Pochi for Self-defense?

[tonijedi]

That's impochible!

[JSumm]

That's impochible!

I see what you did there.

[Bloke]

It's probably not about being in Australia ...

G’day Tom, you’re probably right and the statistics are quite interesting and definitely unexpected.

Fact is mate, we do happen to live in one of the affluent suburbs of Sydney though it hasn’t always been so. I grew up in the inner City slums.

[ChrisinHove]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

[Co Pilot]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

Unless you're one of those 14.5(? was a half a person killed?) or 13. It's never the odds. It's always the stakes.

[resonanzmacher]

The numbers will depend upon how both 'Sydney' and 'Chicago' are defined, whether strictly or as major metropolitan areas, what method of estimation, what counts as a murder, a bunch of factors that can be stacked how the author or researcher wants to portray them.

In re the 14.5 for London, it turns out that sometimes when they bring out their dead they get one that is like 'I'm not dead yet'. It used to be a real hassle, now they just mark them as half a dead person and move on.

[Surfingringo]

…..I can’t imagine what it must be like having to leave home armed every day.

Are you guys actually allowed to leave your homes??

[Gsg9]

Hey,

Can the Pochi be an effective self-defense tool?

Maybe, but you might as well let your fingernails grow longer.

[ChrisinHove]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

Unless you're one of those 14.5(? was a half a person killed?) or 13. It's never the odds. It's always the stakes.

Haha - too true! Some mornings I do feel half dead, though…

[TomAiello]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

Murders v. violent crimes. Different numbers. You can look at various specific crimes (burglary, or assault, or whatever) if you want to dig in to which places have which types of crime. I was just looking at an overview of all violent crime taken together.

It's also interesting to look at stranger crime (which excludes things like domestic violence, but also things like violence between gang members who know each other). There are some places we think of as 'safe' that have shockingly high domestic violence rates. Sweden, for example, has really high rates of domestic violence.

Looking just at 'stranger crime' may give a better picture of what your actual risks are, assuming that you aren't a person who is likely to be attacked by someone you know.

[ChrisinHove]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

Murders v. violent crimes. Different numbers. You can look at various specific crimes (burglary, or assault, or whatever) if you want to dig in to which places have which types of crime. I was just looking at an overview of all violent crime taken together.

It's also interesting to look at stranger crime (which excludes things like domestic violence, but also things like violence between gang members who know each other). There are some places we think of as 'safe' that have shockingly high domestic violence rates. Sweden, for example, has really high rates of domestic violence.

Looking just at 'stranger crime' may give a better picture of what your actual risks are, assuming that you aren't a person who is likely to be attacked by someone you know.

Very true. They would also probably be very different if you were to examine the numbers by age, time of day, etc.

Us old farts can’t be at much risk!

[TomAiello]

Well, out of curiosity I googled Hove, and it looks like you old farts who live in beach resorts are doing just fine.

[Naperville]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

Murders v. violent crimes. Different numbers. You can look at various specific crimes (burglary, or assault, or whatever) if you want to dig in to which places have which types of crime. I was just looking at an overview of all violent crime taken together.

It's also interesting to look at stranger crime (which excludes things like domestic violence, but also things like violence between gang members who know each other). There are some places we think of as 'safe' that have shockingly high domestic violence rates. Sweden, for example, has really high rates of domestic violence.

Looking just at 'stranger crime' may give a better picture of what your actual risks are, assuming that you aren't a person who is likely to be attacked by someone you know.

Very true. They would also probably be very different if you were to examine the numbers by age, time of day, etc.

Us old farts can’t be at much risk!

CWB Chicago primarily covers North Side, Near West Side and Downtown Chicago. Downtown being at the epicenter. Even though Lake Michigan is East, there are references to the East Side of Chicago, and there is a West Side and South Side. All of Chicago is pretty violent but the West Side and South Side are the most violent areas.

So when you read CWB Chicago, KNOW that it does not cover the most violent areas of Chicago. On the contrary, they cover the safest areas of Chicago.

CWB Chicago has a few stories about people AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY over 30 and below 75 that were beaten by one or more persons for their phones and wallets over the past week. In the beatings, armed and unarmed perps accost you, and they or a gang may strike you several times, and the beatings do not end when you go down, they continue to kick and stomp you in the chest and head. If you run away and they have a firearm, they shoot at you and they try to kill you. Nevermind that they will only get $100 for the stolen phone, that is what your life is worth to them.

Take a quick look:
https://cwbchicago.com/

The Spyderco Native Chief is my self defense knife and I carry it everywhere because this old fart plans to use it post haste, if threatened and no weapon has been drawn yet.

[TomAiello]

Fact is mate, we do happen to live in one of the affluent suburbs of Sydney though it hasn’t always been so. I grew up in the inner City slums.

Not really important, but do you feel safer living where you do now than where you grew up?

As James pointed out, just a few miles (those are like kilometers, but using a proper system of measure) distance can make a huge difference in both perceived and real safety.

I saw an interesting crime study a few years back that broke down crime by neighborhood, and ranked neighborhood across the USA. It was really eye opening. Just traveling one block in a place like Chicago, Atlanta, or Washington DC could move you from a super high crime area to a place with zero crime. I was honestly surprised that the crime didn't travel into the 'target rich' areas. I wonder if that's a 'stranger crime' issue--higher crime in areas where people who know each other are assaulting one another.

[ChrisinHove]

I’m not so sure about some of Tom’s stats … I googled 180 murders per 1,000,000 in Chicago, 14.5 per 1,000,000 in London, 13 per million in Sydney.

I know where I’d feel least safe….

Murders v. violent crimes. Different numbers. You can look at various specific crimes (burglary, or assault, or whatever) if you want to dig in to which places have which types of crime. I was just looking at an overview of all violent crime taken together.

It's also interesting to look at stranger crime (which excludes things like domestic violence, but also things like violence between gang members who know each other). There are some places we think of as 'safe' that have shockingly high domestic violence rates. Sweden, for example, has really high rates of domestic violence.

Looking just at 'stranger crime' may give a better picture of what your actual risks are, assuming that you aren't a person who is likely to be attacked by someone you know.

Very true. They would also probably be very different if you were to examine the numbers by age, time of day, etc.

Us old farts can’t be at much risk!

CWB Chicago primarily covers North Side, Near West Side and Downtown Chicago. Downtown being at the epicenter. Even though Lake Michigan is East, there are references to the East Side of Chicago, and there is a West Side and South Side. All of Chicago is pretty violent but the West Side and South Side are the most violent areas.

So when you read CWB Chicago, KNOW that it does not cover the most violent areas of Chicago. On the contrary, they cover the safest areas of Chicago.

CWB Chicago has a few stories about people AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY over 30 and below 75 that were beaten by one or more persons for their phones and wallets over the past week. In the beatings, armed and unarmed perps accost you, and they or a gang may strike you several times, and the beatings do not end when you go down, they continue to kick and stomp you in the chest and head. If you run away and they have a firearm, they shoot at you and they try to kill you. Nevermind that they will only get $100 for the stolen phone, that is what your life is worth to them.

Take a quick look:
https://cwbchicago.com/

The Spyderco Native Chief is my self defense knife and I carry it everywhere because this old fart plans to use it post haste, if threatened and no weapon has been drawn yet.

Jeez. I might not sleep tonight, now.

Again, it’s so easy to look at the world just through ones own narrow experience and perspective.

[TomAiello]

Take a quick look:
https://cwbchicago.com/

There's a suburb of Chicago called Gold Coast?

Clearly this is where the confusion with Australia arises...

[Naperville]

Take a quick look:
https://cwbchicago.com/

There's a suburb of Chicago called Gold Coast?

Clearly this is where the confusion with Australia arises...

The Gold Coast is just a small part of the Lakefront and Downtown.

[Naperville]

Jeez. I might not sleep tonight, now.

Again, it’s so easy to look at the world just through ones own narrow experience and perspective.

Just the facts, I'm not trying to make it seem better or worse.

I'm 40 miles West of Chicago now and it's beautiful. But I cannot help myself when I do not follow fellow residents and walk in the street, I stay on the sidewalk and look at every passing car expecting to be shot. Do I have PTSD from having lived in Chicago? It's a possibility, but think of the generations of children growing up in more combative areas of the city.

That is why I have been requesting a Spyderco Native Chief XL. We need to be armed out here in order to survive.

[ChrisinHove]

Well, out of curiosity I googled Hove, and it looks like you old farts who live in beach resorts are doing just fine.

All the exciting stuff has always happened in Brighton, next door….

[DSH007]

I've heard reports that the Pochi barely functions as a knife (poor flipping action/malfunctioning lock issues), let alone a "self-defense knife"..

A knife would be my last choice for SD.. among knives, the Pochi would be toward the very very end of my list.. but, I suppose it's better than nothing, so if it's what you got, go for it..