A woman was punched and robbed near 23rd and Pine September 8, according to the police report.
The suspect ran up behind her around 10 p.m. and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. He mouthed something to her, but she did not know what he said because she had her headphones in.
He then punched her and tried to grab her purse. She was able to hold onto her purse, so he grabbed her bag of groceries instead.
He then jumped on a bicycle and fled.
From the police report:
I don’t mean this to sound like some ‘blame the victim/they were asking for it’-type of thing, because it’s seriously not – but for f***’s sake, don’t walk around at night by yourself w/ headphones in. Be aware of your surroundings – tuning out makes you a more attractive target.
exactly, Bridget. it’s not blaming the victim to point out what she could have done better in that situation.
she might have heard the guy running up behind her and been more prepared. criminals target people wearing headphones because those people aren’t paying attention to what’s going on around them, and they can’t hear shit.
While I’m also not blaming the victim here … quite often reports of muggings include the fact that the victim was wearing headphones and or texting or talking on the phone while walking.
We live in the city folks, paying attention to your surroundings, especially in the wee hours is your first defense against being a victim.
Taking apart the victim blaming (saying you are not blaming the victim is insufficient if you then go on to blame them):
1. Presuming that the victim did hear the assailant run up behind her, in what way would that information help her defend against him? run with her groceries? drop them and run? please explain how the outcome wold have significantly changed.
2. Wee hours?? The statement says 10 pm. Even in the big city, 10 is not the witching hour for crime.
3. Its true, staying home at all hours reduces that chance of being robbed on the street. However, hiding your headphones because they make you an attractive victim is the same as saying you should not wear nice shoes or drive a nice car because someone will want to take it.
People blame the victim because it reduces the anxiety they feel about it happening to themselves. If I can say, “well, I wouldn’t have done THAT” (like the victim) then I can live with the illusion that it will never happen to me.
Having said that, I do believe criminals target people who appear less “aware” because they can work with an element of surprise, or at least there is the illusion of surprise for the assailant. If you were a criminal and could choose between a person walking without headphones on, presumably with all senses attuned to his environment, and a person with headphones on, sound tuning out what’s going on around them, which would you choose?
This applies to all times of the day, not just the non-wee hours of 10pm.
APP – Police will tell you that criminals target people wearing headphones. Ever been to a community crime prevention workshop? As Olive Oyl pointed out above, often the crime reports state the victims were wearing headphones.
That doesn’t mean don’t ever use headphones, but use common sense and don’t “zone out.” Try to be aware of what’s happening around you. Don’t be an easy target.
And yes, if you hear someone running up behind you, wouldn’t that give you a chance to react instead of getting punched in the face before you even understand what’s happening? Come on.
I’ve lived in the CD for over 10 years, lived in Hell’s Kitchen before returning to Seattle …safely walking in urban environments requires a certain amount of attention just as walking in the forest does. You do what you can to minimize the risk. I feel badly for the woman attacked on 23rd and certainly don’t think that if she was not wearing headphones she would not have been mugged .. I’m just saying that wearing them might have contributed to her being targetted and also to her being surprised by her attacker. I read a number of neighborhood blogs and have noticed that it’s not uncommon for the victim to be plugged into to some handheld device be it a phone or an ipod.
Sadly 10 pm is the wee hours on 23rd .. after dark I rarely see pedestrians on the blocks north of the post office.
From SPD website regarding personal safety:
•Avoid walking while listening to an IPod or MP-3, Walkman, Discman, etc. with earbuds or headphones; this cuts down your awareness of what’s happening around you.
We in the CD have allowed the “thugs” to rule the streets after the dinner hour. They might try to rule the whole day, but, they really don’t come out of their cribs en mass until after 7pm unless it is really hot (long hot summer). But that didn’t get much play this year. We need to all get out onto Rainer, 23rd, MLK, Jackson, Madison, Yesler and hang out till 10 instead of watching Dexter. These guys are just as creepy and entertaining as Dexter and we can end there season by watching them – opposite of TV.
Headphones. In the woods or on the street – you have it coming to you. Get over yourself – you are not a music maven. Engage the real world for a minute or two.