Personal protection....

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I''ve been thinking about this for a long time, and some recent posts in the latest SF
get-together thread has actually inspired me to ask:

Does anyone carry with them defense/alarm devices when going about their daily routines? Is there a favorite, preferred method of self protection for women unskilled in martial arts?

I suspect I''d never be comfortable carrying a ''weapon'' (mace, stungun, etc) but would really like to get some sort of inobtrusive personal alarm.

After a quick web search, I''ve found three different types: Battery run alarms, aerosol ''screechers'', and of course, good old fashioned whistles. Are there more options? Which type would be best?

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated....and interesting!

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[aussiegirl23]

Widget,

While it certainly may not be for everyone, but I carry a mini-pepper spray gizmo with me at all times. It has a wierd enough ''shoot'' mechanism that there''s no way it''ll go off accidentally, but is easy to do quickly when you intend to. I''ve never used it, never even had to think about it, but honestly, it makes me feel better knowing it''s there. I live in a fairly urban area of Boston right now (just for the summer) and am living alone (the boyfriend is doing Army training out of town)... Other than that, my idea of self defense is knowing how and when to give a swift kick in the balls when the situation warrants it. My boyfriend sort of enouraged me buying and carrying the pepper spray, but I finally decided it couldn''t hurt and took the initiative to do it myself. It is a pretty dramatic difference being here as opposed to where I live a few hours outside St. Louis most of the time. This gave me piece of mind... especially when my boyfriend is not around making me feel safe walking around at night!

Sorry this isn''t exactly what you were asking about, but I figured I''d give my .02 about the more obtrusive ''weapons'' out there.
Best of luck,

Aussiegirl : p

 

[divergrrl]

You guys can borrow my german shepherd Sascha for the get-together. She was obedience trained at the Police dog facility and has great instincts.

She''d kick some serious boo-tay....


woof!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

I don''t really have an answer, although I''ll be interested to hear what people say.

My funny story is that my mom had a personal alarm for her purse, that kind of operated like a "noise grenade..." you pulled out a pin and that thing shrieked enough to break your eardrums until the pin was replaced, but couldn''t be turned off without it. Well, it never got used, except....one summer camp....when the pin accidently got pulled and the alarm was accidently thrown into the boys'' tent at 6:00am....and they awoke to a shrieking alarm that they had no way to turn off......heh heh heh...

Anyway, I can definitely say that it would have been a deterrent!

 

[perry]

Personal protection:

Interesting subject. Protection from what - and for whom?

There are really 3 basic kinds of threats out there.

1) Hit and run artist who grab your purse, wallet, or briefcase so fast you do not even know they are there until it happens - and you can't react fast enough. Nothing is going to stop this. Sexual groping or similar hit and run acts are in the same catagory.

2) Those that want more face to face time instead of a quick hit; typically to get your jewelry, contents of pockets, etc. Significant sexual assult can also occur as there is more time and they have you cornered. In many cases these events are over in 30 to 90 seconds. In some cases a loud noise or a commotion may scare these away. However, these preditors often chose target locations where such things have no effect - or they may not care figuring that they can get whatever they want and get away. Most people do not respond to a commotion or noise. In other cases these people are masters of reverse role playing and explaination and can portray you as the victum - when people arrive. Properly aimed and deployed pepper spray can be highly effective; but improperly aimed and deployed pepper spay will make your situation much much worse.

3) Those that want something that will take more time than 90 seconds. Be it some form of intimidation (physical/sexual); be it some form of blackmail, be it outright restraint and kidnapping (if even for a short time). These are typically serious people; and I doubt any noisemaker is going to bother them. They are likely to have things well planned so that your noise maker means nothing. Unless you are an expert with pepper spray you probably arn't going to change what they will do - and like the previous example; that will work against you if you fail to control them with it.


You also have two types of people: Those who are rationally committing a crime - and will react to a percieved danger to them; and those who are not rational - may be on drugs - and nothing short of a critical hit is going to stop them.

So if you want to carry a noise maker becasue it makes you feel better; fine. Just remember that it may have little effect on the outcome of most crime.

If you want to carry pepper spray - I suggest that you get trained (and more than a 1/2 class); and do a refresser every year or so. The training should put you into a vairity of stress situations where you have to respond appropriately - and accurately when needed (figure at least a couple days).

Know what works in almost all cases of examples 2 and 3: An appropriately sized gun wielded by a person who shows committment to use it - and especially if a person has the training. Instead of attending a pepper spray class - attend a similar pistol class (the best ones are about 1 week long). Any thinking "rational" criminal will take one look at the gun - and recognizing your body language instantly they will turn and flee... The crazy ones - you have a good chance of stopping them - especially if you've been trained on shooting in those situations.

Need I also say that you should not carry it in your purse or briefcase... the hit and run artist will take if from you before you realize that it is gone.

However, do not carry a gun, alarm, or pepper spray, unless you know you are willing to use it in the right situation. Some people think that they can just wave a gun and the criminal will run. If they read your body language that you are not serious - they will take the gun away from you typically in less than 5 seconds - and then they will use it to control you (if not shoot you). I once "instintively" charged someone who drew a knife on me and knocked it out of their hand before they could even start playing like it was a threat - because that is all it was; was play. On the other hand I have backed off of someone who just put their hand on the knife - you "knew" that they were serious and would use it.

So what kind of threat are you trying to protect against?

I might also mention that there are non-violent ways to survive most threats. When traveling I tend to carry some "pocket money" that if someone ever holds me up I'll just give it to them and say (while moving on) here, it's yours. The amount is larger than what most thieves get in a mugging. This has been reported as a highly successfull technique as most muggers will take the case and run.

Other stratagies may not be so nice (submission); but, depending on the situation and what's at stake may provide better odds than fighting. There are of course a few things that I would die for; but darn'd few. None of which I would expect to come up in most common crime.

I hope that helps. Although I am sure some will disagree.

Perry

 

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Belated thanks Perry, for you thoughtful albeit somewhat discouraging input!

I guess what I was thinking most of is the "hit and run" type of assault, which I presume is the most common. I was imagining a whistle, or some other "alarm" device not so much as a deterrent, but more of a way to alert passersby of trouble...

I realize such a device would need to be worn on my person (around my neck for example)...since it wouldn''t be any use in a snatched purse.

Are there any enterprising jewelers out there designing diamond incrusted whistles or screechers as pendants??

Waller....I love your story! Too funny! A "noise grenade"...who knew?

Divergirl: Sascha sounds great. Ever since my Rotty cross Spencer died, my kids have been on my case to get another big ''mean looking'' dog...they don''t think Widget gets the job done...LOL

Aussiegirl...I can totally relate to pepper spray or something making me feel better knowing I had it...and that''s worth something! But with grandkids who love rooting around in Granny''s purse, I''d be scared to carry it..

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone!
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[sumbride]

I live in inner-city Baltimore and work in DC, leading to many late night commutes alone. My FI insisted I get pepper spray when we moved here. My office had a safety seminar day with a retired cop who talked to us about different ways to protect ourselves, etc... He taught us how to use the pepper spray and talked to us about the alarms. I have the grenade-style alarm too but haven''t used it. In Baltimore, I doubt anyone would try to help me if I attracted their attention. I would never carry a gun, but most of the muggings in this area are by druggies looking for their next hit. The guy told us they can usually be bought off with a $20. The pepper spray may not work depending on what they''re on, but it''s usually a good bet.

Another thing he told us... if you''re in the street and somebody is pursuing you, run up to somebody''s door and bang on it, but instead of yelling "HELP!!!" yell "FIRE!!!" instead. Think about it. If somebody hears you yelling Help, they may not want to get involved, but if they think their house is on fire, they''re going to open the door!!! And as soon as you get them to open the door, you have a witness to the pursuer.

If you''re a jogger, the pepper spray can also be used to repel dogs that are running at you. We have a lot of that here in the city too.

 

[strmrdr]

observation and avoidance are better than any noise maker.
It might help or it might not good post Perry.
BUT by the time you need it its allready too late.

Next time your out and about pay attention to people and notice how many of them have their heads up there fanny and are not paying attention to anything.
Dont be one of them