Crime/Violence

[Bonecrusher Doc]

So I watched a pretty scary segment on the news last night about how the drug cartels in Mexico have become so powerful that the Mexican army is having a tough fight against them, and that violence related to their corporate network has spread to places as unlikely as Boise, Idaho and Anchorage, Alaska.

Basically the point of the story was that if you think you don't have drug wars going on in your neigborhood, you're wrong. Reminds me of an acquaintance who had an accounting office in the ground floor of a building and came back after a weekend only to discover that the police had busted a meth lab upstairs. He had no idea.

So I'm curious: what kinds of crime and violence do you have where you live? Do you feel safe in your home/school/car/workplace? Do you count on the police to be able to protect you? Guns? Dogs? Security system? Or do you think you are just blissfully ignorant of the crime and violence around you? I know we already had a whole thread on pedestrian self-defense (martial arts, carrying guns, knives, pepper spray, panic alarms).

Personally: The town I live in (Fayetteville, a.k.a. Fayette-nam!) seems to have a murder every weekend, so we're looking forward to moving soon. I am fortunate enough to have a house in a good neighborhood (though not a gated community), so I feel pretty safe at home, but sometimes some shady characters drive noisily through our street late at night, so we keep the exterior of the house well-lit, and we have a security system in the house. I know there are gangs, so I keep my eyes open when I go to the mall to make sure I avoid any signs of trouble. And anytime I see iron bars over the windows of homes and shops, that's the sign that I'm in a bad part of town, so I don't go running there and I make sure my car doors are locked.

I also have a NOAA radio which will sound an alarm if there is a mob of zombies headed for my house. :smalltongue:

[RS14]

So I'm curious: what kinds of crime and violence do you have where you live? Do you feel safe in your home/school/car/workplace? Do you count on the police to be able to protect you? Guns? Dogs? Security system? Or do you think you are just blissfully ignorant of the crime and violence around you? I know we already had a whole thread on pedestrian self-defense (martial arts, carrying guns, knives, pepper spray, panic alarms).

I'm a student, so there's drug use around here. That doesn't bother me too much. Apparently we're at risk of burglary and sexual assault, though I've had not personal experiences with either.

I don't count on the police for protection, firstly because their response will inevitably be slower than I would like, and secondly because I'm honestly more worried about being shot in a misdirected or botched swat raid.

I want a gun for self defense, but state and local laws ensure that the most I can carry is a 2'' pocketknife. Not at all adequate. :smallannoyed:

[Milanius]

8cm lockback tanto for intimidation first, then protection. The city where I live in, after all, is a peaceful place. Occasional murder, mugging and frequent juvenile delinquency are common things, but it doesn't get any uglier than that.

edit: I've forgotten drugs though, everyone's on something

[Thanatos 51-50]

Well, I live on a military base. You'd think we're safe.
Japan is actually a very safe country with a very, very low crime rate. I've been teased when locking the door and stepping out the car or telling people I'm paranoid with the words "Dude, it's Japan".
Its THAT safe here.

It pains me to say that the great majority of the crime I'm aware of nearby happens right outside the gate, usually involving two things. One is Sailors.
The other is alcohol.

As soon as we remove those factors, crime should go down, right?

The correct answer is, 'not really'. The japanese media just gives sailor-based crime alot of attention, and hushes up their own, so I, being functionalyl illiterate and non-fluent in Japan, don't hear about any of that.

[Copacetic]

I live in Illinois, so most of the crime here is corruption. (You may have heard of our dear Governor)

The Specific part of Iliinois I live in is pretty quiet. Mostly Theft and Brugalery and the like. nothing Particularly Felonous.

[Rutskarn]

As a few of you have probably already figured out, I currently reside in California.

About the worst thing I hear about in my area is vandalism.

[Rama_Lei]

I moved from the Metro Detroit Area (a safe part of it, but we still got the news) to Germany. It's a geniunely safe place, with only petty crime, and the occasional drunken brawl.

[THAC0]

So I watched a pretty scary segment on the news last night about how the drug cartels in Mexico have become so powerful that the Mexican army is having a tough fight against them, and that violence related to their corporate network has spread to places as unlikely as Boise, Idaho and Anchorage, Alaska.

Aw, crap.

But yeah, we have growing gang activity here. Where I live is pretty safe though.

[LordSintax]

Well, I live in Detroit. We have our fair share of just about everything here, but IMHO, not any more than any other major city. Are there neighborhoods in Detroit that I dont feel entirely comfortable walking through at 3 AM? sure. the same could be said of New York, LA, Chicago, etc. I've lived in both LA and Detroit at different points in my life, and for several years, had family in Chicago(so I was there a lot). Personally, I think Detroit gets a bit of a bad rap. Sure, there's a lot about this city that isnt exactly desireable, and every time I have been to Chicago, I wander around downtown thinking "Oh! So THIS is what Detroit was supposed to be!" but I dont really think Detroit is this blight-ridden, crime infested cesspool, armpit-of-urbania that it gets made out to be.

[zeratul]

Well the crime rate in my City is worse than the National average with 1515 violent crimes in 2006 and 6677 property crimes. At my school theres a fair amount of fights that happen, people were lighting trash cans on fire once a week just to get out of school earlier this year, then some chick one day pulled out a can of pepper spray and sprayed 5 people sending a few to the hospital. Once a month they search all the students with metal detectors and go through peoples backpacks and stuff. Also a few years ago my neighbors got busted for dealing, cops pulled out some guns, tons of pot, some coke, that kinda thing. All that said though I've never been particularly scared living here, it;s something you get used to. Just don't go into the wrong areas and you'll usually be fine (although as a friend of mine said in Syracuse there's only bad areas and slightly less bad areas :smalltongue:). Interestingly although we have less actual crimes than New York City our crime rate is higher, that is we have more of each crime per 100,000 people than New York city does.

[Rama_Lei]

Well, I live in Detroit. We have our fair share of just about everything here, but IMHO, not any more than any other major city. Are there neighborhoods in Detroit that I dont feel entirely comfortable walking through at 3 AM? sure. the same could be said of New York, LA, Chicago, etc. I've lived in both LA and Detroit at different points in my life, and for several years, had family in Chicago(so I was there a lot). Personally, I think Detroit gets a bit of a bad rap. Sure, there's a lot about this city that isnt exactly desireable, and every time I have been to Chicago, I wander around downtown thinking "Oh! So THIS is what Detroit was supposed to be!" but I dont really think Detroit is this blight-ridden, crime infested cesspool, armpit-of-urbania that it gets made out to be. Yeah, Detroit has lots of good things about it. Except for Kwame. But we don't talk about him.

[BizzaroStormy]

I'm not gonna lie, I live in a fairly bad neighborhood, I know the VP just down the road gets robbed at least a couple times a month. However the most that's happened to me is some douche shot out my window with a BB gun. I already know that one nearby house shelters a drug dealer but he only deals in the small stuff.

I'm not worried though, its one of those neighborhoods where you watch somebody's back, they'll watch yours.

[Berserk Monk]

I live in Baltimore. An easier question would be "What kind of crime doesn't occur where you live?" A few weeks ago a senior at my school was killed in a hit and run. Awhile before that some other students at my school were mugged at knife point. Not to long ago, one of my friends saw a knife fight break out in front of a Rite Aid.

The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout 'Save us!' And I'll look down, and whisper 'no.' They had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the footsteps of good men like my father, or President Truman. Decent men, who believed in a day's work for a day's pay. Instead they followed the droppings of lechers and communists and didn't realize that the trail led over a precipice until it was too late. Don't tell me they didn't have a choice. Now the whole world stands on the brink, staring down into bloody hell, all those liberals and intellectuals and smooth-talkers, and all of a sudden nobody can think of anything to say.

Watchmen quote totally relevant. Just a few more days and I'll be at the midnight showing!:smallbiggrin:

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Yeah... we'd better leave any discussion of communists and intellectuals and liberals and President Truman for another forum...

[onasuma]

Well, one of my childhood friends was arrested for dealing heorin in a crack house, and 50% of my table in class smoke weed. There was also a dealer a road away from me who was murder a few years ago. So yeah, drugs and violence.

[Dallas-Dakota]

I live in the Netherlands.

A drugs war? No.
Lots and lots of drugs, yes.

[Illiterate Scribe]

I was pottering about in our shed the other day when I've found that we have 5 litres of concentrated nitric acid, a class IV industrial laser, and a large fish 'priest' (think a club, hollowed out and filled at one end with sand or metal, used for administering 'last rites' to fish that you've caught. If those don't constitute improvised and highly dangerous (to all parties) weapons, I don't know what does.

Also, OP:


Basically the point of the story was that if you think you don't have drug wars going on in your neigborhood, you're wrong. Reminds me of an acquaintance who had an accounting office in the ground floor of a building and came back after a weekend only to discover that the police had busted a meth lab upstairs. He had no idea.

Using a specific example to prove a universal point ...


So I'm curious: what kinds of crime and violence do you have where you live? Do you feel safe in your home/school/car/workplace? Do you count on the police to be able to protect you? Guns? Dogs? Security system? Or do you think you are just blissfully ignorant of the crime and violence around you? I know we already had a whole thread on pedestrian self-defense (martial arts, carrying guns, knives, pepper spray, panic alarms).

Loaded question, methinks.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Sorry if I came across as preachy. Not trying to prove a point or make an argument here, just curious how other people feel. If you feel my questions are phrased as multiple choice, feel free to answer "none of the above" (like dallas-dakota did).

[Illiterate Scribe]

Sorry if I came across as preachy. Not trying to prove a point or make an argument here, just curious how other people feel. If you feel my questions are phrased as multiple choice, feel free to answer "none of the above" (like dallas-dakota did).

Sorry, I've been paranoidly browsing some other fora that did have that implication very strongly, and I apologise for coming across a little jump.

[Jack Squat]

There's not really anything going on in my neighborhood...although around here is known to have meth labs and stills; we are Rocky Top afterall :smalltongue:

Downtown, there's the usual robberies. I too would like a gun for protection, unfortunately, State Law says I have to be 21 for that to happen.

[Collin152]

I live in the city town of Gilbert, and here we have a substantial amount of crime; murder this, drive by that, robbery here, abduction there, but our biggest problems seems to involve holding on to criminals or finding them in the first place. We get a lot of serial rapists, if I recall correctly, else a few incredibly active ones.

I wish I knew more about gang culture; it'd help in writing from their perspective. I'm sure there are gangs around here, but it seems that asking them for an interview would not end well for me.

[xPANCAKEx]

i live in the northeast of london

most of the crime around he is drugs, street robberies, and the usual friday night booze related stupidity. My town isnt so bad, and i live in one of the safer neighbourhoods in the borough (most crime in my particular neighbourhood is break ins, or people renting houses and turning them into factories for growing weed), but down at the other end of the town theres some more serious drugs and that feeds some prostitution. Fortunately any time crack seeps its way in, police are VERY quick to shut it down. Heroin seems to have a bit of a hold in some places though.

its not a bad place to live. Not the safest place in london, but certainly not somewhere you neccisarily have to check over your shoulder every 30 seconds like some.

[Helanna]

I live in a pretty small town, so not a whole lot of big crime. Petty theft at school, maybe. I think there was a rash of robberies a few years back. Also, lots and lots of convicted sex offenders around here, but as far as I'm aware no rapes.

Our biggest problem is probably the drugs. I think the entire freshman year here is on something. My high school has drug busts every once in a while, but they never seem to catch a lot of people. We think the problem is the posers - the people who claim (and act like) they're taking drugs when they're not.

I think the highlight of the year was when a girl I absolutely hated was caught smoking pot. In the gym locker rooms. During a gym class. My school does not specialize in intelligent people . . .


Well the crime rate in my City is worse than the National average with 1515 violent crimes in 2006 and 6677 property crimes.

Wow . . . do you live in Rochester NY by any chance? I have some friends there, I've heard they have some pretty bad crime rates? Could be wrong though, my friends aren't always the most reliable storytellers.

[TheBST]

My hometown, Liverpool, has a reputation for crime which precedes itself, but the murder rates' nowhere near as high as say, London, Manchester or Nottingham. Still, you're more than twice as likely to burgled, mugged or have your car stolen than anywhere else in the UK. (Or so say the statistics)

My family moved around the city three times (Kirkby to Kirkdale to Anfield to Walton) during the 80's and 90's because drug gangs and the general squalor went out of control- coincidentally about the time crack became so damn fashionable. They're in a fairly quiet area now, except for four people in the last two years being murdered in local pubs. And an drive-by-shooting on a house in their road last year.

[KingGolem]

There's some petty crime where I live. It's mostly just bored teenage delinquents stealing stuff off people's porches or smoking marijuana and abusing cough medicine. However, my brother had some friends over one time (he wasn't supposed to have them over, so they were leaving) and one of them stole my mom's cellphone. Heh, idiot. The cops were on him the very next day. I live in the suburbs, but go to a school right next to a housing project, so I suspect there is some more crime in that area. On one occasion, one of my teachers' computer was stolen. In short, I feel relatively safe where I am. I don't think the teenagers around where I live are bored enough to go out wilding or something of that nature. I count on the police to protect me too, because they know the way to MY house now (by my brother's doing :smallsigh: ), and on the few occasions when they have shown up, they come relatively quickly.

[Kjata]

Where I live I have friends (well, more acquantences really) that sell drugs, and who rob houses, so there is that.

And those of you saying they want a gun for protection should know that a gun is more likely to get you shot. Somebody who only has a gun to threaten you, who has no intention of actually shooting, may shoot you if you pull a gun. When it becomes you or him, they'll want tit to be you.

[Anuan]

Drunk/drugged up teenage effwits, occasional violence but not often.
Intend to get an extendable baton for self-defense, gun-laws here mean I'm unlikely to come against anyone that'll shoot me, a baton is generally longer than a knife and I'm confident in my middlish-level MMA skills to take on a drunken prick.

[Occasional Sage]

Well, I live on a military base. You'd think we're safe.


Um.... (http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/17/washington.barracks.death/)



As soon as we remove those factors, crime should go down, right?


Glad you know better than that.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

For those of you who live in the U.S. and would like to be a little more paranoid (especially if you have children), just enter your home address:

www.familywatchdog.us

[Sereg]

I live in South Africa, we're infamous for our crime rate. This is what wikipedia has to say about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_South_Africa

I've been very lucky though. I've never been in alife threatening situation because of it yet.

[RS14]

And those of you saying they want a gun for protection should know that a gun is more likely to get you shot. Somebody who only has a gun to threaten you, who has no intention of actually shooting, may shoot you if you pull a gun. When it becomes you or him, they'll want tit to be you.


There is a non-trivial chance that someone will decide to beat or kill me because of my sexual orientation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_against_LGBT_people)

[toasty]

I live in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Just recently over seventy people were killed in a munity by the Bangladesh Rifles (a border security and para-military organization). Also, my mom pulled out an article about how a gangster was shot by a rival gang (and mind you, most people here when they commit crimes have knifes and clubs and homemade bombs, not guns) at a little restaurant in the area I often am during the weekend.

The cops here are about useless. They are underpaid and as a result take bribes from everyone. The more well trained and well paid police often kill people “in the crossfire”. That is, they find criminals and they kill them without bothering to arrest or try them. Possibly because the courts are so corrupt that these criminals would never get convicted anyways, but still… I’m almost more afraid of the police than the gangsters, because I never see the gangsters.

Also, Bangladesh is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. I think last year Haiti beat us, not because we got less corrupt, but because they were more corrupt. Attempts to rid the nation of corruption resulted in massive bribes to those trying to get rid of the corrupt. :D A few people are in jail but the really big corrupt people just skipped the country for a few years.

[zeratul]

Wow . . . do you live in Rochester NY by any chance? I have some friends there, I've heard they have some pretty bad crime rates? Could be wrong though, my friends aren't always the most reliable storytellers.

Nope, I live in a city called Syracuse about two hours away from Rochester. I just looked it up and our crimes worse in some areas theirs is worse in some, we have more rape and assault than they do, Rochester has more theft, auto-theft, robbery, and murder.

[RS14]

I live in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Just recently over seventy people were killed in a munity by the Bangladesh Rifles (a border security and para-military organization). Also, my mom pulled out an article about how a gangster was shot by a rival gang (and mind you, most people here when they commit crimes have knifes and clubs and homemade bombs, not guns) at a little restaurant in the area I often am during the weekend.

The cops here are about useless. They are underpaid and as a result take bribes from everyone. The more well trained and well paid police often kill people “in the crossfire”. That is, they find criminals and they kill them without bothering to arrest or try them. Possibly because the courts are so corrupt that these criminals would never get convicted anyways, but still… I’m almost more afraid of the police than the gangsters, because I never see the gangsters.

Also, Bangladesh is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. I think last year Haiti beat us, not because we got less corrupt, but because they were more corrupt. Attempts to rid the nation of corruption resulted in massive bribes to those trying to get rid of the corrupt. :D A few people are in jail but the really big corrupt people just skipped the country for a few years.


And all that's even worse. I'm really sorry. :smallfrown:

[Lupy]

Wow. :smalleek: That makes me appreciate being an American that much more.

Where I live we have our fair share of race related violence, but it's predominantly because one in every ten people in North Carolina is an Illegal Immigrant. No joke, we have a legal pop. of 9 million and 1 million illegals here. It's terrible. They beat people up at our High Schools all the time, and they throw bricks through all of our cop-car windows regardless of who's in them. And they have guns on campus, even at my middle school sometimes, and this is in a 'good' area.

[Serpentine]

We had a decapitation! =D

No, really. A guy, who is seriously mentally ill (I can't remember what with, exactly, but probably schizophrenia or something), for some reason killed his step-grandfather or grandfather-in-law or something, a war veteran, then cut off his head (at least, I'm pretty sure the killing came before the decapitation...). Very sad, very sick man.
It happened on my street! =D Again, no really. Of course, the street goes the whole length of the town... Pfft, whatever. It still wasn't that far away.

My house got broken into a couple of years ago, right after then-bf and I moved in. We were in the lounge room and he came in through the kitchen window, took bf's wallet (a gift) with $100+ (a gift), his keyring (a gift) with keys, and his mobile (a gift). Now I make sure I shut that window and I put a curtain over it so people can't see in. Other than that, 'spretty good.

My sister, who'd been here for some years, warned me not to go to a couple of the residential colleges, unless I was into date-rape and assault. Yeah... Muggings happen occasionally, and so do sexual assaults, what with all the randy, drunken and/or dirt-poor students around, and also (I regret to say) the ever-present lower echelons of Armidale society, largely made up of (:smallsigh:) aboriginals.
Oh, speaking of which, there was a serious crime wave at the residential village when I was living there. At one point, a bunch of guys ran and hid outside my flat, and then a police car drove by. Left bf there watching them and went to crap the police. I think they got two of them, but the third got away. I found a little tape recorder one of them threw away. The police took it for evidence - this was right in the middle of exams, so some poor student lost their notes right when they needed them... For a while, around then, I was getting worried that I was racist, because I'd always keep a close eye on any of the aboriginal kids who hung around. Then I figured out that, if anything, I was classist. That's much better, right?! :smallbiggrin: Yeah, I realised that I'd keep an eye on any young male with gigantic shoes, pants around their knees, a cap on crooked and a pulled-up hoody loitering around, regardless of skin colour. It's just unfortunate that an awful lot of such people are black...

Anyway, the topic... Oh yeah, a prominent businessman here, who owns half the town (even has an arcade named after him) went on trial for the attempted murder of his brother-in-law (I think) business partner. He tried to shoot him. He got off scott-free, because he had a head injury in a car crash some months before and said it altered his personality or something.

Lots of drugs - it's a university town, for crying out loud! I'm pretty sure half the lecturers at least smoke the occasional joint! I wouldn't be surprised if there's some drug-related violence, but I don't think it's anything organised.

Armidale's sort of a border-line town... It has a small-town feel, with big-town problems. It's the sort of place where you really want to leave your door unlocked and stuff, but it's probably not safe to. It's a shame...

Oh, not really a crime, but still vaguely relevant: Some kids from the uni church discovered a dead body in the trees nearby. They thought it was a scarecrow or something, and went through its pockets and played with it and stuff. Then a parent followed them down... Yeah. Apparently a Kiwi passing through hanged himself, and then wasn't discovered for several months, by these children.

Final thought: Screw guns. I have a crappy sword, that'll do.

[toasty]

And all that's even worse. I'm really sorry. :smallfrown:

You'd be surprised how little of this violence I actually see... i just read about it.

And Bangladesh is one of the more stable countries in this part of the world. We haven't had attempted genocide or anything since the war of Independence.

[Serpentine]

And Bangladesh is one of the more stable countries in this part of the world. We haven't had attempted genocide or anything since the war of Independence.http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h287/serpentine16/genocidesign.gif
:smallamused:

[Anuan]

Am I a horrible person for laughing really hard at that? :smallfrown:

[Serpentine]

If you mean my sign, I hope not, because that would make me an even horribler person for making it :smallfrown:

[Athaniar]

Fortunately, there isn't much crime and violence around these parts...

*shotgun blast*

Will these zombies never give up?

Where was I? Ah, yes, almost no crime and violence here.

*shotgun blast*

[GoC]

I used to live in Colombia until very recently. Now I'm living in one of the (supposedly) nastier parts of London and can't figure out why everyone here is complaining about the danger and violence...
For comparison:
In Colombia I lived in a "conjunto" a group of about 60 houses with a 10ft high razor wire fence and armed (and armored) guards patroling. The doors to the houses were steel and there where bars on all windows.
In Colombia I knew a guy who got brutally tortured and killed (by the police it seems), a few people kidnapped by the rebals, combined my family knew quite a few muggers, lots of thieves, an ex-bank robber (nice chap), several former FARC members and I met a guy guilty of crimes that carry a life sentence in most countries (my dad has a non-disclosure agreement unless he believes someones life to be in danger).
In Colombia there are large swaths of the town centre in which you cannot walk (mugging garunteed, death probably not unless you're a female and rape-worthy) without some incredibly tough looking pals or a ten year old set of clothes and an inch thick layer of dirt. In the daytime. You'd be well advised not to drive through there either.
It is unusual to pay a fine, mostly you just bribe a policeman. Doing prison time isn't going to happen if you've got money and a few connections.
Most places buy into some sort of protection scheme.
Armed police conscripts roam the more important streets stopping and searching any male aged 16-30.
An entire town right close to where I live got taken over by rebels. It was less than 10 miles from the capital.
I was a (unpaid obviously) teaching assistant helping a group of kids from a very poor (but surprisingly safe) area. Sexual abuse, drug abuse, attempted suicide, blah blah blah. And these where kids of age 7.
One of my sisters says she suspects she was raped but doesn't want to talk about it (claims she blacked out, surpressed memories?).:smallfrown:


The cops here are about useless. They are underpaid and as a result take bribes from everyone. The more well trained and well paid police often kill people “in the crossfire”. That is, they find criminals and they kill them without bothering to arrest or try them. Possibly because the courts are so corrupt that these criminals would never get convicted anyways, but still… I’m almost more afraid of the police than the gangsters, because I never see the gangsters.
Sounds like Colombia.


You'd be surprised how little of this violence I actually see... i just read about it.
This. While I meet a heck of a lot of people I don't actually go out much. Appart from a few cases of pick-pocketing, stabbing a few feet away from me, a bank robery a street away, some shooting from nearby (me and my family hid so I don't know exactly what happened), a few cases of assault and two attempted muggings I've never had direct contact with crime (excluding copyright infringement). It's all people I know.

[reorith]

So I'm curious: what kinds of crime and violence do you have where you live? Do you feel safe in your home/school/car/workplace? Do you count on the police to be able to protect you? Guns? Dogs? Security system? Or do you think you are just blissfully ignorant of the crime and violence around you? I know we already had a whole thread on pedestrian self-defense (martial arts, carrying guns, knives, pepper spray, panic alarms).

in my area, there were 7 murders, 37 rapes, 166 robberies, 294 aggravated assaults, 1271 burglaries, 5594 larcenies, and 486 motor vehicle thefts.

i feel safe at home where i have several firearms and enough ammunition to defeat the british at lexington. i feel safe at work where i have some regular customers who happen to be county police officers and my 1911. in my car, no. i have a crowbar, a machete and a folding shovel because maryland sucks about carrying and issuing. i was held up once at work by a punk with an airsoft gun :/ i sent him running by pulling out my .45 and asking him if he felt lucky. when i head into baltimore, i carry my 1911 and two spare mags loaded with jacketed hollow points.


And those of you saying they want a gun for protection should know that a gun is more likely to get you shot. Somebody who only has a gun to threaten you, who has no intention of actually shooting, may shoot you if you pull a gun. When it becomes you or him, they'll want tit to be you.

kjata, have fun with this (http://www.pulpless.com/gunclock/stats.html).

[Illiterate Scribe]

kjata, have fun with this (http://www.pulpless.com/gunclock/stats.html).

Cool 10+ year old statistics bro.

Also, what's people's opinions on the ethics of weapons manufacturers and sellers? Surely, in one's consideration of whether or not to buy a ton of firearms, that should be taken into account too - can you verify that your largely defensive weapons of gun were free range and organic in provenance?

[snoopy13a]

We had a decapitation! =D



There was a decapitation in Canada of all places a couple of months ago. Some poor guy fell asleep on a Grayhound bus and the crazy guy sitting next to him started to cut off his head. The bus stopped and everyone ran out (no heroes on that bus).

A couple of years ago, when I was living in Vermont, my apartment got broken into but other then that, I've never experienced any crime.

[Anuan]

If you mean my sign, I hope not, because that would make me an even horribler person for making it :smallfrown:
I did.
We're horrible! T_T

[GoC]

i feel safe at home where i have several firearms and enough ammunition to defeat the british at lexington.
And when they have guns to (and they will)? What then?


kjata, have fun with this (http://www.pulpless.com/gunclock/stats.html).
Compare the murder rates in the US with those in the UK.

[reorith]

Cool 10+ year old statistics bro.

Also, what's people's opinions on the ethics of weapons manufacturers and sellers? Surely, in one's consideration of whether or not to buy a ton of firearms, that should be taken into account too - can you verify that your largely defensive weapons of gun were free range and organic in provenance?

all my defensive weapons are free of transfats and certified organic. my ammo is recently manufactured brass cased noncorrosively primed.

also, on more than one instance, i've had to rely on my cool face to get out of a tight spot.


And when they have guns to (and they will)? What then?

then i get the first shot assuming they survive the claymores(back door) or get around my dog.


Compare the murder rates in the US with those in the UK.
ok. now what?


also

Myth: You are more likely to be injured or killed using a
gun for self-defense

Fact: You are far more likely to survive a violent assault if you defend yourself with a
gun. In episodes where a robbery victim was injured, the injury/defense rates were:

Resisting with a gun 6%
Did nothing at all 25%
Resisted with a knife 40%
Non-violent resistance 45%

sauce (http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/4.0/GunFacts4-0-Screen.pdf)

[Jack Squat]

And those of you saying they want a gun for protection should know that a gun is more likely to get you shot. Somebody who only has a gun to threaten you, who has no intention of actually shooting, may shoot you if you pull a gun. When it becomes you or him, they'll want tit to be you.

It's more likely that you diffuse the situation. While muggers and the ilk can be quite jumpy, the last thing they expect is their victims to retaliate. Heck, I've heard of muggings being thwarted by the victim just saying "no" when told to hand over money (I don't have any articles or anything on this; all anecdotal).

From here (http://www.azccw.com/More%20Facts%20&%20Statistics.htm)


States with right-to-carry laws have lower overall violent crime rates, compared to states without right-to-carry laws. In states whose laws respect the citizen's right-to-carry guns for self defense the total violent crime is 13% lower, homicide is 3% lower, robbery is 26% lower and aggravated assault is 7% lower. (Data: Crime in the United States 1996, FBI Uniform Crime Reports)

While not much more current than reorith's example, it is cited from a more authoritative source than a college. Also, keep in mind from here (http://www.gunblast.com/Gun_Facts.htm)


FACT: 90% of all violent crime in the U.S. does not involve any gun of any type.

* 1998 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
...

FACT: Every year, people in the United States use a gun to defend themselves against criminals an estimated 2,500,000 times- more than 6,500 people a day, or once every 13 seconds.

* Fall 1995, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

This means that, each year, firearms are used 65 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.

Typically, a mugger will have a knife, or at least threaten to have one. That's at least how it works down here. Having a gun always has the advantage, and like I said before, even if they do have a gun, they're expecting compliance. If you're reaching towards your back pocket (most people I know of carry at around the 4-5 o'clock position), they aren't going to expect you reaching for a gun. It takes about 5 seconds on average to draw and aim a gun. I recently heard that there's about 10 seconds between when your mind makes a decision and when you consciously act on it. This means that you've got about a 5 second drop before the mugger knows what's going on, which is a definite advantage.

[afroakuma]

My hometown was festering with underage drinking and drug use. Eight police officers on staff for a university town. I would hear people in the middle of the street on a bright, sunny summer day talking about buying pot off one another. The stable population was low enough that everyone could recognize one another, so the clerks at the liquor stores were very much not doing their jobs.

Anyways, after finding out in Gr. 6 that half of my classmates had tried pot, one had tried acid, and by Gr. 10 that everyone else in my grade had tried drinking (and I mean binge drinking, not a glass of wine) I started getting a bit sick of it. Cocaine and ecstasy showed up by Gr. 12. I left after graduating high school and refuse to return.

Where I currently live, there's some gang murders, random shootings near my workplace, pot is nearly everywhere, and in my (affluent) neighborhood there's been a man sneaking into women's bedrooms at night; that said, I prefer living here to being back where everyone I know from the age of 14 up is getting hammered and doping their brains out.

[Anuan]

My old hometown was exactly the same as AK's. I got in more than one fight in that place.

[Doran_Liadon]

I live in a nice little town that has never seen a worse crime then minor vandalism or graffiti.

[Serpentine]

I recently heard that there's about 10 seconds between when your mind makes a decision and when you consciously act on it. This means that you've got about a 5 second drop before the mugger knows what's going on, which is a definite advantage.Ten seconds? Decide to scratch your nose. Scratch it. Now finish counting the other 9 seconds. Seriously, 10 seconds is a pretty long time, really.
I'm just gonna say, I really don't like guns, and I'm bloody glad that Australia has really strict laws on their ownership. If you don't need one, then you don't have one. Sure, of course there's some illegal ownership, especially among those involved in organised crime, but they're mostly using them against each other.

[afroakuma]

Agreed. I've known too many idiots.

[RS14]

Ten seconds? Decide to scratch your nose. Scratch it. Now finish counting the other 9 seconds. Seriously, 10 seconds is a pretty long time, really.

Yeah, I'm going to agree with you on this. Read up on the Tueller Drill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill). Anyone having to draw at short range against an armed assailant is at a disadvantage.

Now, I'd rather take my chances with a gun anyway, but I certainly don't believe it's a win button in all or even most of the scenarios in which I might need to use it.

Edit: Incidentally, it takes me 1-2 seconds to draw my pocket-knife---in actual practice, when I'm more likely to need to search for a grip, say 2-3. It's not just guns---anyone drawing against a prepared assailant is at a disadvantage. Now the assailant may not be prepared, if they are not expecting resistance, but I don't intend to count on that.

[Don Julio Anejo]

It's fricking Vancouver. Even the cops smoke weed. Sometimes with the same people they "confiscated" it from. And half the people I know have done or are popping acid.

Other than that... I can walk around crackhead smoking, drug dealing neighbourhood of East Hastings (considered the poorest/worst area in Canada) at 3 AM and feel perfectly safe. Hell, I've done that too. Dressed in flashy going out brand name clothes and carrying $2500 of camera gear.

The only type of person who'd ever mug someone would be a junkie looking for a fix, and everyone who's older than 10 probably wouldn't have any trouble beating him up.

There is a drug war going on (quite unusual for these parts). According to a cop that comes around to where I work, it's Chinese and brown people killing each other. And the cops bust a meth lab or a grow op once a month or so.

[Groundhog]

My area's pretty quiet, thank God. No outward crime, at the very least. If there are people plotting dastardly deeds in their houses, I haven't noticed. However, as you get closer to the urban area, outward crime rates shoot up. Muggings, shootings, etc. One of my friends got jumped by a gang once. Luckily, my friend knew a fair amount of martial arts, so he kicked their asses. But most of the people who get mugged aren't so lucky.

[Jack Squat]

Ten seconds? Decide to scratch your nose. Scratch it. Now finish counting the other 9 seconds. Seriously, 10 seconds is a pretty long time, really.

Here's the article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121450609076407973.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today) . I don't know how true it is, only that I heard it.


I'm just gonna say, I really don't like guns, and I'm bloody glad that Australia has really strict laws on their ownership. If you don't need one, then you don't have one. Sure, of course there's some illegal ownership, especially among those involved in organised crime, but they're mostly using them against each other.

What's the classification of "need" there? Because I know here at least, many people use guns for recreation (hunting, target shooting, and the like), and I'm not sure how you guys would classify that. I personally don't see owning a gun any different than owning a video game system or power tools. It's either a tool or something for enjoyment; and if you don't use it right, people get hurt.

[RS14]

Here's the article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121450609076407973.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today) . I don't know how true it is, only that I heard it.

I think you're misapplying it. It involves a sequence of character flashing across the screen, and the subject decides when to stop. They've got time to think. Furthermore, they're choosing a pseudo-random time, as opposed to reacting to a certain trigger. It's like they subconsciously rolling a d20 and waiting that many seconds before they actually act.
Conversely, if they were shown a sequence of letters and told to click when "B" appeared, there wouldn't be any 10s lead up---they'd click as fast as they could. Likely in less than a second.

Having a victim suddenly produce a gun is very much more like the latter.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

When I was in Iraq, it seemed like every household had a watchdog. I could hear them barking all night. Anecdotally, I hear that's a pretty effective countermeasure against crime. I know a lot of times when soldiers deploy they will get a dog to stay home with their wife, both for company and for anti-burglary purposes.

Off topic but kinda funny, An Iraqi friend told me about another Iraqi in his town who decided he'd put on some sneakers and go for a run, like all the foreign soldiers do. Well, it didn't work out too well, because the next thing he knew, all the dogs in town saw him running and started chasing him!

[Jack Squat]

What I got from the article is it'd take 10 seconds for someone's brain to say they're going to do something, and then for them to decide to do it. The test was on voluntary actions. What you're referring to is reflexive actions, which IIRC, the average time is around .2 seconds.

The latter come into play if there's jerky movements, no matter what the object is. If I "whipped out" my wallet, I'd be shot just as likely as if I was pulling out .44 magnum. This happens often enough with police. It's just the body detecting a threat (in this case, rapid, aggressive movement). If a draw is fluid, much like if you were pulling out your wallet to pay for your groceries, they have to process what the object is. My money (no pun intended) is on them being prepared for it to be a wallet.

While not a scientific example, and I'll admit nowhere near 10 seconds, I think a comparable scenario is people starting their cars forward after a redlight turns green, or the car infront of them starts moving. In my experience, this is about 3-4 seconds on average, although I haven't bothered to sit down and record the times for every light I've been at; just watch my watch every now and then.

However, the reason I'm for carrying isn't due to reaction times, it's psychological. What seems to be backed up by evidence is that muggers count on compliance. For the most part, if you resist, they'll back down. They're looking for an easy target, and don't want to get injured any more than you do. If you pull a gun, they'll be startled and won't quite know how to act. While some will pull a trigger (if they have a gun) out of instinct, most will freeze up long enough for control of the situation to be established.

On topic, we just had a bank robbery nearby earlier today.

[Serpentine]

What's the classification of "need" there? Because I know here at least, many people use guns for recreation (hunting, target shooting, and the like), and I'm not sure how you guys would classify that. I personally don't see owning a gun any different than owning a video game system or power tools. It's either a tool or something for enjoyment; and if you don't use it right, people get hurt.Many park rangers, security guards, cops, farmers. Some more specific people, like some ecologists, and presumably licensed hunters (though, I believe, with pretty strict conditions and restrictions). I'm not sure, but I think target shooters mostly have to leave their guns at the range. There are almost certainly other exceptions, as well. All have strict licensing and usage conditions and restrictions. So strict, that when they came into effect after the Port Arthur Massacre, the family of the sibling of a world-famous celebrity that lived in my hometown moved back to Texas. Whoa... I know it's really obvious, but it only just sank in that that means they almost certainly had at least one firearm... Whoa.
'sfunny... My grandfather was a minister in the Korean War, I think, or possibly Vietnam. Anytime he left the camp, he had to take a gun. He never intended to use it under any circumstances, though, and never even had it loaded :smallbiggrin:

[RS14]

'sfunny... My grandfather was a minister in the Korean War, I think, or possibly Vietnam. Anytime he left the camp, he had to take a gun. He never intended to use it under any circumstances, though, and never even had it loaded :smallbiggrin:
Interesting. My great-grandfather was an army chaplain in WWII and later the Korean war. It never occurred to me to ask my grandmother if he carried a gun.