"When Seconds Count ..."

   The purpose and intent of this blog is to spur thought and discussion about the area of self-defense and self-protection.  The title of the blog, “When Seconds Count …” is the preface of a modern adage that I have observed to be very true and accurate.  The entire adage is this:  “When seconds count, the police are mere minutes away.”

   I recently retired from a 38½-year career in law enforcement and protective services, working on both the front end and the back end of the criminal justice process.  I’ve learned from experience that it is almost impossible that a police officer will be right there with you when you are faced with someone intent upon assailing you or someone that is with you.  Likewise, a police officer is not likely to be at your home or business at the particular moment a burglar or burglars breach and invade.

   Anyone who applies a modicum of rationale thought to this reality would realize the odds are tremendously against the police and the assailant/burglar/vandal/thief/interloper being in the same place at the same time.  This is mostly by design of the assailant/burglar/vandal/thief/interloper.  Those guys just don’t like to be around the police.

   Yet I’ve heard hundreds of people express this ‘police omnipresence concept’ as an actual expectation.  The hard truth is, it just isn’t going to happen – unless your pockets are bottomless money wells and you are able to hire a cadre of round-the-clock bodyguards and security guards.

   The point is your safety and protection and the safety and protection of your property is your personal responsibility.  Anyone who thinks they can defer that responsibility to a law enforcement or private security agency is incredibly naive.

   Future entries on this blog will discuss the philosophy and the various strategies and tactics of taking care of yourself, your stuff, your place and some of the tools and important legal considerations behind them.  The author invites your comments about any or all of the blog posts, especially when the comment presents insights into some of the peculiarities of legal aspects – there are some units of government out there that pass some pretty strange laws.