3 times in the last two days I’ve seen guy, wearing shorts, with ankle bracelet monitors on their leg. In the mantra of “Situational Awareness” does that put you in a little different self defense posture? Do you look at these guys as a little different level of threat? I mean, the authorities want to know where these guys are for some reason. Right?
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Mike,
you need to hang out in better neighborhoods… 
I’ve never seen an ankle bracelet outside of the hospital. I am always concerned by prison tats, which I do see. Just gotta stay in condition yellow.
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Never seen one before, or perhaps, I wasn’t paying attention.
Prison tats, I’ve seen a couple and one time, my daughter called the cops when she saw them loitering in our side yard.
I no longer have newspaper subscription but I make it a point to read the local paper’s online edition so I get to see mug shots. I’m in a boring working class town of 26,000 but once every two months or once a quarter, we have some excitement in the news.
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I know. Right? It’s like Salt Laker City has turned into a criminal infested metropolis of sorts.
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My GF pointed one out to me at Academy Sports. She said “jailbird” and pointed him out. Sadly, I did not notice. First one I have seen.
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It’s possible they also think of themselves in that way.
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Ankle monitors do tend to take them up a notch on a keep-an-eye-on-him basis. I also tend to note who they’re with.Getting fixed on the monitor could be a distraction from other things going on around you.
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Dang, and I clicked on this post figuring it was about some “hot chicks”.
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It might be the latest identity trend.
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Mike,
the last time I was there, I was shocked by the number of homeless. Is it still an issue?
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Isn’t “situational awareness” political correctness for “profiling?
What a wonderful confusing world we live in.
If you’re seeing that many ankle bracelets, best relocate to a new zip code.
I’m constantly aware of everything from shoe color to eyelash length but I’ve never seen an ankle bracelet. If I did, my condition yellow would immediately jump to orange and would be profiling all within 50 yards.
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Where I live, Down town it’s a terrible problem. Just yesterday, on one of the main streets, the police closed the road, and brought dumpsters and loaders to scoop up an encampment of about 200 tents. It’s so common now it doesn’t even make the news any more.
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Heck yes. Am I profiling? YES. These guys are tagged for a reason, and it isn’t a good one.
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The fashion trend is up for ankle monitors. There are generally 2 different kinds which can be contained in 1 unit. The first is for Home Incarceration which is usually GPS based and would allow someone to be at their residence and often includes releases for things like work, job search, child/adult care and medical. These are more prominent today because of jails being incubators for Covid.
The other prominent ankle monitors are SCRAM monitors the monitor alcohol levels. Again, with Covid, alcohol and drug abuse has increased so scrams are much more common when someone is on pretrial release from an infraction involving alcohol.
Yes, you should pay attention to those adorned with this unique jewelry!
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Rightly so. A guy with a monitor is already in trouble, a guy without a monitor may be a bigger concern. But how do you even tell a prison tat nowadays? I used to pay attention to facial tats, or a “13” but it may be an aspiring artist these days. Another guy had sleeves done - is he with a motorcycle club, or a “motorcycle club”. What are you looking out for?
Here’s where mug shots are a valuable reference.
What I focus on are teardrops, most numbers on the neck/head, crowns (latin kings), tats on the hands (5 dots, letters on the fingers).
They used to be a lot less professional than they are now.
They are just a part of the picture.
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I definitely think it can raise a higher level of awareness, however, not all ankle monitors are applied to violent criminals. I have personally spoken with people wearing ankle monitors and found out that some have to wear them because of child support being owed, DUI, as well as failure to appear in court for a parking ticket.
Regardless of the ankle monitor, situational awareness should be a part of your Everyday Carry because a lot of criminals are learning to blend in with the crowd and strike fast. Be sure to always pay attention to your surroundings and always be prepared to protect yourself.
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Here’s a counterpoint. A neighbor is retired after a career owning a furniture store. He said he used to test people applying for delivery jobs for drugs, but stopped because he couldn’t find anyone who could pass. But he said if a guy came in with an ankle bracelet, he’d get hired right away.
Why? Because they know one stupid move and they were back in the hoosegow for a long time. My neighbor said those workers were the most dependable he could hire.
So yes, always be in a state of situational awareness. But look for more than just the obvious.
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