Wow, was I surprised

[kirkcdl]

Add to that:in the country robberies are not so common,another reason is that a higher percentage of the population is armed in the country versus the city.

 

[middy]

Another fact:

In rural areas, people tend to only murder their own kin. If you're not related to them, you're probably in no danger.

 

[bogie]

I used to live in roughly the geographic center of a metro area of about 2 million people.

EVERY time I called the cops, except one, including on a shots fired incident, they took at least 20 minutes to arrive. The one exception was one of my neighbors, who either took too much or not enough of an obviously needed medication, who decided that a summer evening would be a great time for her to run up and down the road in front of the apartment buildings screaming... Oh, and nekkid as a jaybird... Didn't know what was going on, called the cops. In the _five minutes_ before the neighborhood looked like someone was giving away free donuts, boyfriend managed to get her to put on her clothes. Bad idea. Her car keys were in a pocket. She managed to make at least three passes up and down the street, with a yard job at each end to turn around, before the cops showed. She bailed, and immediately got clotheslined... I was a little worried about that (bowing...) but since she then commenced to trying to kill the police with her (untrained...) bare hands, I didn't have to worry long...

 

[Powderman]

I'm new to the whole scene. I thought the more people, the more cops, the faster the responders. :banghead:

Not quite, friend.

Police work by its very nature is only about 25% pro-active, and 75% reactive. The emphasis today for officers on patrol is aggressive, proactive community oriented patrol, with different tactics designed to put on a show of force--being there, being part of the community, getting to be known by business owners, more community contacts, etc.

Unfortunately, that does NOT help to a great extent.

Crime does decrease in areas where police presence is maintained--but that is mostly due to the deterrence value of the uniformed officer. When that officer leaves the area--as he or she must on occasion--criminals are free to work at will.

And, there is also the chance of the major incident that occurs that will draw law enforcement resources from the area--and don't believe for a second that the savvy criminal will not take advantage.

This leads to your statement. Police work is by its nature, reactive. This means simply that I don't get the call until YOU diall 911. And, when are you going to dial 911?

Most of the time, it's AFTER the incident has occurred. There are a few times that 911 is called prior to an incident occurring--that's when you get those hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck-standingup-ohmygosh-whatwasthatshadowoutside-there'sathumpatthebackdoor-moments. Believe me, we LOVE those calls. It gives us the chance to actually do the "Protect" part of Serve and Protect.

We get a call of a crime in progress, or a prowler call, of something to that effect, we drop everything and try our level best to find out just how fast a CVPI can run. And, sometimes, those stories have decent endings.

Tacoma Police responded to a call of a woman screaming near a wooded area. They responded post haste and deployed K9--who found a rape in progress. The puppy got to play! The puppy took a good chunk from the rapist's butt, too.

I saw the perp while I was booking someone into Pierce County Jail on an unrelated charge. He looked somewhat dimished because there was a big pressure dressing on his butt and about six big beefy cops staring at him like he was a piece of meat. If he had twitched wrong, he would have been pounded into meatloaf. (Did I mention that cops hate rapists? )

In another one that just happened, Kent PD got a call. They heard a woman say, "Please don't hurt me"; she then told dispatch that she was not free to talk. Police responded--and again interrupted a rape in progress.

Unfortunately, we can't be there all the time. I wish I could--I would gladly give up any off time I have, any sleep I might get--heck, I'd even skip eating if I could constantly respond BEFORE someone gets victimized.

But I can't. No one can.

Which is why the best approach to take is to protect yourself and your family.

Forget pepper spray. It works sometime, but other times it doesn't.
Don't carry knives as a primary weapon unless you are willing to spend some serious time training. Serious as in at least 6 days a week, a couple of hours or more a day.

So, what do you do? Get some good instruction, some training, and know the laws in your area.

Then, procure some iron. The brand is irrelevant, as long as it is serviceable, reliable, reasonably accurate and as long as it fits you well.

Perhaps ein gut Deutsche pistolen: Heckler und Koch, Walther, Korth, SIG/Sauer, perhaps even Luger, or Mauser;

Favor something from Austria? A gentleman named Glock might have something that fits well;

If you favor the Mediterranean, perhaps the oldest gunmaker in the world, Pietro Beretta, might have something that interests you.

If your tastes are similar to those of our Canadian brothers, there's Para-Ordnance.

Or, you might be a traditionalist. Stuff some good American iron in that holster: Colt, Smith and Wesson, Ruger, Taurus, whatever you feel good with.

A very wise person once said, "No one ever raped a .38." I tend to agree with them.

Read my signature line. It's a somewhat paraphrased copy of a line that is attributed to be the Colt motto.

Above all, be safe. Call us when you need to--but be prepared in any case to defend yourself and your loved ones.

 

[Hot brass]

Some items were stolen from my wifes vehicle and I called the cops. I had on a jacket and was armed. As the cop was going through the car and I am getting hot with the jacket on, I informed the officer that I am a CCW holder and have the arm on me as we speak and did not want him to see the arm and get excited. He said don`t worry about it. I was breathless.

 

[KAR120C]

OK, I'll go against the tide here. I don't have the statistic at hand, but I'm pretty sure I've seen where it is actually more dangerous (on a per capita basis) in rural areas than in the big city. There may be more criminals in the city, but as a potential victim you are also hiding in a bigger heard. Many people tend to over estimate how safe they are in the country.

Having said that... I would never advocate not carrying in the city because there are more cops around. Bad things can happen anywhere. Be prepared.

 

[Valkman]

Spend some time in Vegas and you won't think big cities are so safe. Armed is the only way I go out, as no police are going to stop the robberies and car jackings that go on here. Their only job is to write the report afterwards.

The police here are always understaffed and underpaid - everyone knows you can speed around everywhere with little chance of being stopped. They've take to ganging up on a major intersection and working it with 10 or 12 officers for a day because they just can't cover the whole area.

 

[Strings]

>The puppy took a good chunk from the rapist's butt, too.<

Powderman: if you PM me with a contact addy, I'll happily send a bit of cash to provide that dog with a steak for a job well done! BRAVO!

 

[pete f]

there are also issues of traffic and congestion, in rural areas, 30 miles does not mean 30 minutes, sometimes it means 15 minutes. I have to say that in the cities, 2 miles may mean 10 minutes, maybe more? I have to say that I have spent lots of time in Farm land...no real crime occuring out there, but once i got to smaller townes, a lot of crime was going on, maybe more than in a city, at leasat more noticable, small petty theft, drug and alchohol issues, and now lots of meth. In the big cities, lots of property crimes, lots of criminals walking on the edge of society, murder is part of the drug business. That is something people forget. when you take away drugs, usually crime drops way down...

 

[mountainclmbr]

A big city offers anonynimity to professional crooks. That is why they go there.

 

[MachIVshooter]

OK, I'll go against the tide here. I don't have the statistic at hand, but I'm pretty sure I've seen where it is actually more dangerous (on a per capita basis) in rural areas than in the big city. There may be more criminals in the city, but as a potential victim you are also hiding in a bigger heard. Many people tend to over estimate how safe they are in the country.

If you get bored, do a search for Homicides, abductions and rapes in Elbert County, Colorado. Good luck!

FYI, the current population density is roughly 11 people/square mile.