An acquaintance is planning a trip to Austin. She has never been to Austin before, but remembered I lived in Austin, so she asked me for input as to places to stay, things to do, restaurants to check out.

She’s just starting to make her plans, so I gave her some general suggestions. However there are so many options it was tough to provide her with specifics; she’s just starting to plan so she’s not quite sure yet what she wants to do. As we continued to speak, the conversation started to gravitate to what NOT to do, where NOT to go.

For example, the (in)famous 6th Street is OK, but after 10 PM I’d avoid it because drunk young people isn’t a recipe for quiet and well-reasoned behavior. Same for the University of Texas area. Then a couple other places, like I-35 and East Riverside, the I-35/US-183/Rundberg area as worth avoiding.

This is where tools like SpotCrime and specifically in Austin, krimelabb, are useful. You can find the hotspots worth avoiding.

No where is 100% safe, but small steps to manage your safety and security add up. Following Farnam’s Law – avoiding stupid people, avoiding stupid places, avoiding doing stupid things (with stupid people, in stupid places), and generally being in bed by 10 PM – does a lot of good, and is truly a first step towards effective self-defense.

Police are concerned about a trend they are seeing in Austin’s Entertainment District: criminals targeting people walking by themselves.

Police said many of the victims are walking to and from their cars and not paying attention.

“We see both male and females walking by themselves in high crime areas, they’re looking down on their phones because they’re texting, their heads aren’t on a swivel, they’re not situationally aware of what’s going on around them – if people are following them,” said Austin police Senior Patrol Officer, Pedro Loureiro.

full story (h/t Michael Cargill)

Robbery. Assault.

Many stories here in Austin of women jogging alone, with ear buds in, and being sexually assaulted.

Of course, this is talking about Austin’s Entertainment District. To me, that violates Farnam’s Law about not going to stupid places (as part of the way to avoid trouble).

But take it for what it is people: growing trend of crime and violence in Austin.

And much of it is preventable:

• Don’t be alone.
• Don’t have your nose in your phone.
• Don’t have ear buds in.
• Be aware of your surroundings: have your head up and paying attention.
• Avoid stupid places. If you must be in a stupid place, see the above 4 points.

I knew it would happen sooner or later.

Someone noticed me walking home from the gym, and considered me suspicious. Shortly after arriving home, I get a notice via Nextdoor:

My husband left for work around 5:45am this morning and saw a man walking with a flashlight on [the street], which isn’t strange except for the fact that he turned his flashlight off as soon as my husband turned onto [the street].
The only description he could get is male wearing athletic shorts and tennis shoes.

My husband said he seemed out of place.

Could be nothing but wanted to pass it on

That was me. I posted a response acknowledging myself and why I did what I did. That I use a flashlight because 1. I want to see (it’s dark out!), 2. I want others to see me, especially cars – and it worked, since her husband saw me. That I don’t keep my flashlight on constantly because there’s no need to: 1. there are streetlights and they do a decent enough job, but sometimes there are dark patches and that’s when I use the flashlight, 2. if it’s about car visibility, once the car passes me the visibility is no longer needed.

All in all, no harm no foul. I even thanked her and her husband for doing what they did! They are looking out, caring about their neighbors and neighborhood. I am thankful to have such neighbors.

So what’s the lesson?

Consider how things you do that you consider normal may be considered suspicious by others.

When you walk into a room/building, do you find yourself pausing and surveying the room? You’re probably trying to get the lay of the land, look for alternative exits, and so on. But how might your actions be perceived by others? That maybe you’re “scoping the place out”?

It doesn’t matter that you know you’re doing good, that you’re harmless, etc.. What matters is their perceptions. And how might your seemingly innocent “sheepdog” “good guy” behaviors be (mis)construed by others.

Just give it some thought. (Re)think your actions. See how you can improve.

Police said the victim resisted and yelled while the suspect remained on his feet and hovered over her. At some point, a man walking a dog entered the area and the attacker ran.

Another assault in Circle C Park here in South Austin. Full story.

While there’s not much information in the story (it does include a description), what there is presents a few things we can learn. Granted, I can only base this off what’s in the story, there’s a lot of context missing, so take this for what it’s worth.

According to police, the victim ran from Escarpment Boulevard onto the jogging trail of the park at around 7:30 p.m. As the victim made her way to the basketball courts on the northwest end and toward a street that runs through the park, she saw a man hiding behind a bush. When she ran past the man, he pushed her down and proceeded to physically assault her.

While the time was in the evening, it was still “broad daylight”. Bad things can happen at any time of the day, not just in the dark of night.

She saw a man hiding behind a bush. Later in the article it described the man as “wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with black pants and a black baseball hat”. I can’t say if she saw what the man was wearing in detail enough to have anything register but… it’s like 100º+ and 110% humidity in Austin right now. Someone in long-sleeves, full pants, hat — and all black — is VERY out of place (not even Austin goths are dressed like that). Throw in “hiding behind a bush” and your alarm bells should be screaming. None of this appears normal; it’s all out of place. This is not someone I would want to continue past – I would do whatever I could to put as much distance between myself and that person as soon and rapidly as possible.

The attacker ran off when someone else came into the area. There is safety in numbers. Having a useful dog has benefits as well.

Most of all? She resisted. She yelled. She fought back. She refused to be a victim.

There’s the biggest lesson.