On this page:
Why Avoidance? | Who's Going to be Robbing You | Kinds of robbery | *Fringe areas| *Five Stages of Violent Crime | Robbery avoidance | Car jacking | *Pyramid of Personal Safety | Lethal force | The cost of "defending yourself" | Lunch Time Lectures: Crime Prevention (Colorado)

Robbery is defined by the US department of Justice as: The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody or control from a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

This is different from mere theft, where force is not used against you personally, but objects are stolen. In short:

      Theft happens to your property.        Robbery happens to you.

      In theft your any damage will occur to the item stolen or other property
      (i.e. your door kicked in by a burglar).       With robbery the threat of harm is to you.

A pick pocket (who takes your wallet out of your purse) is not committing robbery, he is committing theft. Someone who walks up and puts a gun in your face and demands your purse is committing robbery. In a robbery, you are put in danger. This is why robbery is deemed a more serious crime.

 IF you are lucky, you will only be offered the threat of violence.

Why is Avoidance Best?
It might require you to take extra steps, it might even require you to hang up your cell phone and return to where you came from, but why is avoidance the best option?

Who's Going To Be Robbing You?
To understand both the dangers and why you want to avoid such situations, you might like to understand what kind of person commits robberies and muggings.

Kinds of robbery
Different states have different definitions and different statutes regarding robbery. But there are basic kinds of robbery and often what you do for a living or where you live determines what kind of robbery you are most likely to encounter

Fringe areas
Most personal robberies occur in what we call "fringe areas." This is a common term that runs through our system. What constitutes a fringe area might surprise you.

Five Stages of Violent Crime
What are the predictable - and easily identified stages a violent crime MUST go through in order to happen? How to identify when you are being set up for a violent crime

Robbery avoidance
Avoidance sounds whimpy until you are staring down the barrel of a gun, then it begins to make all sorts of sense. Unfortunately, by then it is too late. It is far easier to avoid being robbed by taking simple and easy steps.

Car jacking
Much of what you can do to prevent your vehicle from being carjacked can be found in the robbery avoidance page, however, there are some things that are specific to carjacking.

Pyramid of personal Safety
The pyramid of Personal Safety is a multi-level system designed to both discourage and foil criminals from preying on you. It is a blanket protection against several kinds of crime ranging from burglary, robbery and stalking. The more levels you include the safer you will be.

Lethal force
For those of you who find the idea of using lethal force to protect yourself uncomfortable, it is critical to realize that it exactly the level of force, whether lethal or of grave bodily injury that the robber is offering you. And that means you ARE in serious danger.

Mental Preparation

The cost of "defending yourself"
Many people think about getting a weapon or training to protect themselves from robbery. Others are appalled by the idea. We maintain this is a personal decision for each person to make. If you do chose to acquire either weapon or training, however, you are not exempt from deploying an avoidance strategy. There is a psychological cost of using lethal force on another human being. What the following article discusses is some of the long term repercussions that one must expect--especially if you did not try to avoid the situation. The article was written to get through to you a young man who had cavalierly discussed the idea of using a knife on another human being, as such the language is somewhat rough being a "Wake up Junior." Although focused on knife use, it is applicable to any lethal force usage.

Lunch Time Lectures: Crime Prevention
For businesses in the Colorado Front Range area (Denver & Colorado Springs) we offer a one-hour "Lunch Time Lecture" on crime avoidance and personal safety. We travel to your office and lecture your staff on how not to be the victim of crime. This is not a self-defense seminar, it's how not to be selected as a victim.  

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