Disaster Defense: Preparing for Looters

In any survival situation, looting will be a problem, especially in highly populated areas. Unfortunately, the worse the disaster is, the more looting that will take place, and the more daring looters will be. We must prepare to defend ourselves and our businesses against looters for a disaster situation, especially for E.M.P. and other high-threat disasters.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT LOOTING (in an indirect way):

“Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.” (Romans 14:20-21, NIV). This applies to looting or stealing, but the looting one is more relevant here. It says “food” but this applies to anything you take. If it causes someone else to have less, or hurts them even in the slightest way, don’t take it. It would be different if a whole city was deserted and there was no one to claim the stuff left behind, but the chances are, that isn’t the case. God says that you will be better off without it. He will provide for you, especially when you follow Him closely. The more you follow God, the more you will be provided for. Trust me, stuff provided by God seems considerably better than stuff taken from others.

HOME DEFENSE

In a long term disaster survival scenario (like E.M.P.), looters will be tempted to loot your home for any supplies you have. It will almost always happen at night. It is surprising to know that most lootings occur from people you know. People who know you have supplies or that you are undefended will be the ones most willing to show their darker side. That’s the thing about disaster survival: the hardships of it show peoples’ true character. Someone you may have known as a ‘good person’ may actually have a dark side in them that you couldn’t have imagined out of them. Lootings from people you don’t know can be more dangerous, though. When looted by a total stranger, they have no ties to you, and no value for your life. We have to be prepared for such events.

If a serious disaster happens, it is crucial to turn your house into a fortress. This means boarding up your windows, installing good locks on your doors (a pad lock or bolt lock will work, or preferably both.). A simple chain lock or knob lock will not be enough, as they are easily broken or picked. If you have a tall fence, you can fortify it with barbed wire (which is relatively cheap to buy). If your fence is made of wood, it will easily be broken, so fortifying it will be pointless. A cheap, highly effective fence can be built out of cinder blocks and mortar, but with our modern concern for lawn beauty (which will no longer be a concern in a survival situation), many people will not put these fences up, and some city ordinances and neighborhood regulations will not allow it. It is always good to keep some building materials on hand at all times.

If you know you are going to be looted, then you have the defensive advantage against your attackers. The problem is, we will very rarely overhear someone saying, “I’m going to loot (your name)’s house tonight”. How you may discover they are looting your house otherwise I do not know. So the problem arises: the attackers have the surprise advantage over you. How do you fix this? You must expect a looter, every night. You must get in the habit of preparing your house for battle every night in a survival situation. Once the habit is made, you will always have the defensive advantage. Here are some of the following habits you should follow:

-Lock ALL of your doors and windows. Your windows should be boarded up anyways, but if you are caught without boarded windows, at least they will have to smash the window to get in first, waking you up. What I mean by ALL your doors is bedroom doors (or anywhere someone is sleeping) as well. This means that if the thief came in silently, he wont be able to enter your room and get a surprise attack on you without waking you up or coming uncomfortably close to it. A smart thief will try not to wake you up for as long as they can, so even a simple lock may be enough of a deterrent to stop them. Also lock anything with valuable goods in it (gun safes, pantries, etc.).

-Sleep with a weapon next to you or under your pillow.

-patrol the house before you go to sleep. Make sure everything is locked and nothing is out of the ordinary. You may also want to patrol your yard with a flashlight or spotlight. A thief who sees you doing this will likely assume you are expecting him and will leave you alone.

-Have a plan for your other household members (if any) laid out. Tell them what to do if a thief comes in. You can even have a code word if you want. If you and your family (or roommates, etc) Have a plan, you are much better off

Source : ultimatepreparedness.wordpress.com