I was recently hired as a Census enumerator in a large high-crime urban district. I'm very familiar with the neighborhood and I am comfortable handling myself in urban environments. I consider myself quite street-savvy and I'm pretty good at identifying potentially dangerous situations amd environments. That said, I am also a 5'0" 105lb female and I will be canvassing by myself, so some of my friends/family are understandably concerned for my safety. Just for their peace of mind I told them they would be sending us in pairs, even though I know that's not true.
Training doesn't start for another few weeks, but from what I've been told the unofficial policy on self-defense is basically a "don't ask don't tell" kind of a deal - obviously if I were to outright ask "Can I carry mace?" the answer would be no, lol...but as long as I don't make a big deal about it it seems I can equip myself however I see fit.
So, should I invest in some pepper spray? Or a knife? I was thinking of getting one of those "cat claw" folding knives you grip in your hand and then when you deploy the blade it springs out from your closed fist...it would be ideal if I could find something I could keep in my hand at all times without having to worry about fumbling in my pockets or my messenger bag. Several people have also suggested pepper spray, but I assume I would need to keep it in some kind of holster or something...?
(Oh and just as a sidenote, I do know assaulting a Census worker is a federal crime, I'm more concernederned about the odd individual who just flat-out hates the government and isn't going to give a shit whether they're committing a crime by shooting me in the face lol.)
Submitted June 28, 2020 at 09:24PM by BadlyDrawnGrrl https://ift.tt/3g2fzT6
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