You may think that I’m stretching it a bit when I say that crime is a disaster. The word is broad and it covers a multiple of evils. In our most violent cities there are 330-530 violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 people. The police are busy as bees in cities like St Louis and New Orleans. The crime rate has been dropping in recent years. That is not much comfort when you are the victim.

I live in a rural area. Crime is not restricted to the city. People steal animals, especially cattle. Some crooks have a truck equipped to slaughter animals. They can have a beef cut and wrapped and in a freezer in a very short time. I shot a deer one time and my friend, a retired butcher, sliced up the critter in about twenty minutes. He had no saws or such, just a few knives he had carefully wrapped in cloth along with a sharpening tool.

In our state of Idaho we have only a few cities with a population of over 50,000 people. Only Boise has over 250,000, but barely. Yet we have all the crime types of the rest of the country. Recently we had a gang break into a home. We have larceny and pilfering and embezzlement. We have murder and rape. And like the rest of the country, we have drug trafficking. Sometimes drug dealers plant marijuana in farmer’s corn fields. When we lived in Arizona, dealers planted marijuana in the forest.

There are plenty of gun crimes in Idaho. Because most homes have guns, an anger situation often results in death, one family member killing others. And we have the usual bank robberies, bar crimes, assault and battery, shoplifting, and of course, crooked politicians.

Now Idaho is considered a “crime free state” by many, a haven from the wicked world outside. Yet, criminals rape women, kidnap kids, and rob us blind.

So look at our most crime ridden city St. Louis, Missouri with a population of just over 320,000, one of our shrinking-population cities. There are about 1700 crimes each year in the city plus the crimes in the metro areas outside the city. Only about one-half of crimes are reported to police, so over 3000 individuals are victims.

Each of us knows someone who had been robbed, raped, injured or swindled. Credit card and bank related swindles are all too common. (It is bad enough with some credit card companies and banks stiffing us legally.) With so many people getting hurt in so many different ways, I say crime is a disaster. The government agrees and may be part of the reason for the decline in crime by providing support to local authorities allowing the hiring of more policemen and women.

How do you protect yourself from crime?

In Arizona you keep a holstered weapon in your car. Some states allow you to have a weapon if it is not concealed. A special permit is required for a concealed weapon. Lot’s of folks in my state have concealed weapon permits.

Weapons in the home are another thing. We have the Right to Bear Arms which really referred to local militias by our founding fathers but is broadly interpreted to mean anyone can have weapons on their property. If you are threatened by a criminal in your home, most states require you to back yourself into a bathroom, your bedroom or corner and not to shoot until you can retreat no further. Actually, if you plug the crook when he breaks in your door, what jury is going to convict you of manslaughter?

You can protect yourself from credit card theft by keeping control of your cards and watching clerks when they process your card. Some crooks can scan your card with a device in their pocket. That is why some folks are trying to sell you a metal wallet.

If you suspect a crime with a credit card or bank card, immediately call the institution issuing the card. Don’t delay or you may become responsible.

Car theft is huge but diminishing because of actions taken by automobile manufacturers. If you read your auto insurance policy you may find that you are required to keep your car locked. Here in Idaho, some don’t even lock their houses.

My neighbor never locked his door. He was killed this last summer in an automobile accident and his wife is away at work all day. I warned her of house break-ins in our neighborhood. In fact the house next door was robbed. She now keeps her house and garage doors locked. Do you?

I have an invalid friend who lives in the country here. When you approach her door, on comes the porch light. You might consider such a proximity switch on your lights. Crooks don’t like to work in the light because they are creatures of darkness.

You need to watch your kids, teach them how to deal with strangers, telling them where to go in case of danger. Do you have a neighborhood watch?

Our local electronic store was robbed recently. The door had dead bolts, double locks and was thought secure. The burglars went right though the wall next to the door, making no attempt to open the door itself. Is your home or business really secure. An alarm system installed by an expert might be the ticket.,

Arson is a problem in our country, A forest fire set by an arsonist can be deadly, desrtoying homes. In that case a family could have a survival kit and some food and water to get them by until they can find shelter.

So far the Somali Pirates have not sailed our way. We will have to watch the Snake River.

Fly Old Glory!