Identfying Public Threats

Support the show

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Welcome to Defensive SkillsAcademy Podcast, where we dive
into firearms two a, informationsecurity, and more.
I'm Joe, your host, and eachweek we'll cover a new topic for
your information and leading toyour personal protection.
Today we'll be talking aboutidentifying a public threat, so
stay tuned.

(00:27):
Don't forget, head on over topatreon.com.
Subscribe to DSA.
This episode is brought to youby Dynamic Tactic Firearms.
Whether you are looking topurchase or you are looking to
transfer a firearm in forpurchase, check out Dynamic
Tactic firearms.

(00:48):
Identifying a public threat iswhat we'll be talking about
today.
Key indicators and the steps foreffective recognition.
The ability to identify a publicthreat is essential for
maintaining the safety andsecurity of not only yourself
and your family, but for yourcommunities.

(01:08):
Recent years, public threatshave become increasing.
They come in various forms,including acts of terrorism,
natural disasters, healthhazards, and other emergencies.
In order to recognize the signsearly, can help mitigate the
impact and ensuring a swiftresponse.

(01:30):
Let's take the active shooter,just so everybody's aware.
The majority of active shootersthat happen out there.
They carry pistols.
They do not use AK 40 sevens.
They do not use AR fifteens.
Couple of cases they have,majority of them use nine

(01:51):
millimeter pistols.
While there is no common profilethat currently exists, there are
common indicators which doexist.
If you know the signs.
Most of these shooters have lefttrails of physical and
electronic evidence that wasmissed by either their friends
or family members or teachers.

(02:14):
According to the research, 80%of mass shootings since
Columbine, the shooter toldsomeone in advance about their
plans yet weren't takenseriously.
In all honesty, most are seekingfame.
They're seeking their 15 minutesof fame.

(02:34):
That's all they want.
They wanna be recognized.
And most of these people that dothis are either invisible to
others or bullied by others, andyou can only take so much.
There is no single profile,which describes a person about

(02:55):
to commit a mass shooting.
Some shooters are characterizedas psychotics.
One such case that I'm aware ofis a Virginia Tech shooter.
According to the temporarydetention order that could be
found online and which wasobtained by a b, C News, the
psychologist found that theshooter effect is flat and his

(03:22):
mood is depressed.
Aren't most.
After shooters depressed andtheir effect is flat, or maybe
that's just me.
I don't know.
Anyway, the shooter denies anysuicidal ideations.
Psychologists also wrote thatthe shooter's insights and

(03:45):
judgment are normal.
Some periods.
Including the San Bernardino andOrlando shooters are motivated
or inspired by terroristorganizations, so let's keep
that in mind.
Most of these mass shooters areinspired by either other

(04:07):
shooters or terroristorganizations in order to
understand public threats.
Public threats can becategorized into several types
such as physical, naturalhealth, or environmental threats
with each requiring a differentapproach for identification as

(04:31):
in physical threats.
They include the act ofviolence, terrorism on the
attack, as well as other formsof physical harm.
Natural disasters.
Listen, we can't really doanything about that, but they
would be, earthquake, floods,hurricanes, and natural events
that can disrupt daily life andcause extensive damage.

(04:53):
I don't know how many remember,but the blackout in the nineties
that went down the East coast,pretty much, I know it was from,
I believe it was from Boston.
All the way down to NorthCarolina.
I was living in New York at thetime and I remember going a week
with no electricity where Iactually had to go out and

(05:17):
purchase a generator, which bythe way, I am still using today.
So money well spent naturaldisasters can disrupt daily life
and cause extensive damage, notonly physically, but mentally as
well.
Health hazards such asepidemics, pandemics, or

(05:39):
biological threats that poserisks to the public health.
Covid, 19 would fall into thistype of threat.
Even though some place it undernatural disasters, COVID-19 was
proven by scientists to be amanmade disease.
And to me that would.

(06:00):
Go under a physical threat aswell as a health hazard.
Some of the environmentalthreats are pollution, chemical
spills, and other factors thatcan harm the environment in
public health.
In 2023, a trained derailment,which took place in East
Palestine, Ohio, would fall intothis category.

(06:22):
The chemicals which spill causedthousands.
People to be evacuated fromtheir homes in the communities
that they live in.
Could this have been foreseen?
I don't know.
I haven't been there.
Probably.
I don't even know if they cameup with a conclusion on why this

(06:44):
happened yet.
I think they're stillinvestigating two years later.
Not sure.
Indicators of public threats.
Involves recognizing specificindicators that signal potential
danger.
These indicators vary dependingon what type of threat it is,

(07:05):
such as physical threatindicators would be unusual
behavior where individualsexhibit suspicious or erratic
behavior, such as loitering,making threats or carrying
weapons, intelligent reports.
Information from law enforcementagencies about potential threats

(07:26):
or ongoing investigations,public disturbances, reports of
vandalism, assault, or otherdisruptive activities.
Remember what was it in?
George Floyd, the riots thattook place around there, burning
people's stores, down businessesthat had nothing to do with
this.
People just wanna.

(07:46):
Get their frustration out.
There were better ways to do itthan burn down a business
because now that business, Iknow if it was mine, I would not
reopen in that area.
I'd find someplace else to openwhere people respect, the
business that's there.
Why would you wanna burn downlike a CVS?
People have medications there.

(08:07):
Your family members could havemedications there.
What's the point?
The indicators for naturaldisasters would be weather
warnings, alerts from theMeteorologic Meteorological
Agency about pending storms,hurricanes or other services,
severe weather conditions.

(08:28):
Seismic activity reports fromgeological agencies about
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.
Did you hear about that Volcanothat I guess has been dormant
for 250,000 years?
Is starting to rumble a littlebit.
I guess the gas built up alittle bit has to let a little

(08:48):
burp out, but apparentlyscientists are saying this will
be erupting or has the potentialto erupt in the very near
future.
I forget where that one was to.
That was all found on msn.com.
Community reports, observationsfrom residents about unusual

(09:10):
natural phenomena phenomenonsuch as rising water levels or
ground shaking.
Hey, listen, apparently we'vehad earthquakes where I'm
located and I didn't feelanything.
They were in the middle of thenight.
I was sound asleep, and I'm alight sleeper.
So when they turned around andsay we had a 4.3 earthquake in

(09:31):
the area and nothing in my houserattled, nothing fell off the
walls, my dogs didn't bark.
I don't know.
I gotta second guess that.
Health hazard indicators such asmedical reports, information
from health agencies aboutoutbreaks of diseases or unusual
patterns of illness.
Again, IE the COVID-19 outbreak.

(09:54):
Public health alert warningsfrom health organizations about
potential biological threats,symptoms, reports, observations
from individuals aboutexperiencing unusual symptoms.
I indicative of potential healththreat.
One of the health threats thatare coming around again are the
measles.
There's plenty of people outthere with that disease right

(10:17):
now.
If you did not get inoculated,my suggestion would be go get
inoculated.
I've been around people with themeasles in my career working in
emergency services, and I nevergot the measles.
Thank God.
Knock on wood, just knocking onmy head.

(10:37):
Environmental indicators wouldbe pollution reports you see
every day in the summertime onthe weather channels that
meteorologists, they give youthe pollution report, whether
it's high, low.
That could be bad for somebodywho has asthma chemical spills

(10:57):
alert from industrial entitiesabout accidental releases of
hazardous substance.
No, they're gonna report aboutan accidental release.
Yeah, they'll report it a weeklater.
Wildlife behavior observationsof unusual patterns in wildlife
that may indicate environmentalstress.

(11:19):
So let's say the animals forsome reason, consent when
there's gonna be an earthquake,a volcanic eruption.
I don't know what it is.
I'm not that familiar with it,but I've seen it.
It is wild.
All of a sudden you see allthese deers and antelopes and
elk and birds flying all overthe place.

(11:41):
It's yo, let's get outta here.
If they're running, I'm runningbehind them.
Steps to recognize a publicthreat.
Recognizing a public threatrequires a systemic approach to
ensure timely and accurateidentification.
Here are some steps that you canfollow.

(12:02):
Gather information, collect datafrom various sources, including
government agencies, localauthorities, and community
reports.
Can also check out Facebook.
I believe there is a websitecalled, I think it's danger.com

(12:23):
or crime.com, something likethat.
Then you can check out thereports in your neighborhood.
I know I'm forever gettingreports from people on Facebook
who I don't even know, andthey're saying, oh, in your area
this is gonna happen.
There's been burglaries caused,broken into I don't know.
I haven't seen it.
I just get these people'sreports analyze patterns,

(12:44):
examine the data to identifypatterns and or anomalies that
may indicate a potential threat.
Compare current information withhistorical data to detect,
unusual trends.
Consult experts engage withexperts in relevant fields such
as law enforcement, meteorologyhealth, environmental science.

(13:09):
Their insights can help inaccurately assessing the threat.
Okay, when you talk to lawenforcement, different agencies
had have different things.
Most agencies go from patrol todetective to assistant chief to
chief, all the way up.

(13:29):
But in those different things,you have different departments.
So you have the intelligencedepartment.
Would that fall under patrol?
Would that fall under detective?
Would that fall under adifferent category altogether?
Depending on the policedepartment, the police agency,
the size of the agency, all ofthis can be asked to the chief

(13:53):
of the department or any localpublic resource officer that you
may see, or no, they will beable to direct you, whether it's
online to specific websites.
Or to a specific person who youcould talk to.
They'll have that information orat least be able to guide you in

(14:18):
the right direction.
Continuously monitor thesituation to detect any changes
or escalation in the threatlevel.
Use real time tools andtechnologies to stay informed.
Again, Facebook news, mediawatch local news.
But please don't watch CNN.

(14:40):
So watch your local news.
They'll be able, they will bereporting, in fact, on the
event, whatever it may be, ifit's coming closer, if it's
getting more dangerous, what youshould do, should you stay home,
should you go out.
This works great, especiallyduring snow storms, weather
emergencies, we had in the lastfour years.

(15:03):
Communicate with authorities,maintain open communication with
government agencies and localauthorities.
Please do not call 9 1 1 and askthem for information.
If you have a phone number to alocal police department, whether
it's in your town, the next townover state police use that

(15:25):
non-emergency line.
Leave 9 1 1 open foremergencies.
In some areas you have suchnumbers like 3 1 1 or 2 1 1.
If your area has that forinformation, please by all means
use that.
Call your local department.

(15:46):
Nine one one is for emergenciesand emergencies only.
Let's all remember that.
Inform the public.
If a threat is imminent, informthe public through official
channels, provide clear andactionable information to help
them prepare and respondeffectively.

(16:09):
Okay, so if you are in an areaand you see a bunch of people
starting to fight and it lookslike it's getting a little outta
control, or even before itstarts, but you feel
uncomfortable, hey, call 9 1 1.
Let your local police know.
Let someone know what's goingon.
If you can start walking theother way if you want to take a

(16:33):
video of it so that police maycontact you later and ask for
the video.
See who is involved.
You don't have to give you aname.
let's be safe out there though.
Don't go outta your way to takevideo of something.
The identification of publicthreats is a crucial aspect of

(16:56):
community safety and security.
Recognizing the indicators andfollowing systemic steps,
authorities and individuals cancontribute to mitigating risks
and insuring the swift andeffective response.
Awareness and preparedness are akey components.

(17:17):
When it comes to safeguardingthe wellbeing of the public,
your community, you live there.
You don't need to be apolitician.
You don't need to be in thepublic eye.
Say something, you seesomething, say something.
It can be anonymous.

(17:37):
Now, I know in some areas youcould actually text 9 1 1, but I
don't know if I'm in our area,if we could do that.
I'm not exactly sure.
I know some areas I've read itbefore they were starting to do
it.
If you know somebody who worksin emergency service, you could

(17:57):
ask them, ask your local firedepartment if at all.
You don't feel safe if there's ariot in your neighborhood or
something's coming up and youhave to get your family out of
there.
Hey, look for a local shelter.
Usually in a high school,elementary school.
Go to your local firedepartment.
They're usually community basedand they will help you either

(18:20):
get to a safe place or give yousafe haven at their house.
I.
For today.
Thank you for joining today'sdiscussion on public threat
identification and response.
Please note that the contactshared here in this podcast is
intended for informationalpurposes only, and should not

(18:40):
replace professional advice orguidance from qualified experts.
Always consult appropriateauthorities and stay updated
through official channels forcritical safety information.
Stay safe.
Stay informed and thank you forlistening to the Defensive
Skills Academy podcast.