Awakening Awareness.

In light of the recent attacks in Paris my thoughts have been with those people, the families, their friends, their loved ones, such a tragedy and such a mess, what a world we live in and have come to inherit from the generation that came before.
It is easy to use such a tragedy as some sort of Political Springboard for any agenda a person wishes to push onto the hearts and minds of the masses, but a better thing may be to reflect inwardly, to reflect within our communities, to really evaluate where we are both internally and externally.

A friend and Teacher, Kris Wilder, shared and article on his blog called 'You Cannot Negotiate With Evil' and this article rings true and it also seeks to differentiate between what we THINK is evil and what evil is in ACTUALITY.
The guy mugging you on the street may just be on hard times looking for a quick buck to feed himself and his family, but the guy leading you at gun point to a secluded area is plotting terrible things with the end result being the forfeit of your life.
You, as a person, have to be able to differentiate between the two and these two are blatantly obvious over simplifications, but you get the point.

In regards to Paris a person can say there is no amount of vigilant observation that would have prevented such an attack, however, the Marine Combat Hunter Program and Combat Profiling would beg to differ with that remark, if you know what you are looking for, which means you have to have base lines established in order to see any anomalies before they act.
What does this mean? This means that the people who are familiar with a local area, within a neighborhood, or a specific hangout, would have the most familiarity with that area and would spot ANY anomalies from a mile away.
That is not to say that a person with knowledge on reading people would not either, but most people simply do not have that type of knowledge and, indeed, most people simply do not pay attention.

What does the tragedy teach us about ourselves? Maybe more people will wake up each day with a bit more awareness of their surroundings, maybe more people will wake up each day and notice the little things, and maybe this will last the rest of their lives.
The destabilization of the West is the end game and this likely will not be the last incident we see and it may even happen here in America or in the United Kingdom, but something tells me more is coming, so I hope this is a lasting lesson that feeds stronger awareness.

Time to get involved in your neighborhood, allow each little piece of the city to get involved with itself... The amount of crimes happening right now are undeterred by Citizen Patrols or even Police Patrols, the only thing that will keep people safe is banding together in familiar places with familiar faces and watching out for each other.

Stay safe people. 

Security.

Those involved in Citizen Patrol groups have been operating for years and, judging from both Mainstream Media andAlternative sites like Spokane News (not to mention the police scanner) there really is no evidence of a shift in the crime  rate.
To be fair the Police also tend only to show up AFTER a crime has been committed.

There tends to be a trend of crime in less well to do places, like certain parts of Hillyard, and less crime in others.
There are also certain houses that seem immune even in these areas, why? They tend to be secure, guns, system, and reputation as the place you just do not mess with if you value your life or your freedom.

People seem to think they have the one true answer to the problem when all they have is another useless mechanism and the answer is right infront of them.

Self reliance and close-knit community.

Best Practices - Sharing Information

Best practices serve to protect concerned parties by not releasing information such as Name and Contact Information while using words like 'this person is trying to report you.'
When best practices are not followed it usually means a person is giving the information freely, often embellishing, because they hope the other party will retaliate.

This is something people would have a problem with if the Police were doing it and the goal should be to be better than that.
The best thing to do would be to localize everything and report illegal activities to the Police do as to avoid any conflict of interest involving long time friends or family members and let the Police sort it out.

Again, neighborhood cooperation and agreement is often the best model, but there are certain things best left to the Police because they know how to follow best practices.
The urge to take the Law into our own hands is often the result of our own delusional notions...and the allure of power and authority.

The Hitler Youth did not tolerate dissenting opinions and sought to make people who voiced concern disappear.

The Watch is at it Again!

The person in question, Mike Boyer, just contacted someone and dropped my name saying that I was reporting on them to City Watch.
This person is in no way involved with my problems, but it does serve to illustrate the problems further by highlighting such Gestapo Scare Tactics in order to get me to shut up through a third party.

Had it been to someone of a less than savory character the so-called 'City Watch' would have just put my family in danger because of an issue I voiced with their practices, an issue that ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO REMAIN PUBLIC because of underhanded practices like this in order to silence dissenting voices.

They should probably think about changing their Leadership and adopting different practices very soon because I do not take too kindly to threats and if it continues it will be construed as harassment and charges will be brought against each and every one of them.
This is what happens when you let vigilantes decide what is and is not permissible by law.

Now, back to writing about alternatives on Street, Home, and Neighborhood Protection.

Neighborhood Protection Versus Citizen Patrol.

The first order of business in any form of Community Action is actually having a Community, then, coming to an understanding with those IN the community, not simply wandering around into areas where you do not know anyone and, quite frankly, do not belong.
If you choose the latter then you will have NO back up in that area and, quite frankly, are just as guilty of stirring stuff up as those committing the crimes you are out on patrol looking for as if you are some sort of Police Officer with all the training, schooling, and experience that goes with that honor (Yes, I do still respect the Police, it runs in the family and also runs in my training).

There is no need for volunteer forms for late night patrols all over God's Green Earth, nope, just an agreement, you can keep an eye on your neighbor and your neighbor can keep an eye on you, but you actually have to be on good terms with your neighbor, or at least come to an understanding and have some kind of working relationship with each other, otherwise there is NO community.
These Patrols out there are meant to disrupt and disturb, but what people do NOT think about is WHAT they are disturbing and WHERE.
What happens when WHAT they disturb happens to be carrying several fully loaded guns and WHERE happens to be in a neighborhood of family homes that are, quite frankly, made of the industrial equivalent to cardboard (drywall)??
People like to think they know what they are doing after a few Kung Fu classes and a few good action movies, but do they know where to duck for cover that will cover them from a live and active shooter?
Do they know what part of their tin-can-made cars will protect them from someone spraying bullets, or did they just assume that it would work the way they had seen it in the movies?? What about when adrenaline kicks in and they cannot think clearly?? MANY OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOT EVEN BEEN IN A FIGHT SINCE HIGH SCHOOL!!!

No, the better option is to keep these things in mind while operating in the best place possible, and that is closest to home, while getting the word out to other neighborhoods via the Internet, ect., so that they can set up THEIR OWN agreements within THEIR OWN communities with THEIR OWN neighbors, that way when all is said and done there is no doubt of who is who and who you will be backing up.
Strange cars rolling in a place where those cars do not belong yields only ONE thing, suspicion, and if something goes down, you end up running across my front lawn I do not want to have to decipher who you are as opposed to who the assailant is and worry about whether or not you are with the assailant or on my side.
Best of all I want to know what is going down with a phone call direct to me, and several others within my vicinity so that we can ALL act to protect each other while someone else WITHIN THE COMMUNITY calls the Police.

These are not negotiable theories, they are tried and true theories... The only reason they have not worked lately is because they have not been utilized within the past few years because everyone has lost trust in one another.
Time to rethink the approach guys.

vig·i·lan·te

noun

noun: vigilante; plural noun: vigilantes

1. a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.

   
   The above is the exact definition of the word 'Vigilante' and when this word was applied to a local group who take it upon themselves to patrol the area looking for suspicious activities late at night the notion was laughed at by many within the group.

   This is possibly due to negative connotations surrounding the word, but that is exactly what they are doing and often without the consent of the majority of people in the areas they claim to serve.

   While I do not disagree with looking out for one another I do disagree with cars driving down alleys with their brights on to disrupt 'suspicious activity' or rolling up on 'suspicious activity' in a local park at 2 or 3:00 in the morning right outside people's homes.

   These concerns were scoffed at and censored on their forum and when I sought to keep these concerns public I received veiled threats and some VERY immature put-downs by the self-appointed Leader of this organized group of concerned citizens, many of whom have legitimate will to do good in their community, but this guy seems to be more about being in the lime-light and even thinking himself a 'pseudo-cop' while encouraging an attitude of the same and silencing dissent and concern.

   While the group means well it is clear there are no background checks on Volunteers who patrol the streets and, while many of these people may be upstanding citizens, many more that are not lurk beneath the surface. 

   The Leader himself, the Organizer if that is more appropriate, is acquainted with a man who is a known drug addict, many drugs in fact, and this very acquaintance of the Group Organizer houses AT LEAST two other people on his property that are also known addicts who has done more than dabble in more than just breaking and entering. 

   The Organizer is the self appointed 'Number One Pot Smoker' of the city and was the first to buy Legalized Marijuana... However, where was he getting his weed before it was legal? Again, the man with whom he is acquainted is known for dealing in MANY drugs and illegal activities.

   Are you telling me he is going after this guy? Or is he turning a blind eye to his friend and sometimes supplier?? Weed may be legal now, but it was not always legal, and this man still deals in illegal drugs and activities, which means ANY money that goes to this guy, whether in the past, now, or in the future, is going to be used to fund these activities.

   
   

   This group of people, while well-meaning, are NOT Police Officers and they do not even truly know the people with whom they work. 

   If anyone feels comfortable having these people patrol around the city as if they are Police Officers, that is great, but we really do not want them in our neighborhood, this is why they invented neighborhood watch... So that people WHO KNOW one another can watch out for one another, and it has worked extremely well in the past, when people actually talked to the people in their neighborhood. 

   
   

   So no, City Watch ~ Spokane, I will NOT be supporting you and I will NOT be backing you up if you operate in my area you are subject to the same laws as everyone else.

   You have threatened me, you have dubbed my complex as a Meth Den, your self-appointed Leader's Words not mine, when all the people that live here are good people... HOW DARE YOU THREATEN AND JUDGE just because someone voiced concerns about the way you approach things for the sake of safety and security.