Should You Listen to a 911 operator?

Yes and no.  Some operators are very well trained and some not so much.  Some will have your best interest in mind.  Some will have their own liability in mind.  

On New Years Eve a woman had this question come crashing down on her in Oklahoma.  Her husband died the week before and a creepy guy had been hanging around since.  New Years Eve the creep returned with a friend and a 12-inch knife trying to break into her house.  She put her three-month old son in the crib, got her shotgun and pistol and called 911 (read the transcripts and story here).  The phone call goes on for 21 minutes.  She is asking the 911 operator if she can shoot the guy if he comes in.  The operator says she can’t tell her that.  Later the operator reveals that she wanted to help the mother, but because of policy couldn’t tell her to shoot someone.  The poor mother had to shoot the creepy guy to protect herself and her son.  The creep ended up dying.  My heart goes out to the young mother that had to kill someone, but I’m glad she and her son are okay.

There are two reasons you shouldn’t trust everything a 911 operator is telling you.  The first is the story above.  Obviously if someone is stocking you and breaks into your house with a 12-inch knife he isn’t there to help you.  Most of us would say that shooting the creep was necessary.  The 911 operator was limited to her policy, which was set to limit the liability of her department and then help people.

The other reason you shouldn’t always trust everything a 911 operator says is because the operator isn’t there.  No matter how well you describe what is going on the operator will not have the complete picture.  The operator will give you the best answer they can with the information they have.  No one can say what you should do, except you. 

Learn what you should and can do to protect yourself.  If you intend to have a gun for self-defense you should get training from multiple sources.  Continue to read blogs like this one and ask people that are more knowledgeable then you.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Home Alone

Today I spent the day on the couch sick.  I’m finally feeling better and don’t know why I was sick. 

During the day in an urban neighborhood it seems so peaceful.  Nothing really happening, not a lot of noise, and everyone else at work.  When things are quiet and there is no one around everyone feels safer.  Even in combat, when it was just me and my combat buddy, the world was quiet, it felt peaceful and safe.  Most of the gun battles I was in started when it was the quietest.   The same trend has been happening in urban neighborhoods. 

Home invasion robberies (the most dangerous and the thing I’m most scared of) happen during the day.  More and more home burglaries are happening during the day.  There is no one around to help.  Drive through your neighborhood during the day.  It’s really easy to see who is home and who is away. 

What can you do? 

If you are at home; don’t answer the door, keep it locked, keep your phone with you so you can call for help if you need to, make friends with your neighbors that are home and check in with them, have people over for lunch, rotate your schedule, buy and alarm and use it when you are home, and put a big pair of boots on the front porch.

If you are away during the day; make friends with your neighbors so that you watch out for each other, lock all your doors, rotate your schedule, put alarm stickers and signs in the yard, leave lights on inside and/or radio/TV on so it looks like someone is home, lock everything up, use motion lights, and don’t leave your porch light on all day (use a timer).

I don’t answer the door when I’m at home alone and not expecting someone.  I also use the peephole all the time.  If I don’t know you, I won’t open the door.  It’s okay to be rude to someone that might be a danger to you and your family.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Creating a Harder Target

Picture yourself a criminal.  Prowling your neighborhood looking for an easy buck.  Look at the houses around your house and look at your house.  Which one would you steal from? And why?

By definition criminals are lazy.  They will go for the easiest thing they can find.  If criminals worked hard, they wouldn’t be criminals.

So look at your neighborhood again.  Which house would you steal from?  Who would you try and follow home to get money?  Which house would you invade for money?  If the answer to any of these questions is yours, you need to do something about it. 

Here’s some simple and easy things you can do:

• Put an alarm sign in the yard.
• Cut down big bushes that cover entry points to the house or yard.
• Keep outside lights on.
• Don’t open the door for people you don’t know, or when you aren’t expecting people.  Talk to people through the door.
• Don’t leave expensive stuff open, or the garage open showing off your prize Shelby Cobra (my personal dream car).
• Motion lights are a great step.  Put them at any point someone would try to walk up to your house.
• Go different ways home at different times.
• Get longer screws for your door jam. 
• Always use dead bolts.
• Limit access to areas of your house when you have anyone over.  Put away anything really valuable (Burglars will always take money, guns, and jewelry). 

Put some of these into practice to make your home a safer place.

Stay Safe,

Ben