Criminals Choose Easy Victims, Stop Being One

There is a brutal simplicity at the heart of most criminal behaviour, its opportunism. The thug does not seek out a fair fight. The mugger doesn’t stalk the strong. The home invader doesn’t break into the fortress. Criminals don’t crave challenge. Home invaders attack in groups. They seek vulnerability. And in doing so, they make one thing painfully clear, victimhood is often a selection, not a destiny.

This isn’t about blaming victims, it’s about empowering people to stop being one.

The predator-prey dynamic exists in every species for one reason, survival favours efficiency. The criminal is no different. He assesses targets the way a lion scans a herd. Who is isolated? Who is unaware? Who will not fight back? The answer to those questions determines who gets chosen. Not race. Not class. Not theory. Risk and ease.

And yet in modern Western societies, especially in Australia, we’ve been conditioned to treat self-protection as paranoia, assertiveness as aggression, and vigilance as prejudice. I recently heard a man who admitted to having guns, for sport, being accused of being a racist. People are told to de-escalate every situation, reason with every aggressor, and avoid “escalating” violence, as if surrender is a moral good.

But surrender is not noble. It’s naïve. And predators can smell it.

From the perspective of someone who manages high-risk sites, it’s easy to see the patterns. The individuals who walk with purpose, who make eye contact, who are alert, rarely get targeted. Those who are distracted, submissive, overly accommodating, or clearly isolated, invite danger. This is not theory. This is observed, and well documented reality.

Look at the data from public assaults, domestic invasions, and robberies, criminals overwhelmingly choose those least likely to resist, least likely to report, and least likely to retaliate. It’s not ideology, it’s arithmetic. The easier the victim, the greater the payoff and the lower the risk.

So, the solution is not to hope for better criminals. It’s to become a harder target.

This means ditching delusions and facing facts. It means learning situational awareness, securing your environment, and cultivating the kind of posture that says: “I see you. I’m not easy. You will regret it.”

It means locking your doors, walking with purpose, knowing the difference between a threat and a nuisance. It means refusing to outsource your safety to a failed activist justice system that has become more concerned with rehabilitation than protection, more empathetic to the predator than the prey. The immediate release of a murderer recently in the NT, on Bail, whilst already on Bail previously, is at least criminal negligence, if not grounds for immediate dismissal.

In truth, the best personal protection strategy is to stop being inviting. Wear confidence. Project vigilance. Set boundaries like you mean them. Criminals read people in milliseconds, so let them read something that makes them walk away.

It also means accepting something few today want to hear, no one is coming to save you in time. Not the police. Not the state. The government is not your daddy, Not the community group. You are the first responder to your own life. And your ability to prepare, react, and resist is not a luxury, it’s a responsibility, it’s YOUR responsibility.

Personal protection is not about paranoia. It’s about preparation. It’s not about being violent. It’s about being capable. It’s not about becoming a monster, it’s about making sure monsters don’t pick you.

And for those who think this mindset is too harsh, too judgemental, or too “unfair,” ask yourself this, do you want to win the moral argument with a knife-wielding addict? Or do you want to make it home to your family?

Because criminals don’t argue with your philosophy. They don’t respect your values. They don’t care what’s on your social media profile. They care about whether you’ll fight back. Or better yet, whether you’re just not worth the trouble.

So, stop being the easy mark. Be the one they don’t pick.

  From the author.

The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security and Risk Consultant with 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. Sam has trained over 1,000 entry level security personnel, taught defensive tactics, weapons training and handcuffs to policing personnel and the public. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organisations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.