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Old December 29, 2012, 09:43 AM   #1
lockedcj7
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Trouble spots or "places to avoid"

I know this has been covered before but I haven't seen it lately or in it's own thread, so here goes...

I carry virtually every chance I get but I can't always dress out like I'm going into Mogadishu. I also try really hard to avoid places where trouble is more likely than others. Here is a brief list of places that I try to avoid based solely on my perception of safety and past news accounts.

Walk-up ATMs or any ATM after dark.
Banks on Friday.
Bad neighborhoods.
Liquor, package and convenience stores after dark.

What other places should be avoided whenever possible?
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Old December 29, 2012, 10:43 AM   #2
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Big cities
Malls
Theaters
Stadiums
Churches
Bars


And any place where the armed citizen is not welcome.
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Old December 29, 2012, 10:48 AM   #3
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Quote:
Big cities
Malls
Theaters
Stadiums
Churches
Bars


And any place where the armed citizen is not welcome.
NJ
MD
IL
HI
NYC
DC
MA
CA

Most dangerious places I can think of....
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Old December 29, 2012, 10:55 AM   #4
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Mosques
Bars
Trailer Parks (senior parks excepted)
Public Housing
Any part of town that has a high crime rate by zip code
Non-chain highway truck stops
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Old December 29, 2012, 10:58 AM   #5
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John Farnham says if you are home in bed by 10:00 PM you miss most of the trouble. Look at the percent of drunk drivers on the freeways in the later hours. It skyrockets to about 10 to 30% in some areas.

Restaurants in isolated locations about closing time - lots of cash.

Meet the Press - host might have illegal weaponry - sorry!
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Old December 29, 2012, 12:18 PM   #6
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John Farnham says if you are home in bed by 10:00 PM you miss most of the trouble.
Especially true on Friday and Saturday nights.

My particular county (like most of North Alabama) is dry but on premises bar sales are legal. This has led to a higher than normally fatality rate on the roads as people drive to bars, get drunk then drive home. By 8PM on most nights there are a number of weaving vehicles in the road.

Most violence takes place at home though.
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Old December 29, 2012, 12:23 PM   #7
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Most violence takes place at home though.
Only in Alabama...........

Sorry, could not resist.......

Seriously "domestic" violence is a whole different subject.
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Old December 29, 2012, 12:23 PM   #8
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+1 on bars, night clubs. Since I'm a life-long non-drinker, the only bars and clubs I've ever set foot into were while on duty, responding to fights. Otherwise, you'll not find me in such places. Pardon me if I don't get this quote verbatim, but I think it was the great Louis Awerbuck who said: "Don't go to stupid places, with stupid people, to do stupid things."
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Old December 29, 2012, 12:27 PM   #9
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P.S.: Don't get so focused on places to avoid "after dark" that you forget that trouble can come to anyone, anywhere, at any time of day or night. There is much to be said for maintaining "Condition Yellow" at all times while out in public. Paranoid? No. Realistic!
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Old December 29, 2012, 01:51 PM   #10
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In today's climate, . . . I try to avoid every place I can, . . . especially if I have never been there before.

You may ask why, . . . and it is simple, . . . if I stay home, mind my own business, keep the doors locked, . . . I stand a much better chance of "No Encounters".

At 68, . . . I like it that way.

But anyway, . . . no bars, no nightclubs, no casinos, no "7-11" type stores, local banks only, I am very wary of malls, and certain areas of certain cities and towns, . . . I totally avoid. If I have to go there, . . . I'm the red Liberty Jeep that rolls through the stop signs, . . . and will always turn on red to avoid having to wait very long at all for it to turn.

I also pull up and stop short of whoever is in front of me, . . . I leave an "exit" distance between me and the other guy.

Anyway, may God bless,
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Old December 30, 2012, 10:36 AM   #11
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There are no "safe" places. Criminals and psychos are permitted to go anywhere they choose. The White House is filled with heavily armed Secret Service agents and people have fired through the windows and even crashed aircraft into it. "Safe" is a concept. It is a worthless concept.
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Old December 30, 2012, 11:59 AM   #12
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Any "gun free zone"
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Old December 30, 2012, 02:09 PM   #13
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banks/credit unions, ATMs, bars-nightclubs, streets-areas....

There are some good points here but I disagree with some of the statements. It is smart to avoid or pass thru; "bad areas" but as a security officer in a few of those places I can tell you honestly, a lot of the crime/incidents are started by people who are not from those places to start with. If you live or work in these places you see it firsthand. Some places get a unfair rap but others due draw in criminal acts or are what public officials call; "a criminal nuisence".
I tend to avoid banks or credit unions on Fridays(mostly the 1 or 2nd Fri). I also do not go out often to local bars, clubs or restaurants downtown, which is a serious crime problem where I live.
I'd also be careful in some metro area parks or outdoor areas. They have become havens for EDPs(emotional disturbed persons), homeless & aggressive panhandlers. A few urban areas have park rangers or bike patrol officers but they are not always around.
I get annoyed too by the long stretches of streets or roads with 0 street lighting. These streets are a easy target for a car-jacking or a ambush. The same goes for sidewalks or areas where plants or tree branches block the path.
This is no minor issue either. I once caught a strange guy hiding in the bushes & behind the hotel sign where I worked. I noticed him from the 2nd floor & contacted LE.

I really do not use ATMs that much. Debit cards & direct deposit have made life a lot easier(and safer).
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Old December 30, 2012, 05:45 PM   #14
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I have to travel to El Paso fairly often. Unfortunately, the El Paso-Juarez area is a combat zone. I do not travel at night in any neighborhoo near the border. If I have to us a bank machine I will use one in a particular Safeway that is in a 'nice' part of town. I carry my LCP in any restaurant I go to and am very aware of what is going on when I go outside to get my car.
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Old December 30, 2012, 06:04 PM   #15
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be prepared and aware everywhere ya go but try not to focus on so many places to avoid that you never live and enjoy life.
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Old December 30, 2012, 06:18 PM   #16
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Quote:
Single Six: Pardon me if I don't get this quote verbatim, but I think it was the great Louis Awerbuck who said: "Don't go to stupid places, with stupid people, to do stupid things."
I think you have the content correct. And while lots of trainers quote this maxim, John Farnam is generally credited as being the author.
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Old December 30, 2012, 08:04 PM   #17
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I grew up working in one of the worst areas of Dallas, saw my first murder when I was 12, saw numerous bar fight beatings, fist fights, and people came in our store complaining of being robbed or harmed and requesting help. After school, I would often ride my bike from the good part of town to the bad part and then home after work. I really can't say that the part of town, the "bad part" was really the issue.
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Old December 30, 2012, 08:08 PM   #18
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Dawg23: I stand corrected. Thanks for setting me straight.
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Old December 30, 2012, 08:10 PM   #19
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...However, authorship aside, it's GREAT advice!
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Old December 30, 2012, 08:54 PM   #20
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bad parts of town; true story....

As I posted, don't judge a area or community just because it's poor or low-end. Low wage earners are NOT criminals & want a safe, stable environment just like you.

In the late 2000s, I lived & worked at a extended stay hotel property in a mid size city. A group of "bail enforcement agents" came on the property to get a hotel room to set up a fugitive apprehension. The female bail agent kept making insults & condisending remarks about the area. I wanted the "Doggie possie" to leave ASAP & ask the general mgr not to give them a room.
The staff & I offered to help the bounty hunters get the bail-jumper. We waited for the young female to show up. When the female subject came into the hotel, I quietly alerted the bail agents. These morons bungled out of their room & the woman took off! I laughed my a** off at these inept jerks.
They brought the problems on property then screwed up.
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Old December 30, 2012, 09:26 PM   #21
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If you don't go where criminals and drug users hang out, and avoid their company at all times, you will generally never see an act of violence in your presence.
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Old December 30, 2012, 09:38 PM   #22
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From Single Six: However, authorship aside, it's GREAT advice!
Agreed.
I pass this along at every class I teach.
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Old December 31, 2012, 08:10 AM   #23
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Some interesting replies.

Maybe I should have prefaced my original question. I'm always in condition "yellow" and have walked out of many places because there was somebody there who was acting funny, belligerent or just seemed a little off.

I also agree that there are no "safe" places since there are evil, crazy, dangerous people everywhere. That said, I fully intend to live my life and enjoy it as I see fit.
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Old December 31, 2012, 03:09 PM   #24
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Yeah, I really want to second ClydeFrog's comment. When I moved to Atlanta, I would see some graffiti or tags around and immediately think 'oh oh, this is a bad area'. Having lived here for a while however, I also see that quite a few of these neighborhoods that I thought looked bad, are actually very well functioning neighborhoods. What I mean is folks are keeping an eye out for each other and their houses, generally know what is going on, etc.

My rules of thumb are to avoid some of the obvious such as ATMs late at night, don't be walking around at 2 or 3am, but otherwise, not to worry too much about it. Life is always risky and if you are too conservative about where you are willing to go, then you miss out on some great restaurants, good music, etc.

That said, one piece of advice that I think is good is that while you can't avoid them, that you do want to be particularly aware of your surroundings when you're in a transitional area where people pass through but usually don't stay. E.g., parking lots, cut throughs, etc. Those are places where a large proportion of robberies take place.

Last edited by dspieler; December 31, 2012 at 03:14 PM.
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Old December 31, 2012, 04:29 PM   #25
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"bad spots", reaction...

I disagree to a point about the bad areas or spots with trouble.
In the mid summer of 2011, I ran into a closed US Post Office on a Sun afternoon to mail a few postcards out. In the post office on the floor was a vagrant who asked me for $. This took me by surprise & the USPS office was in a "upper-middle class" suburb. Not a ghetto or "bad area".
The big issue with armed citizens & concealed carry(not sworn LE or armed professionals who know they going to around criminals) is that you must react rather than act in a critical uncident.
That's why it's so important to be well prepared & to be alert.

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