I wish I could say that you would never end up in that situation, but I’m afraid I’d be lying. If we believe what we preach, we will agree that a crisis of epic proportions is coming. Looting is actually a pretty frequent occurrence even when the crisis at hand is not major. What we have to understand is that a situation, such as flooding, forest fires or a hurricane, may seem minor on the global scale, but for the town or region involve, it may seem like the end of the world. When your house is destroyed or you can’t find your loved ones, it is the end of your world. When this happens, you will do whatever is necessary to survive.
To protect yourself from looters, you must understand the psychology of looters. While mob mentality has shown its ugly face in crisis situations before, people don’t usually become looters for fun; they desperately hunt for various items out of need. The most balanced, kind and nonviolent people will break into a store or into a home and take whatever they can carry, because they know they may not be able to get their hands on it ever again.
The best way to protect your property from wandering “treasure hunters” is to make it unappealing. The first step is to have your outdoor space well lit and try to keep all of the parts of your yard visible from your indoor observation points. That means keeping branches trimmed and outdoor lights replaced regularly. When the scary, life and culture-altering events begin, you will not have the luxury of being out trimming branches.
Next, add some warning signs, like “Trespassers will be shot” or “You loot – I shoot.” By the way, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a gun – nobody is going to know… And they probably would not want to find out, no matter how desperate. Remember, when you are in your house, you are in the best position to attack or retaliate, because you can see them and they can’t necessarily see you. (Unless they have grenades, in which case you’re screwed…)
Let them know they are watched. Install a few outdoor security cameras now. They will scare away looters because again, if you see them, you may shoot. You can get good use out of the cameras as soon as you install them anyway – they offer a great peace of mind.
If you can add a few obstacles to whatever path leads to the entrances to your home – more power to you. I’m not going to tell you what they should be – I’m sure you can get creative and come up with a few ideas.
Lastly, please don’t leave any valuable items in plain sight – that is probably the worst offense when it comes to protecting your house from looters.
Between making your home more secure, incorporating scare tactics and putting up obstacles, the goal is to use your understanding of looters’ mentality and their weaknesses and limitations to make your property less appealing. Remember, people will always take the path of least resistance when given the choice. Make your property their last choice!
To your survival,
Joseph Wilkinson
