been hard to miss.

Maybe true awareness is avoiding those things that aren't so obvious, but are there if you're really aware. We may never know what might have happened had we not picked up on those subtle signs and gone the other way or taken some avoidance action.
 
Yikes, if Spokane WA is the 15th most safe place in America, wow, we are under siege. I have most of my medical appointments in Spokane while up in Idaho. Spokane is a town that I would not want to venture after dark, period. Here are some crime stories from earlier this year. Home invasions seem to be one of the biggest things we always hear about on the news and radio while up in Idaho.
Click to expand...

Don't be irrational, Alaska444. Didn't you hear that the crime rate is dropping ALL over America? :D

While you're out and about in various places, really experiencing what's happening, others are sitting home looking up official statistics that say you shouldn't be experiencing what you are.:p

OK, I had to get that out of my system. I'll go have some Kava to calm me dow.;)
 
My answer: Yes. More than a few times in my LE capacity, and on one memorable occasion while on my own time. My girlfriend and I were sitting in her parked car in the parking lot of a local Recreational Center, after dark [I was in my early 20s and didn't know any better]. Her car was parked near the building, with the front of the car facing the street, and the rear of it facing the building's front. While we sat talking, I noticed two guys walking by in front of us, about 30 feet away. They pretended to pay us no mind, and they walked on, going behind us and disappearing around the corner of the building. However, I kept my eyes open and about 30 seconds later, I noticed one of them peeking at us around the corner. His buddy reappeared with him, joining him as they both watched us intently. I was armed; I had my S&W 645 with me. But I was also armed with something else, namely situational awareness. We immediately made a very hasty retreat, and that was my last time "parking". As I've said before: Mighty hard to lose the fight if you're gone when it starts.
 
I was armed; I had my S&W 645 with me. But I was also armed with something else, namely situational awareness. We immediately made a very hasty retreat, and that was my last time "parking". As I've said before: Mighty hard to lose the fight if you're gone when it starts.
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This is the most important part ^^


The most important weapon is between your ears. You may be armed to the teeth but, knowing what is going on around you, and reacting to it can save your life.
 
hard target

as an active duty veteran with 3 all expenses payed trips to the Middle East I can say that many things come into play when it comes to evading danger. A hard target being the main thing in my opinion. For a more practical example, someone who is walking around texting and talking into their bluetooth head set all day paying no attention to anything but the "important" text or phone conversation is a much softer target than someone who is legally carrying a firearm, (or two) watching his or her 6 o'clock, and generally being aware of everything and everyone around them. When I was overseas in a combat zone, I never pulled the trigger or hammered down on the butterfly because I never had to. My head was on a swivel, constantly scanning potential danger areas and people, both with my eyes and my weapon system. My unit never engaged in major combat because we at all times presented a hard target. Very unfortunately, not all the other units were so fortunate. If it walks and talks like a duck, future predators will most likely assume it is a duck~me
 
Im wandering about these statistics some are talking about, who are putting these out anyway. Our news media, maybe our government maybe? How many would actually believe this from anyone of these two??? haha I can pull a statistic right now out of my butt too, would you believe it because I said it was so?
 
others are sitting home looking up official statistics that say you shouldn't be experiencing what you are
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Thats funny. They are from a insurance company, has no relation to real life. Most police forces arrange stats to make their post look safer than it is.

Where I work, in the north omaha area 30th and fort st to be exact, I see a lot of gangster types, had a shooting right outside the office last year 2 guys were shot up.


But to say we are in a battle zone or something, well I just dont see that.
 
Always watching

Im always watching everyone everything everywhere I go, I try not to put myself in any situations where I'm cornered, and I never let myself be a soft target.

A couple times recently I have had people make obscene moves in traffic such as accelerating around me just to cut me off and slam on the brakes (Arizona drivers). I drive a Miata by the way, this guy makes his move I swerve pass him and he follows me like hes on a mission to get me, keep in mind I am 155lbs and 5'11" basically the definition of skinny white kid, the guy chasing me was a heavy set Latino fellow in a camry, I took a few quick turns ran a red (taking a right) and got away. This has happened a couple of times with the person giving chase disappearing around a corner behind me.


A couple years ago I had been jumped by a group of Mexicans in my low income housing neighborhood (they cornered me) , it wasn't too bad just a black eye and a few bruises. Two weeks after I moved out of the "hood" my old roommate was walking down the same street, he is the same size and build as I am, the same group of guys walks towards him and one says "what size shoes are those" he had my CZ40p on him and he presented it racked a round and said ".40 cal" they backed off and he walked home. I later told him that he could have been shot and it would have been the five of them vs him in court, if he was still alive, and to keep it loaded next time.

From this I learned to always be aware of my surroundings and to avoid anyone that looks even remotely suspicious. Since then I haven't had any real notable issues.
 
No assailants yet as far as I know but I was glad to have been watching out for a few times that could have turned into trouble. Ever have a car pull up behind you at a parking lot ATM and the 2 young males leave the engine idling?

The biggest returns from situational awareness so far have been while driving. It usually involves keeping more distance, noting other people's sudden stops and turns, poor signaling, and erratic speeds and poor lane position when turning. Some like to creep into other lanes. Once I was driving on the interstate and the U-Haul unit someone was towing came unhitched so the runaway unit drifted across several lanes before crashing into the median. I was polite and let it pass in front of me.
 
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