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who’s carrying?:
About REACT
The latest short books in
Steve Collins’ REACT
series - pictured above are
‘Rules for dealing with an
active shooter’ - featured in
our February issue.
REACT stands for:
Recognise a potential
threat, Evaluate its
seriousness, consider the
Alternatives available and
Concentrate on the
physical and mental
tactical solution to
Terminate a problem. Visit
www.ps5.com.
50
Steve Collins
Photo courtesy of PS5
Main picture: Armed Civil
Nuclear Constabulary
patrollers outside
Sellafield, as featured in
our April to June issues
about Project Servator.
The UK public has
become used to seeing
armed police; but what
of armed criminals?
Photo by Mark Rowe
Tomes have been written on
the techniques used to carry
a gun in a concealed manner.
However, whether you are a police
officer, a soldier or a bank robber, if
you carry a firearm as a tool of your
trade there are two simple rules to
remember:
1) Take it with you when you go to
work.
2) Keep it in a safe and convenient
place until you need it.
Please do not think I am being glib,
I’m just stating facts and those
rules do apply, whoever you are
and whatever your motives are for
carrying a weapon. The police officer
and the soldier will happily and
overtly display their weapons most of
the time. However, the criminal, for
obvious reasons, needs to conceal his
weapons at all costs.
Because they can
It is possible to spend a fortune on
sophisticated concealment holsters
and carry systems. You can, of course,
just stuff it down the back of your
pants and spend nothing. There are
countries where it is perfectly legal
for a civilian to carry a concealed
weapon for personal protection. The
second amendment of the United
States constitution will immediately
spring to mind. American courts have
clearly stated that police officers
are not responsible for protecting
individual citizens.
Why Americans carry
Those of you that have read my work
or listened to me lecture will know
that ‘your safety is your responsibility
and not the police’s’ is one of my long
term mantras. It stands to reason that
the police can’t be there all the time
to look after everyone. Therefore, the
brutal truth is, you’re on your own,
which is why many American citizens
carry concealed. There are, however,
many places where you are not, under
any circumstances, allowed to carry
anything for personal protection and
especially not a firearm, but as we all
know to our cost, the law does not
apply to the criminal, it only applies
to law-abiding citizens, so bad guys
OCTOBER 2017 PROFESSIONAL SECURITY
Clues to carrying
Concealed handguns are
an enormous problem to
law enforcement officers,
security professionals and
ordinary citizens worldwide,
writes Steve Collins,
pictured, of personal safety
trainers PS5.
are going to carry guns because they
can, which is of course one of the
reasons why gun related crime is on
the increase in the UK.
Professional and criminal
First let’s consider the physical
act of carrying a gun. It’s probably
going to be quite heavy, a couple
of pounds, almost a kilo (about the
same as a bag of sugar). It’s hard
with no flexibility and it has very
defined edges. It has to be instantly
accessible; ideally, somewhere near
the waist line or upper torso, and
you don’t want anyone to see it until
you want them to. There are some
law enforcement and government
agents that are experts in concealed
carry. Operatives will take great care
to match the method of carry with
their mode of dress. Some will have
specially tailored suits to disguise
bulges caused by holsters. Weapons
accessory manufacturers produce a
vast range of holsters specifically
for concealed carry, i.e. shoulders
holsters, inside the belt holsters, ankle
holsters, small of the back pancake
holsters, handbag holsters, briefcase
holsters and bum bag holsters. The
list goes on and on. Also many
firearms manufacturers have a range
of ultra slim, sub-compact pistols
especially for covert operatives. The
average thug, fortunately, is not very
sophisticated or indeed, often has little
access to specialised equipment.
More than likely their weapon will be
a full size, full frame model that they
will simply tuck into their waistband
or shove into a pocket and, unless
highly trained, will give away visual
clues that they are carrying. Of the
many ways to detect whether or not
a concealed firearm is being carried,
the most obvious is to conduct a
meticulous body search or use modern
technology such as metal detectors,
scanners and X-rays. It is, however,
possible to detect those tell-tale signs
with simple observation techniques.
How can police or Security tell?
Visual
The following list of visual clues
is based on information and hardwon
experience from police officers
around the world:
1) A coat or jacket may hang
unnaturally, or the hemline or collar
may be pulled down on one side by
the weight of a gun in the pocket. Also
the collar may be pulled tight against
the back of the suspect’s neck.
2) Clothing can be inconsistent with
the weather, eg a heavy coat on a
warm summer’s day, or a coat left
open in bad weather makes for easy
access to a concealed weapon.
3) Shirts that are not tucked in are a
modern fashion, but it is a common
technique used to conceal a weapon.
Also a shirt that is only partly tucked
in can be used to create an improvised
holster for carry inside the waist band.
4) If a handgun is in a holster or just
tucked in the pants under a shirt, the
shirt will often be customised by
replacing the buttons with hook-neye
type fastenings or Velcro. The
buttons are removed and restitched on
the outside to give the appearance of
a normal shirt. This technique gives
www.professionalsecurity.co.uk
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