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Looking for a decent personal security weapon
Bloods End
Blade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered User regular
Blade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered User regular
Obligatory, "the best security is awareness".
So I manage a hotel across from a strip club, and every thursday they do a live radio broadcast from one of the local stations. Needless to say at times it gets a little rowdy and some people drunkenly stumble into my lot to pee on cars, and make general nuisances of themselves. Sometimes they park in my lot, despite the clearly posted signs saying you will get towed. Most of the time, asking politely for them to leave gets them to leave. Other times, not so much. And its for those times that I feel I need something thats a little more imposing than a stern warning and a call to the police (the problem being that often times the police are slow to get to this part of town).
First off, no guns. Too much potential for things to get out of hand way to quickly and I don't want that on my or my employees heads. Push come to shove, I'd rather have a window broken and have to deal with the situation that would come from a gun. Other than that, I was thinking some form of stun gun, but I have no idea of what I'm dealing with.
At the most I'm looking to spend maybe 700 on it, with some leeway. But other than that, I'm open to suggestions.
So I manage a hotel across from a strip club, and every thursday they do a live radio broadcast from one of the local stations. Needless to say at times it gets a little rowdy and some people drunkenly stumble into my lot to pee on cars, and make general nuisances of themselves. Sometimes they park in my lot, despite the clearly posted signs saying you will get towed. Most of the time, asking politely for them to leave gets them to leave. Other times, not so much. And its for those times that I feel I need something thats a little more imposing than a stern warning and a call to the police (the problem being that often times the police are slow to get to this part of town).
First off, no guns. Too much potential for things to get out of hand way to quickly and I don't want that on my or my employees heads. Push come to shove, I'd rather have a window broken and have to deal with the situation that would come from a gun. Other than that, I was thinking some form of stun gun, but I have no idea of what I'm dealing with.
At the most I'm looking to spend maybe 700 on it, with some leeway. But other than that, I'm open to suggestions.
Bloods End on
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Also mace? Or blast knuckles, those are intimidating as fuck but not actually that useful (IMO) because of how close you have to be to use them.
Get one with a strobe option and pack a can of mace as a little extra non-lethal insurance.
I'm not a big fan of recommending stun guns just because there is always the issue of "what happens if it accidently kills them" (which does happen rarely). That's not a lawsuit you want to have to deal with. Flashlights and mace are a-ok.
Anyway, I would get a big flashlight and a personal can of mace/pepper spray. There are multiple-use pepper spray canisters that are effective up to 6-8 feet, and they're more than enough to relatively safely ruin an aggressive drunk's evening.
To echo the first point though, confronting potentially violent people to deter them physically is pretty risky if you're making a regular habit of it, and your employer would probably rather deal with someone's vandalized car than they would deal with you or someone else being seriously injured in the parking lot.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Steam | Live
As far as pepper spray goes, get foam not spray. Foam won't blow back on you and most of them carry a dye in them that will mark your attacker making it easier for PD to ID them.
TASERs are not a bad option either, but a good one is going to set you back more than $700. Plus every time you use it, it's going to cost you another $50 for a new probe pack.
Do not ever hit anyone in the head unless you are in mortal danger.
If you have to use a flashlight as a weapon always go for bodystrikes. If you absolutely have to defend yourself you can swing it into a knee or hip, and that will usually take away your target's mobility, allowing you to distance yourself.
When you hold the light, hold it in your dominant hand the same way police and the guy in Doom 3 does, arm up, hand around the base of the bulb, thumb facing you, like Officer Lunchbox here:
This way you can shine the light directly into someone's eyes to disorient them, and you can bring it into a swing much faster.
If you have the proper signage warning people not to park in your lot, than start towing people that park in your lot without your permission. Any local towing company will gladly give you signs in exchange for exclusive business. After people start getting towed, they'll know not to park in your lot.
If it's an ongoing issue you might want to look into hiring a licensed security guard for Thursday nights. Paying eight extra hours a week in labor is worth the ease of mind in knowing that you have someone with licensure and training monitoring your grounds, and they'll have the skillset and knowledge required to keep them (and you) out of a legal situation.
Yeah all that.
Also about hiring a guard. Laws very state to state, I know in FL you would have to hire an agency since guards cannot do independent work without a PI license. Just make sure that if you do have to go thru an agency, when you sign that contract make sure that you have the right to dismiss any guard you deem incapable of doing the job for any reason. Otherwise you may end up with an 80 year old retiree, a 400lbs guy who can barely walk, or a 5'1 95lbs. girl.
This is an independently owned hotel? Have you discussed this with the owner? If you're arming your staff and they're not licensed, bonded and trained, you can get into a metric assload of trouble when some dumbass that you tazed or pepper sprayed decides to hire himself a crappy lawyer and sue you, the employee and the hotel.
I would recommend you don't do anything like this until you get written approval from the owner or senior management of the hotel.
Are you just looking for a weapon for the intimidation factor so they know you mean business and they should move along quietly and quickly?
Ultimately, what is your goal and why do you need a weapon to accomplish it?
Also, yes, just start towing people. You'll quickly get a reputation across the street as a-holes that tow, which will help because they'll stop fucking parking there. When they do park on your property, tow truck = voila, no more car in the way.
http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/953/432953_090101135839_Expandable_Spring_Baton.jpg
Just whack them a couple times on the arms or thighs. I bet they could probably break bones in hands if you hit there, so I'd try to avoid that.
The flashlight is always a good option as well, but the fact that it's got a much broader surface area means it won't sting as much if hitting a fleshier part of the body. Still, the light can be very effective for self defense, and the baton can be a backup option if things get serious.
Thanks for confrontationally stating the obvious.
Just because this is an advice forum doesn't mean you can give someone terrible advice.
Those are considered concealed weapons and are illegal in lots of places
If you're looking for a weapon to bully someone into doing what you say....don't get one. Its going to get you in trouble because eventually you're going to find the drunk or just the macho asshole who wants to call your bluff.
Contract with a security company to hire a guard and contract with a towing company to start towing cars. Use them. Tow the first 20 violators and people will start to get the message.
If you want to keep a weapon because you don't feel safe walking to your own car when you go home for the night..thats an entirely different matter.
look - sense!
it's not your job to tow the cars, is it?
call the tow truck, let them deal with the disorderly.
or... how about call the police to do it?
Let the tow company tow cars, let the cops arrest people who get in fights, you just need to verify what's going on from a safe distance.
Yeah, some drunk dumbass on Campus Cops nearly shit himself when the cop told him it was a felony. ASPs are not good ideas for unlicensed people.
Get a MagLite in the 3C/2D Cell range if you need to get anything, then put a towing company on your speed dial.
If someone refuses to leave, call the police rather than instigating a confrontation. Security cameras are your friend. If you're attacked, do what you need to do to keep yourself safe (including head-bopping).
- The average outdoor security cameras produce video that looks something like this
and are beyond worthless. You will never identify anyone at that resolution. They are useful only as a visual deterrent.
- Security systems are a specialized product, meaning manufacturers and installers will charge you $Texas
- If you have someone on your staff who is technically inclined, it'll be a lot cheaper for you to build and install the system yourself. The hardest part is finding a good outdoor camera (or cameras, depending on your layout) without breaking the bank.
- If anything horrible ever happens and you or one of your staff ends up in court, surveillance footage is basically your best ally.