A while back in my hometown a great thing happened, the city sprung for a recrational trail, complete with water fountains, benches, paved trail for all methods of physical fitness. I myself took part regularly roller bladeing through from start to 15km finish. Great fun… until people started getting mugged, women groped, etc. It was like they came out of the the ground, the creeps. So my father, being an observant police officer noticed the relationship between the people attacked and their complete lack of situational awareness due to their walkmans/portable cd players. To combat this the police patrolled heavily for a while, and made the recommendation that the users of the trail should avoid distractions while out in public, especially after dark. What do you know, the occurrences of the attacks dropped off to nil, even after they stopped the heavy presence, because people LISTENED and stopped jamming their ears with headsets. Caught unawares… not them.

Fast forward to here. I shake my head to see all the early morning/late night joggers that run the streets of Halifax, and all the young teens with their gadgets jammed in their ears. Stop making yourselves more of a target. Criminals look for the quickest easiest way to capitalize on someones weakness. Swarmings, blindside attacks and attacks from behind are what is getting our citymates time and time again. I implore you all to keep your wits about you. Don’t be paranoid or nothing but make it harder for the scum in this city to make you their next victim, and cause another spike in the stat columns for crime here. —Icky

This article appears in Jan 27 – Feb 2, 2011.

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25 Comments

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  3. One can be lost in thought while jogging without music and still be a target. Situational awareness is about more than earplugs. It does not mean you can’t use earphones while exercising. It may be wrong to assume everyone who is plugged in must also be blasting their eardrums at top volume. With the volume turned low it is easy to hear around you. Proper vigilance includes looking around yourself at all times too, staying away from secluded areas, not going solo after dark and maintaining attention at all times and employing evasion techniques when in doubt.

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  4. umm….
    you have a better chance of politely asking every criminal in the city to stop mugging people…
    (beware, you’ll need to go door to door in spryfield) …
    before you will get people to stop listening to their iPlods /Zunes / Phones..

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  5. ’tis true. I wear my ipod running – I can’t seem to exercise as well without it! Anyway, I never have it blasting and I can still easily hear the traffic around me. People need to get s-m-r-t with their technology and quite running into fountains!

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  6. and if all that fails, carry a small electro prod in your hand, you can get the mini personal protectin on the net, for less than a hundred bucks. delivers a 20,000 volt jolt to you. cool but effective. arizona gun runners used to carry them awhile back.

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  7. Absolutely correct OP. Now if we could just teach those joggers/runners that when they come to an intersection NOT to run out in front of cars.

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  9. Zappers are illegal.
    I know, I tried to get them for my kids a few years back.
    IMO if you’re hit in a crosswalk & its found you’ve got a headset on, you should have to pay the driver for any damage to their vehicle & you should be ticketed for an unsafe act in a public place !

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  10. I like to wear my big headphones and I walk with my ipod usually in my hand. I don’t care if some public housing monkeys (black or white, the swarmers are apes) try to jump me. I’m not just another hipster doofus that won’t fight back. Oh, and the swarmings slowed down because it’s cold out and those cowards can’t handle any snow or wind.

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  11. OP, being from away you should realize the punks here don’t steal! That is for losers. Here, they gather in groups of 14 and kick the living fuck out of these poor people. Who needs an iPod when you can hear your friends ‘workboots breaking some poor shit’s cheekbone?

    I carry a magnetic pickup wand. looks like a pointer but thicker, is magnetic in case you drop your keys, and opens up to a 2-foot slashing piece of steel if trouble comes.

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  12. lol theres always the “too tough” crowd on here. i posted this because i dont like seeing people become victims. sure sure everyone can take on a million people and have super powered senses. i know. we all know. but for those who dont, why not support this and get the word out to friends and loved ones that MAY just in fact save someone some pain and suffering..just a thought. by the way, the weapon wielders….the beauty thing about weapons is the swing arc…which is my favourite thing in the world. amazing how quickly weapons are turned on people, especially when the person that is using it doesnt have the same training and experience as some people.

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  13. don’t carry any weapon unless you know how to use it…tho many everyday items can become lethal

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  14. sabastian…as a previous post a while back I did, about the joggers, I don’t brake for stupidity.

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  15. Also interesting is the fact when you pull a weapon on cowards they might just run away instead of trying to take it from you.

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  16. Lipstick Mini Stun Gun
    and
    Sunglasses Spy Camera DVR with MP3 Video Recorder

    Entertainment combo for Youtube = )
    I would totally watch pervs getting zapped.
    And, illegal or not, I would have no problem using a zapper on a predator.
    Of course, things are screwed up enough that I would get charged and the perv would be back on the streets a few days later. The stupidest part is that I can’t give him a shock but I can put a bullet in him (as long as the gun is registered).

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  17. Just another point- Don’t pull a knife if you’re not going to have the balls to use it. Like it was already said, if that other person DOES have the balls, they’ll take it from you lickity split. Now who’s in a pickle!?

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  20. I am as devastated as you dog-sis:(

    Can’t imagine anyone who was delighted by a sled ride there now being tortured by thoughts of the dogs final moments. What did the owners THINK was going to happen to all the dogs when the Olympic sized crowds went home? I am sickened!

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  23. I cried a bit at the office yesterday when I saw that story – just horrendous.

    PS: WTF is poochy doing up there, Hugo? Silly puppy 🙂 Must have been trying to creep on the neighbours dog!

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  25. “Just another point- Don’t pull a knife if you’re not going to have the balls to use it. Like it was already said, if that other person DOES have the balls, they’ll take it from you lickity split. Now who’s in a pickle!?”

    I’m not really afraid to use my mace. It’s non-lethal and besides, are the punks going to call the cops on me?

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