Some people believe they can avoid criminal activity by simply avoiding ‘bad’ areas.  True, a person may be more likely to be attacked in certain locales, but people can be victimized virtually anywhere.  The best way to avoid attacks when you are out and about is to recognize and address threats before they lead to dangerous conflict.

 On the street, how does a criminal decide who to attack?

After a bad guy decides to commit a crime, he needs a victim—preferably someone oblivious to danger and who is likely to be afraid to fight back when attacked.  Bad guys often ‘test’ their potential victim by asking for a match, the time or something similar, an action that reveals whether the individual will allow his or her personal space to be violated.

How can a gun owner avoid looking like a good target?

Guns do not magically keep criminals away.  Awareness is the best deterrent.  The vast majority of criminals are opportunists who only strike when presented with a good opportunity.  Remove the opportunity and you dramatically reduce the risk you face.

How does one learn how to effectively observe and detect risk?

On the street, we must mentally ‘shift gears’ to match the threat level we encounter.  There is a sliding scale of readiness, starting with an oblivious, unprepared state and moving all the way to a condition of being ready to fight instantly and with lethal violence if forced.

Shouldn’t we simply live prepared to instantly fight back when required?

We can’t observe effectively if we are stuck at either end of this spectrum.  At the bottom of the scale, we will fall victim to an accident or to a criminal, eventually.  On the other hand, we can’t go through the day with our hand on our holstered pistol.  Our threat response needs to move up and down the scale as both observation and circumstances change.

What are the psychological problems the average person must overcome when attacked?

Most of us face three psychological difficulties: recognizing the threat in time to react; understanding and accepting that severe harm or death is likely; and overcoming reluctance to respond to that threat by responding violently against another human being.

How can we overcome these three problems?

We overcome these problems by moving along the sliding threat scale.  The lowest level on the scale allows us to be in an oblivious, daydreaming, preoccupied state.  The next level is that of general alertness—heads up and eyes searching.  Still higher is identification of a specific threat.  The final level is being psychologically prepared to fight.

What happens when we reach that final level—when we are prepared to fight?

When we believe a threat is real, we are waiting on a ‘mental trigger’ - a specific, predetermined action on a bad guy’s part that will result in our immediate, aggressive, defensive reaction.  By having a ‘pre-made decision’ set up in our mind, we can move fast enough to deal with the problem and not waste time deciding what to do.

 What is that trigger?

The mental trigger will differ depending on the circumstances.  It could be, “I’ve told him to stop; if he moves one more step toward me with that tire iron, I’ll shoot.”  Whatever the trigger is, once it is pulled, we must take immediate action against the bad guy.

Do criminals really fear gun-carrying citizens?

Yes.  In fact, criminals fear the armed citizen more than the police—armed citizens are unpredictable.  They resist attacks, and they shoot back.  Most bad guys will avoid an attack on a random person they believe might be armed.  The most common behavioral difference between the armed and unarmed citizen often is awareness.

Sources:  Tom Givens, “States of Awareness: The Cooper Color Codes”, Col. Jeff Cooper, “Principles of Personal Defense”, Master Sgt. Alejandro Barin, “Building a Combat Mindset”

Submitted by Craig Conley—Contributor