Police During SHTF Events: Preparedness considerations when dealing with Law Enforcement During Disasters?

During an extreme total collapse scenario, the kind of event where life as we know it has completely changed, it is very likely that law enforcement and emergency responders will be nonexistent. When things go bad (empty grocery stores, no utilities, mass riots, etc.) you are more than likely going to have to fend for yourself.

While those of us that are prepared for these situations understand the threats, there are some things that are often overlooked. When it comes to law enforcement during a SHTF event, there are a couple of things that you need to consider.

You need to be able to defend yourself.

During extreme emergency situations, the lunatics of the world are going to be roaming the streets looking for easy victims to target.  If you’re serious about survival, you need to train yourself to defend against a violent attack. This means arming yourself with not only weapons, but knowledge and self defense skills as well. You simply can’t count on calling 911 during times of crisis; you must be able to defend yourself.

Your preps will be targeted, possibly by law enforcement.

If the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina taught us anything, it showed us that even the police might be out to take your preps and firearms.  During the chaos of Katrina, military and local police confiscated guns, forced people to evacuate without their emergency supplies, and even looked on as people broke into local businesses. While a majority of law enforcement is made up of good people, disasters bring out the worst in everyone.

You must be prepared to deal with these types of events; unfortunately, that may mean having to get the hell out of dodge should things get to hot. Check out our Bug Out Resource Guide for information on how to prepare for these types of bug out emergencies.

You need to watch out for fakes.

Although it may seem counter intuitive to some, until things settle down you may want to avoid everyone – including law enforcement.

In a SHTF Scenario, you need to be on the lookout for everything, including people impersonating law enforcement and military personnel. If things start to spiral out of control, you will most likely see criminals preying on the innocent by pretending to be police or military officers.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I think many of our police and our military are heroes; I believe a majority of them will do everything they can to help people in the beginning. But when it comes down to a long-term collapse situation, human nature will take over. Most of them will likely leave to take care of their own families — who could blame them!

In the end, you need to be able to defend and take care of yourself. You, and only you are responsible for your safety. Don’t outsource it to some random law enforcement agency!