Crime is old as civilization. It attacks the very roots of  society.  Sooner or later each of us will likely  have a face to face encounter with an assailant. Our natural tendency will be to resist.  Should we? The old school of thought was to cooperate with the perpetrator, follow his orders and hope you are not ravished. This “may” be OK with a “simple robbery,” whatever that is.  After all, give the poor guy some money and he’ll be on his way. Ha ha. Not so simple Jack! Anyone who will force you to give up your possessions by threatening to hurt you is capable of  anything you can imagine – assault, rape, murder, kidnapping, and the list goes on.  Drug crimes, many involving juveniles, often turn violent and may engulf anyone in the proximity. A logical conclusion is the perpetrator will inflict some injury on you and he usually will have a weapon, probably a knife or gun.

The majority of us are proactive in matters concerning our property.  We lock doors, turn on lights, have a dog, alarms, etc. What about our personal security?  The difference is we are now face to face with the predator. He is a fire breathing intimidating  monster.  It is now decision time. Do we defend ourselves? Most certainly.  This is where some prior planning comes in handy. Research has shown  victim resistance is generally a wise course  of action.  Generally? Nothing is certain when you are facing a person with no qualms about harming you. Most likely the assailant will be a nervous amateur and not expecting you to to resist. Forcing  him to change is to your advantage. Do anything to upset his routine and cause him some pain. Gouge his eyes, a knee kick in the groin or stabbing with a fingernail file or anything else handy may be sufficient to distract him and give you enough time to get away to a safe location.  It would be a good idea to have  some type of weapon close at hand. A stun gun or pepper spray may be the ideal weapon to have.  You may not come out completely unscathed but you will be better off.

Another interesting factor also plays into the equation. Does the assailant believe he can pull this off and not get hurt. Criminals are usually perceptive to body language. If you are walking along with your head down giving the impression you have no idea what is around you, you are making yourself open for attack. I see women in particular doing this. Perhaps it may be they don’t want to give the impression they are flirting. If you are confidently walking and looking around noticing things, your chances of being attacked will be diminished. You may see the attack coming and avoid it or you may be able to identify the perp.

Many states have concealed carry laws. John Lott has shown in “More Guns, Less Crime” that crime, particularly  confrontational crime is reduced because the fear of an armed victim. Statically, you will be safer in a state that has  concealed carry. The term “armed” is generally associated  with a gun. Make no mistake,  a gun is a very effective defense against a mugger in the hands of a trained person. Carrying a gun has certain inherent obligations and risks. The first obligation is to be legal. The second most important obligation is training.  Shooting is a perishable skill.  Training should be on a regular basis, monthly at the least, and more than just popping a few caps. Training with a qualified instructor is a must in order to be competent. Lastly, you must have the right mindset to use the gun. It’s use is usually terminal for the  perpetrator.  You do not need to carry a gun if you have any doubt you can fulfill all these obligations.

Pepper Spray Demonstration

 

Stun gun demonstration

 

Other weapons? martial arts? Only if you can out kick Chuck Norris and adapt to street fighting.  Nothing is unfair in street fighting. There is no referee to break up a chock hold.  The martial arts are not really geared for down and dirty street  fighting. If nothing else, anything you can grab to defend  is OK.

Pepper sprays and stun guns are not generally regulated by the various government jurisdictions.  These weapons are non-lethal but will incapacitate virtually anyone, giving you ample time to get away.  They are very effective in a close encounter.  The stun gun requires contact with the assailant, preferably on the body rather than on the arms or legs. The time to disable someone may be up to several seconds for the lower voltage weapons. You obviously want the highest voltage available. There are stun guns that can be hidden in your hand making it a concealed weapon of a sort. And, there are stun guns disguised non-functioning cell phones and functioning flashlights.   The stun gun uses high voltage and very low current. The effect is to cause loss of control of muscles generally making the perp fall to the ground.  Tasers? The Taser is essentially a stun gun that  fires electrified darts to stun and immobilize the assailant. The Taser is larger and somewhat more difficult to carry concealed. Most police departments use the Taser in lieu of a stun gun.

 

On the other hand, pepper spray can have a range more than of more than 15 feet and can be effective against more than one assailant. The lucky recipient of a face full of spray experiences an uncomfortable burning sensation, loss of vision due to heavy tearing and usually some difficulty breathing. A good dose usually last about 15 minutes and then begins to wear off in the next hour or two. Pepper spray  is  made from Oleoresin Capsicum. The active ingredient is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chilies. The effectiveness of pepper spray is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU) after an American pharmacist, Dr. Wilbur Scoville. 2 million SHU seems to be the most common strength for defensive purposes.

It is an unfortunate fact of life in these United States – this is a litigious society.  Make no mistake.  It is completely within the realm  of possibility the use of a stun gun or pepper spray  to defend yourself against a criminal attack may end up in court. It is illegal to maliciously spray or “stun” someone without cause, but if you need to defend yourself, four elements should exist simultaneously to use pepper spray or a stun gun. Pepper spray and stun guns cause pain, some may say a great deal of pain.  Again, we live in a litigious society and the person who would stoop so low as to assault you is probably likely to sue if he is not successful robbing you or getting what he wants. It seems prudent to generally follow a guide line that has been proposed when lethal is used to protect yourself in court.

• Capability – Does the attacker have the ability seriously injure you? Does he have a weapon? Does it appear he can injure you with his bare hands? Is there more than one person? Disparity in size, age, sex,  and level of  aggressiveness are important factors in determining the aggressor’s ability to cause you  grievous bodily harm.
• Opportunity – Where is the  attacker? Is he  close enough to hurt you? There is something called the “21 foot rule” which states that an assailant with an edged weapon, that is a knife, can get to an officer in less time it takes for the officer to draw and fire two shots. If the assailant has a knife and if he lunges at you, it’s time to give him a snoot full of spray.
• Manifest Intent – The danger must be now, present time, not some time later. The assailant indicates by his words and/or actions that he intends to kill or seriously injure now, not an hour from now, but now.  You do not know what the intent of the assailant is, but from his actions and words, you believe he was/is going to kill or seriously hurt you.
• Preclusion -Preclusion simply means that the other options were precluded. Did you try to escape. Did you walk into a situation that you should have seen what may happen.  It is always a good and prudent stay away from likely bad situations when you can. Sooner or later all of us walk into something we wish we had not.
• One more comment – If you are attacked and it rises to the level you need to stun or spray the assailant, it will be fast, loud and high stress. You will not be able to go through each of these points individually. If you read and familiarize yourself with these points, there is a good chance you will be OK. If you are wrong, your mistake is not nearly as serious using a firearm.

It was stated earlier that stun guns and pepper spray are not generally regulated. That means there are a few regulations scattered across the country. It would be wise to check your specific location. A good source is the state Attorney General’s website. There is no single reliable source for this information that I have found. One thing is for sure. If it is in stores or the internet dealer will ship to you, it is legal.

Stay safe,

Sam Spade