Chief George R. Boatright

The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of community welfare and existence.    Sir Robert Peel

 Events that can take place in our peaceful community dictate the need to address issues of personal safety.  We, the police, are here to serve as the protectors of the public; however, the first line of personal defense rests upon the shoulders of the individual.  We can not be where you are at all times; neither would you want us to be.

 The absolute best defensive tactic is awareness.  This applies even to driving your automobile among the multitude of drunk and impaired drivers with whom we share our roadways.

 Let us ponder what awareness is and how we apply it to our daily lives.  Try to recall the last time you entered your local bank.  What was it that you did as you walked up to the doorway?  You most likely opened the door and strolled on in.  What did you do when you entered?  Chances are you identified the shortest line of customers, checked your deposit slip, and joined the line.

 Look at this another way.  Would it spark your interest on a hot July day if a nondescript van was running in the parking lot with a single person sitting behind the wheel?  That is nothing to get upset about, while it should cause one to increase his alert status to code yellow.  Aside from not wanting to run over a departing customer, you might want to ever so briefly scan the entry area and if a fella is standing there with a ski mask one should consider strolling back to the car and calling 911 on the cell phone rather than walking on in and becoming an additional victim. 

 At 11 o’clock at night someone is knocking at your door.  Do you trustingly throw the door open or do you take the precaution of seeing who is there first.  You would probably do the latter; but, what about at noon when you are home sick with a cold.  Ask yourself who would be stopping by to visit when you are usually at work.  It doesn’t matter what the time of day; know who is there before inviting yourself to be a victim.

 Many years ago an enterprising lad did a bit of research.  Numerous New York City muggers were interviewed to determine what it was they looked for to identify their victims.  Almost unanimously they chose those who appeared to be unaware of their surroundings, those who walked with their heads down and fail to make eye contact were particularly identified as victims.

 Be aware of your surroundings and with whom you are about to associate

© 2001, 2002 Palmer Police Department
All Rights Reserved
Please Read Our Copyright Notice