Informative CCW Article

[ToddG]

I do think we tend to get cause and effect mixed up a lot when we start to identify CCWers. Hey, most CCWers have two hands, that must be a threat indicator!

The hate for fanny packs is a great example. Whenever someone tells me he "knows" all fanny packs carry guns, I just roll my eyes. I live in a state where few people want to carry guns and far fewer are allowed to CCW. But I see fanny packs at the mall, the dog park, and on folks walking up and down Main Street all the time. You're telling me these people are all armed?

[Tamara]

You're telling me these people are all armed?

The fanny pack on the chick on the left is a decoy. Her P3AT is in the PagerPal holster behind it.

[Frank B]

Great article! Some good points are made and it´s interesting to see it from the LEO side.

[jslaker]

The hate for fanny packs is a great example. Whenever someone tells me he "knows" all fanny packs carry guns, I just roll my eyes. I live in a state where few people want to carry guns and far fewer are allowed to CCW. But I see fanny packs at the mall, the dog park, and on folks walking up and down Main Street all the time. You're telling me these people are all armed?

I think it's largely a question of locality.

Where I'm at, it's pretty much like Tam said where nobody would bat an eye at a clip-on knife. On the other hand, when I was out at a restaurant recently and saw a gentleman wearing a shirt-and-tie-and-fanny-pack it said "gun" with near certainty to me. (I later found out the gentleman in question is a detective in the local PD).

The difference is that I see clip-on knives all the time here, but fanny packs -- especially on men -- are nearly unheard of.

I think it's safe to say that the difference between the ordinary and a tell depends entirely on your local culture and context.

[Tamara]

A cordura fanny pack with office attire might look odd, whereas a cordura fanny pack with a leather Joe Rocket jacket and a helmet dangling from your weak hand is pretty nondescript.

[shep854]

Oh, dear. I seem to be dressed like an off-duty cop. Hey, you know who I almost never read about getting mugged or otherwise pestered?

Heh. It's kind of like the instant respect white Crown Vics, gray Chargers and gray Suburbans get down here in Alabama--especially if the windows are tinted. Even luggage racks on the SUVs get reactions; from a distance they are hard to tell from low-profile light bars.
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Another +1 for the article; it was a very good read.

[LtDave]

If you look like food...
I was on the City's credit union board once upon a time and went to a meeting with the accountant/auditor. Conversation led to him mentioning how he had been mugged 2 or 3 times. The other cop on the board and I looked at each other and I swear we both thought exactly the same thing. This guy was so Casper milk toast that we thought about mugging him ourselves right there in the credit union. Definitely food.

[texag]

It's nothing more than an anecdote, but I found it amusing.

There's an AAR of a class at CSAT over on lf.net. The student mentions how earlier that week some common street thugs decided they would target Paul Howe. There wasn't much detail on what went down, but the story ends with one of the would be robbers sitting with his head in his hands while waiting to get picked up by the law.

Just goes to show that even people who are beyond proficient, uber experienced, and most likely ooze "don't fuck with me" can still be targeted due to a failure in the victim selection process.

[mc1911]

It's nothing more than an anecdote, but I found it amusing.

There's an AAR of a class at CSAT over on lf.net. The student mentions how earlier that week some common street thugs decided they would target Paul Howe. There wasn't much detail on what went down, but the story ends with one of the would be robbers sitting with his head in his hands while waiting to get picked up by the law.

Just goes to show that even people who are beyond proficient, uber experienced, and most likely ooze "don't fuck with me" can still be targeted due to a failure in the victim selection process.

I think this depends on what the victim selection process is. Assuming that looking like a hard target will solve the problem of being targeted only works if the objective of those targeting is finding a pushover for quick financial gain. Sometimes you run into some guys who just have the testosterone pumping and they see someone who looks tough and decide they want to know if it is all looks. At that point, the fight itself is the objective.

[Tamara]

Just goes to show that even people who are beyond proficient, uber experienced, and most likely ooze "don't fuck with me" can still be targeted due to a failure in the victim selection process.

Holy dogshit! You mean nothing is foolproof?!?

(Seriously: There are a certain percentage of people that will case the target and say "Hey, that looks like a very alert off-duty cop" and wait or go elsewhere. And then there's an even smaller percentage that don't give a fuck. Would you rather deter some, or none?)