Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 08-20-2010, 11:07 AM   #1
terry and jo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Retired Okie now in Colorado
Posts: 531
Camping Safety......Again!!

Please bear with me on this one. It touches home because two fellow Okies were victims and because Jo and I work for a law enforcement agency in Oklahoma.

With the good news today of the arrest of the Arizona prison escapees, I can now rest a little easier and worry less for those friends on these forums that are populating our nations campgrounds. The reason is because McCluskey and Welch had been frequenting camping areas and truck stops in their efforts to avoid capture.

Even at their capture, McCluskey had stated that if he could have reached his weapon in their tent that he would have engaged the police officers. Welch had reached for her weapon, but dropped it after confrontation by SWAT officers. They were a couple not afraid to kill even innocent people to further their aims. The couple from Tecumseh, Oklahoma that were killed in New Mexico are evidence of the likelyhood of criminals to kill, even if for no other reason than to avoid having witnesses around.

I cannot stress enough for everyone to always be aware of the circumstances surrounding you. Even if you aren't one to own and carry a firearm, always be aware of the location of other items that could be used as a weapon to protect yourselves. For years, it has been known that criminals avoid individuals who are armed, or could be armed, or even appear to be confident and assured in their manner.

For instance, when walking to one's vehicle, don't just amble along, acting as if you are unsure of your vehicle's location. Even if you are lost, stride determinedly and confidently in your lost status to avoid allowing a criminal to target you. Even in heavily trafficked areas (think Walmart parking lots), NEVER walk to your car talking on your cell phone. If you are on the phone to someone, your awareness of your surroundings are diminished. Criminals look for people who seem to be unaware to target for their crimes. As a friend tells me, "Keep your head on a swivel. Keep looking around as you walk to your vehicle."

Even if not directly threatened, it may be necessary to confront an intruder into someone else's area, even if to only stand and carefully watch the intruder. (They hate to be noticed.) This kind of action may prevent a criminal from targeting a neighbor, whether it is a residential area or campground.

Don't be afraid to call the police if you are suspicious. You may not be officially "making a false report of a crime" if you are only informing the police of an intruder. How do you know that the police aren't already aware that someone has been commiting crimes in the area where you are? The police don't always inform the public if there has been a series of crimes in a particular area. But, if you report an intruder, it may already be someone they are looking for.

If at all possible, avoid being alone. There is safety in numbers. If you are hesitant about walking out in the dark to your vehicle, ask an employee of the store where you are to ask someone to walk you to your car or at least stand outside watching you as you go to it.

Alertness is the watch word, especially for those that are in areas other than "home". Since some of your homes are mobile, you often are in areas unfamiliar to you.

Stay safe. We want to visit WITH you, not visit ABOUT you.

Terry
__________________

__________________
Terry and Jo
2010 Mobile Suites 38TKSB3 #5332 - 2008 Ford F450
Terry's Smugmug Site
terry and jo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2010, 12:05 PM   #2
missourijan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 131
Thank you for the reminders
__________________

__________________
Jan & Thomas
2012 Mobile Suite #5942
2012 Ford F350 Super duty
"We used to work, now we workamp"
missourijan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2010, 12:07 PM   #3
chevman
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wenatchee. wash
Posts: 83
Thanks for the great post.
chevman
__________________
chevman
chevman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2010, 08:21 AM   #4
Motor31
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 2,130
You are only making a false report if you are reporting something that is untrue. If someone looks or acts suspicious to you, try to figure out why they give you that "feeling" and then call the authorities and explain what you are seeing. That is not false reporting, it's being observant.

Human predators will look for the easy targets, those unable to defend or totally unaware of their surroundings so they can gain surprise. Don't be unaware of where you are and what the surroundings are. If you look like you are observing the world around you you are unlikely to be surprised/That means you can defend yourself or take steps to make plenty of a commotion if confronted before the confrontation. That is something a human predator does not want. They want quiet and secrecy while they are doing their business.
__________________
Mike Nancy and the fuzzies
Fulltiming since June 2004
Volvo 660 MH tow vehicle
2005 MS 38RL
2007 Saturn Ion "toad"
2010 Gold Wing "piggyback"
Motor31 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-2010, 09:31 AM   #5
ponch
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Springfield, Il.
Posts: 655
Send a message via AIM to ponch Send a message via MSN to ponch
GREAT POST!

Thank You!
__________________
Ponch
S.O.I.T.C. Central Division
2007.5 3500 HD GMC dually
Mobile Suites 2005 36CK3 #2307 w/ auto levelers/ phase 2
Air Safe Hitch
HD TV in the basement and living room and bedroom
HD MOTO SAT Auto Ant on roof
pressure pro
ponch is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:29 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×