How Will You Defend Yourself When There Are No Police?

With police walking out on the job all over the US, and most recently in Atlanta where officers are walking out, nobody can respond to 911 calls and the citizens at a loss of what to do.

How much do you rely on the police?

Even during ‘peacetime’, police response times on average are about 10 minutes.

10 minutes!

That means, you’d first have to call the police, then wait 10 minutes for them to show up.

If you look at an average attack, most people are having to actually deal with the attack before they’re even able to call 911.

So let’s say it takes 2 minutes to fend off the attacker. Then you finally get to call (or maybe a stranger calls it in). Now you have to wait another 10 minutes for police to arrive.

Of course, times really vary based on city, what events are going on, how many officers are on duty and available to respond, weather and so on.

In many cases, 911 isn’t even called until after the incident has already taken place.

I’m not here to make the case one way or another about whether the police should be defunded and disbanded.

I’m here to encourage you to take your own preparedness and self-defense seriously.

As preppers we always talk about a lawless society at the end of the world. But would there really be a lawless society?

Even in the ‘autonomous zone’ in Seattle, as much as they’re against law, they were quick to establish some sort of law. The police force in the US was established a mere 400 years ago. It only became standard place for police cars to patrol the streets after WWII.

Police in Europe has been around since 3000 BC. The first policing organization was established in Egypt where officials would collect taxes and oversee security. However, crimes between individuals was usually resolved between those individuals.

In 6 AD, there were three groups of police to protect Rome from crime and fire.

Law enforcement in some fashion or another has been around a long time.

Regardless whether there’s law or not, unless you’re a celebrity, you don’t have a bodyguard.

Who will be there to protect you? YOU!

You need to be your own bodyguard.

People have relied on the police, fire and other first world systems to get us through everyday and we’ve become complacent that they will always be there to protect us.

Unfortunately, even in ‘good’ times, we’re the only ones responsible for our well being, that includes our self-defense.

Here’s what you need to do to defend yourself:

1. Be aware – Situational awareness is a great first step to spotting crime before it even happens. Let’s say you get home from work, you get out of your car and you notice that one of your plants has been knocked down. Was it from the wind? A stray cat? Or was someone trying to look for a key to gain access into your home? You would then begin to assess your home for any further damage and you’d take extra precautions before and as you enter your home. Once you enter your home, you’d then sweep your home, looking in closets, under beds, etc. and looking for any other signs of forced entry. Noticing changes in your home, your car, in your neighborhood, while you’re walking the streets or in a grocery store, at your workplace, etc., will help you be prepared for anything. Even ever so slight changes of sights, smells or sounds, could save your life.
2. Gather intel – Always be gathering intel about the crime rate in your area, monitoring social media for your local area, monitoring police scanners, monitoring general ham radio frequencies, etc. Always be gathering intel so you have the latest information.
3. Secure your home – Let’s look at #1 about being aware. Let’s say you noticed the pot, but before you go near it or even enter your home, you look at your security camera first which you can access from your phone. Your security camera shows someone that came to your door, knocked, tried to get in, knocked the plant down to look for a key, but then left. But did they leave? Do you have more than one security camera around your home? Many security cameras these days will notify your phone if there’s any motion. The Ring is particularly nice because it’s a camera and it acts as your doorbell, so you always know who is at your door, whether you’re home or not. There are many security cameras that offer the same features. Place them around your home. Get motion sensor lights, remove any tall bushes that people can hide behind, light up any dark spots outside your home, secure your windows and doors, install a kick plate and much more.
4. Weapons – Having any type of weapon in the home is a hot topic, especially with kids. I highly encourage buying a firearm and learning how to use it. A firearm really is the great equalizer. If you have kids, make sure to keep it secure, but also teach them about firearm safety. There are a lot of great firearm resources for kids. You should be an advocate for safe and responsible firearm ownership. Of course, if firearm ownership isn’t for you, train regularly with non-lethal options. Also, don’t forget to train and manage your fear and stress levels.
5. Form alliances with neighbors – Community really is an asset, in goods times and bad. You don’t have to be BFF’s with your neighbors, just get to know them a little, be friendly with them and if the time ever comes when something drastic happens and they need help or you need help, community is there. While you should be responsible for yourself, there’s also nothing wrong with joining forces with your community. There really is strength in numbers.
6. Avoid high crime areas – Of course if you know that an area is high crime, then avoid it all together. Avoiding bad situations is definitely a good start. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be safe if you just stay out of high crime areas, it just means you’re reducing your risk. Anyone can be a target at any location.
7. Get to know your local laws – This sounds silly when we’re talking about being your own bodyguard, but at this time, there still are laws that we’ll have to answer to. Get to know your local defense laws.
8. If things get too wild, leave – It doesn’t matter where you live, if you see an increase in crime or other events that make it an unsafe environment for you and your family, then leave and relocate. I know it may sound easier said than done, but we have to do what’s best for our family to remain safe.

Listen, nobody is saying you’re going to be on the run for your life 24/7 or you’ll have to defend yourself and your home every second of the day. However, bad things happen all the time. Just because it “happens to other people”, doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen to you. Taking these precautions will increase your chances of not only preventing you from becoming a victim, but if someone were to choose you as a victim, you’d be able to defend yourself and your loved ones.

The bottom line is, you need to make yourself a hard target. You need to let others know that if they mess with you, your home or your family, they’re gonna have a bad day. Keep your head up, walk with purpose, be aware, keep your self-defense tools handy and never be a victim.

Remember this saying:

When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.