Crime

“Crime” is a word that invokes both fear and acceptance in society.  Statistically your chances of becoming a victim of crime in any given year are actually pretty low. I’m sure this is a great comfort to anyone who has been victimized or knows someone who has been. On the surface many crimes seem random and senseless, but when we take a look at the factors that make up a crime we see a pattern emerge. In order for a crime to occur there are three factors that must be present. They are; Motive, Opportunity and a Victim.

Each of these factors plays an important role in how and why crimes occur. Two of these factors are within your control to influence. Motive is what drives the criminal to commit the crime. Motives are as individual as the criminal and beyond your ability to effectively control. Some common themes are drugs, money, sex, violence, power, domination etc. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attempt to understand some of the social issues surrounding the psychology of crime. It just means that knowing your attacker is a crack addict with an addiction to feed is the last thing you are worrying about when he is stealing your purse at knifepoint.

Opportunity and access are necessary for the criminal to commit an offence. Crime is like a business. To succeed it must have timing, location, read the market correctly and have access to potential customers. Having a good foundation in Personal Safety removes much of the potential for criminals to have access to you. Both timing and location are within your realm of control. Ensure that you always maintain good Situational Awareness. Being able to spot, assess and proactively respond to potentially dangerous situations is much simpler than having to resort to Self Defense or submission when a crime actually occurs.

Victims the most important piece to the puzzle. Without a victim there is no crime. By removing yourself from the equation or at least substantially reducing your profile as a potential victim you will have the greatest impact on how crime will affect your life. This puts a lot of power and responsibility in your hands. Taking steps to reduce your desirability as a potential victim is not difficult. It does demand some education, effort and practice on your part though. You must educate yourself on what you don’t know. Contrary to popular belief, what you don’t know can hurt you. Take a course in Personal Safety and Self Defense. Learn how to develop and implement a Personal Safety Plan, then practice, practice, practice.

When we teach our courses, participants are always surprised to find out that when we talk about the “Adrenal Stress Response” that there is more to adrenaline than just “Fight of Flight”. This is not incorrect, just incomplete. During times of stress or danger the human body generally has 4 available options when adrenaline kicks in. These are; Fight, Flight, Posture, Submitt.

Each of these responses is common when a person is placed in a stressful or potentially dangerous situation. The fact is that everyone is affected by the “Adrenal Stress Response”. The difference is in how individuals deal with it. Each of us fits into one or more of these response types dependent upon a variety of environmental and personal factors. Adrenaline is an amazing hormone, it lets our bodies become supercharged and incredibly strong. Unfortunately it also has a dark side. Adrenaline also causes the “Freeze” response, dry mouth, rapid breathing, and extreme fatigue. Asymmetric Saturation Training is one method to reduce the effects of the “Adrenal Stress Response”. This is accomplished by systematically placing students in an Adrenal state during full contact Padded Attacker scenarios. Repeated exposure to the Adrenal Stress Response burns Self Defense techniques into the student’s neural pathways and teaches them how to survive a violent attack. This is the same method used by Peace Officers and the Military to train for the realities of combat.

Fight is always the first option listed when this sequence is discussed. It is however probably the least used in these situations. The human body is hardwired against harming others of our species. It is what allows us to live in large communities without random violence and murder. The ability to use violent and sometimes lethal force to protect ourselves from harm is easy to discuss and much harder to actually do. It is important to remember though that there is a portion of the populace that doesn’t share your feelings of kindness and lack of aggression towards your fellow man. In my business we call them “Wolves”. For the terms of our discussion “Wolf” refers to criminals and other predators.

Flight is the next most discussed option and in my opinion the least used or considered. It is also the most prudent and least likely to produce violent results. My philosophy has always been to run if you can and fight if you can’t. I’ve seen countless situations that have deteriorated into violence that you could have seen coming from a block away. Conversely I’ve also seen people stand back and posture when doing so was so obviously not going to go well for them.

Posturing is a very successful strategy for dealing with potential violence. Many species posture to make themselves look larger and more aggressive to potential adversaries. Often posturing works as the response cost for the criminal is just too high. It is too risky to take the chance that the individual posturing is just as tough and bad as they are trying to tell you they are. If you misjudge your career as a criminal will be brief and the resultant miscalculation painful.

Submitting is the fourth way that our bodies can react in a stressful or violent situation. In some cases submission has saved lives. Submission as a response to crime often has negative effects on it’s victims for years after the crime. It is important for survivors of violence to understand that no matter the circumstances that led to their attack the responsibility always lies with the perpetrator.

In my world there are three types of people; Wolves, Sheep and Sheepdogs. Wolves are predators and are not afraid to harm you. It is important to know that wolves don’t play by societies rules, so expecting them to behave as anything other than large, dangerous carnivores is foolhardy. The best way to deal with a wolf is never to run across his path in the first place. Learning practical Self Defense and Personal Safety skills will go a long way to keeping you off of a wolfs radar.

Sheep unfortunately represent the vast majority of society. I use this Tag because Sheep are prey. To the wolves of the world, sheep are there to be eaten. For you that means whatever personal motive that drives them to commit their crimes. Many times Sheep take the “It won’t happen to me, I live in a nice neighborhood” approach. Most times they are shocked when crime does happen in their neighborhood or affects them or someone they know in a very personal way.

Sheepdogs are the last category and that is what every one of us should aspire to be. Sheepdogs are not intimidated by Wolves and will actively protect the Sheep. Wolves don’t want to mess with a Sheepdog due to the high probability of severe risk and damage to them personally. We can become Sheepdogs by educating ourselves on the societal causes of crime and learning the skill sets necessary to protect ourselves and our families from the wolves at the door. And like a good Sheepdog we also need to learn the skills to deal with the Wolf when no other option presents itself.

Kerry Sauve

StreetSense Safety and Security Inc

http://www.streetsensesafety.ca