Feral gangs and scavengers

An area I have great concern about after an event is that the ruthless and immoral will have a powerful influence in our new world after an event. More than likely criminals now or on the verge of criminality they will be in a good position to pull the bad guys together and unite them to dominate the rest of the survivors. People like US who have committed significant time, effort and funds into preparing for any event will need to take care against people like these.

These people are already in position in our society they are the members of feral gangs, shoplifting teams, biker gangs and other such groups. They already have powerful leaders who are more than happy to use force to get their way. Even now before the breakdown of society these people are stealing, injuring and killing people and getting away with it. It is a way of life for them and they will only get worse. After all if they are prepared to kill now over being looked at funny then what will they do when they need to feed themselves. Their own grannies will be on the menu if they have not already eaten them now.

At the moment though we can avoid these by keeping our heads down, keeping OPSEC and generally being aware. After all we can call on Plod to help and the bad guys know that they may even turn up. The not so bad, bad guys may even think that they will turn up and not take any chances.

After an event though things will be completely different. Only you and your close group will be able to look after yourself. No cavalry will be coming and the bad guys will know that so the only way the will leave, without all your stuff, is if they are beaten off. You must be willing to defend what is yours if you want to keep it.

Now one thing about these gangs is they will be more than willing to roam. Big gangs will wander miles usually returning to a base, motorcycle gangs will potentially wander the country taking over where they want to stay. In towns they will know the neighbourhood and it will be difficult to hide. Anyone caught may get tortured and killed just for kicks and although they may not get your stores they don’t do you any good either. Avoiding a gang like that long term in a town will be impossible in the long term when you need to be growing crops and hunting.

Out in the country though you will get a false sense of security. No place is really safe. You could live in a valley with few visitors but if there is a road then you could get visitors even years after an event when your guard is down. Roving gangs like this are the most dangerous. You cannot be sure where they are at any time, where they are going next or if they will be back. They may just go straight through looking for life or they may stop and have a good search.

There is no solution. Sometimes you are lucky and other times you are not. All you can do is try and increase your chances by taking certain precautions. Being a grey man here is extremely unlikely where the sight of a stranger may cause bullets to fly. However, making sure you are behind building that road facing properties look deserted and nobody uses them for anything and there are always sentries or perimeter warnings is always going to help protect your OPSEC. What you want is for them to quickly pass through and never come back. That means the place has to be uninviting to them and of no benefit. Unfortunately, you have no idea what they are looking for. Obviously food, power and water are looked for but they may decide to stay at your place because it is just off a main route with easy access and escape points. Make it difficult to get in and out without making it look fortified, hide the crops if you can and generally show a false front.

Obviously being in town is going to have the biggest issue with gangs. Many won’t be able to travel and will be bunkered down near you with several gang members wandering around at all times of the day and night. You will need to keep yourself hidden for all the time they are there and if they have a supply of food and water they may never move. If you are unfortunate enough to have a gang near you then offense or relocating may be your only options even with the associated risks. Plan ahead just in case.

You never know where these gangs will settle down nor will you know where they will roam. Consider that the reason you picked your Bug-In location may be exactly the same reason that the gang down the road is there. Plan alternatives and stash accordingly. I suspect anyone who has a single location in a town is in for a very hard time. Accept the issue and the hardship involved and look at and plan for alternatives.