Private security guards are not going to make anyone safer in the downtown area. Security guards are there to observe and report. They’ll call 9-1-1 on your behalf, but that’s about it.

The reason downtown businesses are paying for private security is because there has been a sharp increase in violent crime around the downtown area including tons of fatal stabbings. I believe in the last 2-3 years I’ve heard of 4 or 5 fatal stabbings around the downtown area and those are just the ones I recall. some of them happened in broad daylight or in reasonable hours to be downtown.

The only thing that is going to protect you from violence is situational awareness, and if that fails, a firearm.

Situational awareness can be beneficial before you ever decide to visit part of a city, because if you understand where crime is happening and the time that most violent crime occurs in the city, you’ll avoid those areas at the worst times.

However, violent crime can happen anywhere at any time and it is usually not without warning, though sometimes it can be. To prepare for violence that has a short warning time, we can pay attention to our surroundings, leave if things feel off, or use language to prevent an imminent attack.

If we have no warnings whatsoever and find ourselves being violently attacked, then at this point, we are in a horrible situation and even a firearm may not be enough to protect us from imminent bodily injury or death.

Having a firearm and training as a fallback if you’ve made an error, missed cues, or stumbled into a bad situation is great, but it is the second to the last worst case scenario.

The last worst case scenario is being in that situation without one. Even in one, you may die, your family may die, so situational awareness and avoiding unnecessary risk in day to day activities is a much better strategy than just carrying a firearm and not being alert at all.

In fact, in my experience, having situational awareness without a firearm can be practical if you understand the risk that if you miscalculate the risk, you may find yourself to be completely helpless and defenseless.

On the other hand, having a firearm and zero situational awareness is a recipe for disaster.

It’s important to remember that using a firearm even without pulling the trigger comes with massive legal consequences. You may be alive after brandishing a handgun, but you may also be in prison. Pulling the trigger will have life changing and catastrophic legal and financial impacts.

If you own and carry a firearm, pulling the trigger is the second to the last thing you ever want to do and is only to be done in the event that you will be killed or seriously injured if you don’t.

A firearm isn’t a talisman that allows you to enter into stupid situations, it is the fire ax you use to smash your way out of a situation that is going to have devastating consequences for everyone involved in both directions. You are changing the outcome of who it is potentially worse for but everyone is going to be affected by that event for the rest of their lives. It’s serious business.

That being said, security patrols, metal detectors, and even police presence does not make you safe. You’re much safer going somewhere that doesn’t require 24/7 security patrols and heavy police presence.

Pepper spray, knives, and other weapons are inefficient against determined attackers. Pepper spray, something many advocate carrying, can also escalate a conflict that you shouldn’t have been in anyway. I would never use pepper spray on an attacker unless I had lethal means to back up my use of it, because while pepper spray may incapacitate an attacker, it is not reliable and it can backfire in numerous ways.

A firearm is the only tool that can end a lethal threat reliably, and even then it is not magic wand.

So that’s my TED talk. If you want to be safe, private security, even police will not make you safe. A firearm does not make you safe, situational awareness is the only skill that provides meaningful safety, because it helps you avoid unnecessary risk, and leave risky situations before it becomes dangerous.