Police Have No Duty To Protect Individuals
by Peter Kasler
1992
Self-Reliance For Self-Defense -- Police Protection Isn't
Enough!
All our lives, especially during our younger years, we hear
that the police are there to protect us. From the very first
kindergarten- class visit of "Officer Friendly" to the very
last time we saw a police car - most of which have "To Protect and
Serve" emblazoned on their doors - we're encouraged to give
ourselves over to police protection. But it hasn't always been that
way.
Before the mid-1800s, American and British citizens - even
in large cities - were expected to protect themselves and each other.
Indeed, they were legally required to pursue and attempt to apprehend
criminals. The notion of a police force in those days was abhorrent in
England and America, where liberals viewed it as a form of the dreaded
"standing army."
England's first police force, in London, was not instituted
until 1827. The first such forces in America followed in New York,
Boston, and Philadelphia during the period between 1835 and 1845. They
were established only to augment citizen self-protection. It was never
intended that they act affirmatively, prior to or during criminal
activity or violence against individual citizens. Their duty was to
protect society as a whole by deterrence; i.e., by systematically
patrolling, detecting and apprehending criminals after the occurrence of
crimes. There was no thought of police displacing the citizens' right of
self-protection. Nor could they, even if it were intended.
Professor Don B. Kates, Jr., eminent civil rights lawyer
and criminologist, states:
Even if all 500,000 American
police officers were assigned to patrol, they could not protect 240
million citizens from upwards of 10 million criminals who enjoy the
luxury of deciding when and where to strike. But we have nothing like
500,000 patrol officers; to determine how many police are actually
available for any one shift, we must divide the 500,000 by four (three
shifts per day, plus officers who have days off, are on sick leave,
etc.). The resulting number must be cut in half to account for officers
assigned to investigations, juvenile, records, laboratory, traffic, etc.,
rather than patrol. [1]
Such facts are underscored by the practical reality of
today's society. Police and Sheriff's departments are feeling the
financial exigencies of our times, and that translates directly to a
reduction of services, e.g., even less protection. For example, one
moderate day recently (September 23, 1991) the San Francisco Police
Department "dropped" [2] 157 calls to its 911 facility, and
about 1,000 calls to its general telephone number (415-553-0123). An SFPD
dispatcher said that 150 dropped 911 calls, and 1,000 dropped general
number calls, are about average on any given day. [3]
It is, therefore, a fact of law and of practical necessity
that individuals are responsible for their own personal safety, and that
of their loved ones. Police protection must be recognized for what it is:
only an auxiliary general deterrent.
Because the police have no general duty to protect
individuals, judicial remedies are not available for their failure to
protect. In other words, if someone is injured because they expected but
did not receive police protection, they cannot recover damages by suing
(except in very special cases, explained below). Despite a long history
of such failed attempts, however, many, people persist in believing the
police are obligated to protect them, attempt to recover when no
protection was forthcoming, and are emotionally demoralized when the
recovery fails. Legal annals abound with such cases.
Warren v. District of Columbia is one of the leading cases
of this type. Two women were upstairs in a townhouse when they heard
their roommate, a third woman, being attacked downstairs by intruders.
They phoned the police several times and were assured that officers were
on the way. After about 30 minutes, when their roommate's screams had
stopped, they assumed the police had finally arrived. When the two women
went downstairs they saw that in fact the police never came, but the
intruders were still there. As the Warren court graphically states in the
opinion: "For the next fourteen hours the women were held captive,
raped, robbed, beaten, forced to commit sexual acts upon each other, and
made to submit to the sexual demands of their attackers."
The three women sued the District of Columbia for failing to
protect them, but D.C.'s highest court exonerated the District and its
police, saying that it is a "fundamental principle of American law
that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide
public services, such as police protection, to any individual
citizen." [4] There are many similar cases with results to the same
effect. [5]
In the Warren case the injured parties sued the District of
Columbia under its own laws for failing to protect them. Most often such
cases are brought in state (or, in the case of Warren, D.C.) courts for
violation of state statutes, because federal law pertaining to these
matters is even more onerous. But when someone does sue under federal
law, it is nearly always for violation of 42 U.S.C. 1983 (often
inaccurately referred to as "the civil rights act"). Section
1983 claims are brought against government officials for allegedly
violating the injured parties' federal statutory or Constitutional
rights.
The seminal case establishing the general rule that police
have no duty under federal law to protect citizens is DeShaney v.
Winnebago County Department of Social Services. [6] Frequently these
cases are based on an alleged "special relationship" between
the injured party and the police. In DeShaney the injured party was a boy
who was beaten and permanently injured by his father. He claimed a
special relationship existed because local officials knew he was being
abused, indeed they had "specifically proclaimed by word and deed
[their] intention to protect him against that danger," [7] but
failed to remove him from his father's custody.
The Court in DeShaney held that no duty arose because of a
"special relationship," concluding that Constitutional duties
of care and protection only exist as to certain individuals, such as
incarcerated prisoners, involuntarily committed mental patients and
others restrained against their will and therefore unable to protect
themselves. "The affirmative duty to protect arises not from the
State's knowledge of the individual's predicament or from its expressions
of intent to help him, but from the limitation which it has imposed on
his freedom to act on his own behalf." [8]
About a year later, the United States Court of Appeals
interpreted DeShaney in the California case of Balistreri v. Pacifica
Police Department. [9] Ms. Balistreri, beaten and harassed by her
estranged husband, alleged a "special relationship" existed
between her and the Pacifica Police Department, to wit, they were
duty-bound to protect her because there was a restraining order against
her husband. The Court of Appeals, however, concluded that DeShaney
limited the circumstances that would give rise to a "special
relationship" to instances of custody. Because no such custody
existed in Balistreri, the Pacifica Police had no duty to protect her, so
when they failed to do so and she was injured they were not liable. A
citizen injured because the police failed to protect her can only sue the
State or local government in federal court if one of their officials
violated a federal statutory or Constitutional right, and can only win
such a suit if a "special relationship" can be shown to have
existed, which DeShaney and its progeny make it very difficult to do.
Moreover, Zinermon v. Burch [10] very likely precludes Section 1983
liability for police agencies in these types of cases if there is a
potential remedy via a State tort action.
Many states, however, have specifically precluded such
claims, barring lawsuits against State or local officials for failure to
protect, by enacting statutes such as California's Government Code,
Sections 821, 845, and 846 which state, in part: "Neither a public
entity or a public employee [may be sued] for failure to provide adequate
police protection or service, failure to prevent the commission of crimes
and failure to apprehend criminals."
It is painfully clear that the police cannot be relied upon
to protect us. Thus far we've seen that they have no duty to do so. And
we've also seen that even if they did have a duty to protect us,
practically- speaking they could not fulfill it with sufficient certainty
that we would want to bet our lives on it.
Now it's time to take off the gloves, so to speak, and get
down to reality. So the police aren't duty-bound to protect us, and they
can't be expected to protect us even if they want to. Does that mean that
they won't protect us if they have the opportunity?
One of the leading cases on this point dates way back into
the 1950s. [11] A certain Ms. Riss was being harassed by a former
boyfriend, in a familiar pattern of increasingly violent threats. She
went to the police for help many times, but was always rebuffed.
Desperate because she could not get police protection, she applied for a
gun permit, but was refused that as well. On the eve of her engagement
party she and her mother went to the police one last time pleading for
protection against what they were certain was a serious and dangerous
threat. And one last time the police refused. As she was leaving the
party, her former boyfriend threw acid in her face, blinding and
permanently disfiguring her.
Her case against the City of New York for failing to protect
her was, not surprisingly, unsuccessful. The lone dissenting justice of
New York's high court wrote in his opinion: "What makes the City's
position [denying any obligation to protect the woman] particularly
difficult to understand is that, in conformity to the dictates of the law
[she] did not carry any weapon for self-defense. Thus, by a rather bitter
irony she was required to rely for protection on the City of New York
which now denies all responsibility to her." [12]
Instances of police refusing to protect someone in grave
danger, who is urgently requesting help, are becoming disturbingly more
common. In 1988, Lisa Bianco's violently abusive husband was finally in
jail for beating and kidnapping her, after having victimized her for
years. Ms. Bianco was somewhat comforted by the facts that he was
supposedly serving a seven-year sentence, and she had been promised by
the authorities that she'd be notified well in advance of his release.
Nevertheless, after being in only a short time, he was temporarily
released on an eight-hour pass, and she wasn't notified. He went directly
to her house and, in front of their 6- and 10- year old daughters, beat
Lisa Bianco to death.
In 1989, in a suburb of Los Angeles, Maria Navarro called
the L. A. County Sheriff's 911 emergency line asking for help. It was her
birthday and there was a party at her house, but her estranged husband,
against whom she had had a restraining order, said he was coming over to
kill her. She believed him, but got no sympathy from the 911 dispatcher,
who said: "What do you want us to do lady, send a car to sit outside
your house?" Less than half an hour after Maria hung up in
frustration, one of her guests called the same 911 line and informed the
dispatcher that the husband was there and had already killed Maria and
one other guest. Before the cops arrived, he had killed another.
But certainly no cop would stand by and do nothing while
someone was being violently victimized. Or would they? In Freeman v.
Ferguson [13] a police chief directed his officers not to enforce a
restraining order against a woman's estranged husband because the man was
a friend of the chief's. The man subsequently killed the woman and her
daughter. Perhaps such a specific case is an anomaly, but more instances
of general abuses aren't at all rare.
In one such typical case [14] , a woman and her son were
harassed, threatened and assaulted by her estranged husband, all in
violation of his probation and a restraining order. Despite numerous
requests for police protection, the police did nothing because "the
police department used an administrative classification that resulted in
police protection being fully provided to persons abused by someone with
whom the victim has no domestic relationship, but less protection when
the victim is either: 1) a woman abused or assaulted by a spouse or
boyfriend, or 2) a child abused by a father or stepfather."
[15]
In a much more recent case, [16] a woman claimed she was
injured because the police refused to make an arrest following a domestic
violence call. She claimed their refusal to arrest was due to a city
policy of gender- based discrimination. In that case the U. S. District
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that "no constitutional
violation [occurred] when the most that can be said of the police is that
they stood by and did nothing..." [17]
Do the police really harbor such indifference to the plight
of certain victims? To answer that, let's leave the somewhat aloof and
dispassionate world of legal precedent and move into the more easily
understood "real world." I can state from considerable personal
experience, unequivocally, that these things do happen. As to why they
occur, I can offer only my opinion based on that experience and on
additional research into the dark and murky areas of criminal sociopathy
and police abuse.
One client of my partner's and mine had a restraining order
against her violently abusive estranged husband. He had recently beaten
her so savagely a metal plate had to be implanted in her jaw. Over and
over he violated the court order, sometimes thirty times daily. He
repeatedly threatened to kill her and those of use helping her. But the
cops refused to arrest him for violating the order, even though they'd
witnessed him doing so more than once. They danced around all over the
place trying to explain why they wouldn't enforce the order, including
inventing numerous absurd excuses about having lost her file (a common
tactic in these cases). It finally came to light that there was a
departmental order to not arrest anyone in that county for violating a
protective order because the county had recently been sued by an irate
(and wealthy) domestic violence arrestee.
In another of our cases, when Peggi and I served the man
with restraining orders (something we're often required to do because
various law enforcement agencies can't or won't do it), he threatened
there and then to kill our client. Due to the vigorous nature of the
threat, we went immediately to the police department to get it on file in
case he attempted to carry it out during the few days before the upcoming
court appearance. We spent hours filing the report, but two days later
when our client went to the police department for a copy to take to
court, she was told there was no record of her, her restraining order,
her case, or our report.
She called in a panic. Without that report it would be more
difficult securing a permanent restraining order against him. I paid an
immediate visit to the chief of that department. We discussed the
situation and I suggested various options, including dragging the officer
to whom Peggi and I had given the detailed death threat report into court
to explain under oath how it had gotten lost. In mere moments, an
internal affairs officer was assigned to investigate and, while I waited,
they miraculously produced the file and our report. I was even telephoned
later and offered an effusive apology by various members of the
department.
It is true that in the real world, law enforcement
authorities very often do perpetuate the victimization. It is also true
that each of us is the only person upon whom we can absolutely rely to
avoid victimization. If our client in the last anecdote hadn't taken
responsibility for her own fate, she might never have survived the
ordeal. But she had sufficient resolve to fend for herself. Realizing the
police couldn't or wouldn't help her, she contacted us. Then, when the
police tried their bureaucratic shuffle on her, she called me. But for
her determination to be a victim no more, and to take responsibility for
her own destiny, she might have joined the countless others victimized
first by criminals, then by the very system they expect will protect
them.
Remember, even if the police were obligated to protect us
(which they aren't), or even if they tried to protect us (which they
often don't, a fact brought home to millions nationwide as they watched
in horror the recent events in Los Angeles), most often there wouldn't be
time enough for them to do it. It's about time that we came to grips with
that, and resolved never to abdicate responsibility for our personal
safety, and that of our loved ones, to anyone else.
1. Guns, Murders, and the Constitution (Pacific Research
Institute for Public Policy, 1990).
2. A "dropped" call in police dispatcher parlance
is one that isn't handled for a variety of reasons, such as because it
goes unanswered. Calls from people who get tired of waiting on hold and
hang up are classified as "drops" as well.
3. KGO Radio (Newstalk 810), 6:00 PM report, 09-26-91, and a
subsequent personal interview with the reporter, Bernie Ward.
4. Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of
Ap., 1981).
5. See, for example, Riss v. City of New York, 22 N.Y.2d
579, 293 NYS2d 897, 240 N.E.2d 860 (N.Y. Ct. of Ap. 1958); Keane v. City
of Chicago, 98 Ill. App.2d 460, 240 N.E.2d 321 (1968); Morgan v. District
of Columbia, 468 A.2d 1306 (D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1983); Calogrides v. City of
Mobile, 475 So.2d 560 (S.Ct. A;a. 1985); Morris v. Musser, 478 A.2d 937
(1984); Davidson v. City of Westminster, 32 C.3d 197, 185 Cal.Rptr. 252,
649 P.2d 894 (S.Ct. Cal. 1982); Chapman v. City of Philadelphia, 434 A.2d
753 (Sup.Ct. Penn. 1981); Weutrich v. Delia, 155 N.J. Super 324, 326, 382
A.2d 929, 930 (1978); Sapp v. City of Tallahassee, 348 So.2d 363 (Fla.Ct.
of Ap. 1977); Simpson's Food Fair v. Evansville, 272 N.E. 2d 871 (Ind.Ct.
of Ap.); Silver v. City of Minneapolis, 170 N.W.2d 206 (S.Ct. Minn. 1969)
and Bowers v. DeVito, 686 F.2d 61 (7th Cir. 1982).
6. 109 S.Ct. 998 (1989).
7. "Domestic Violence -- When Do Police Have a
Constitutional Duty to Protect?" Special Agent Daniel L. Schofield,
S.J.D., FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin January, 1991.
8. DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social
Services, 109 S.Ct. 998 (1989) at 1006.
9. 901 F.2d 696 (9th Cir. 1990).
10. 110 S.Ct. 975, 984 (1990).
11. Riss v. City of New York, 22 N.Y.2d 579, 293 NYS2d 897,
240 N.E.2d 860 (N.Y. Ct. of Ap. 1958).
12. Riss, Ibid.
13. 911 F.2d52 (8th Cir. 1990).
14. Thurman v. City of Torrington, 595 F.Supp.1521 (D.Conn.
1984).
15. "Domestic Violence -- When Do Police Have a
Constitutional Duty to Protect?" Special Agent Daniel L. Schofield,
S.J.D., FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin January, 1991.
16. McKee v. City of Rockwall, Texas, 877 F.2d409 (5th Cir.
1989), cert. denied, 110 S.Ct.727 (1990).
17. McKee v. City of Rockwall, Texas, Id. at 413.
Here are two articles i found listed this week on Survival Blog. You need to give some thought to alternative energy and making electricity without oil, or processed oil. Here are two places you can start your thinking on. On Wednesday we lost power due to high winds. Makes you think how vulnerable our power supply is.
DIESEL GENERATORS with the Detroit Diesel 2-71 Engine
We specialize in providing high quality, used diesel generators
using the American made Detroit Diesel 2-71 engines.
We have 12.5 KW models available.
We believe the 2-71 engine is the best small diesel engine ever built because:
* Simple Design
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* 1000 hours between Oil Changes
* Runs at 1200 RPM = Longevity
* Can run on waste oil including vegetable and used motor oil
These generators are perfect for:
* Remote Home Energy
* Construction/Industrial
* Producing power for sale to utilities
* Home or Business Emergency Power Backup
http://www.affordablepower.com/
On the next on i remember reading an article about using manure bricks and burning them like coal in you wood stove and use the ash in your garden.
Mother Natures Furnace
Ever notice how hot it gets inside a compost pile?
An inquisitive John Kimberlin did, and asked, "what if I could speed up the process by producing more heat." He piled horse manure and sawdust on top of a couple of charcoal briquettes. Then he put a hair dryer to it and it burned hotter. He kept increasing the size of his experimental fires and found he could make it burn from the bottom up, inside out - increasing the heat - creating a tornado of fire, of energy contained within, like a forge.
The Result -
* U.S. Patents #5839375, #6244196 and other U.S. & Foreign patents pending.
* Furnaces that burn biowaste with continuous output ranging from 175,000 - 500,000 BTU/hr.
* Heating.
* Cooling.
* Steam generation
* Power generation.
* 11 moving parts
* No secondary fuel.
* Nearly smokeless/odourless exhaust emissions.
* Safe, efficient and effective.
* The residual ash can be used as fertilizer.
http://www.naturesfurnace.com/
Don't know if this will interest anyone or not, but i it has a place in your plans here is so good info on it.
Bury a gun and ammo for 15 years
(and be assured everything still works when you dig it up)
By Charles Wood
Back in the early 1990s the outlook for the nation in general and gun owners in particular seemed rather grim to many people. A few years earlier in 1986, Congress had banned civilians from owning newly manufactured machine guns. There was ever more strident talk of banning semi-automatic weapons or so called assault weapons. Many of us regarded a semi-automatic rifle as the foundation of a home defense battery. Many of us believed that more laws banning ever more types of guns were imminent. About that time I acquired a Ruger Ranch Rifle through a private sale. I decided to stash it away in a safe place just in case my worst fear was to materialize, another gun ban.
Image
First order of business was to decide how I would prepare the gun for long-term storage and where I would store it. I decided that for maximum security I needed to bury it. This would keep it safe from all but the most determined government goons. I set about finding an appropriate location. I live in a fairly remote, wooded rural area in the northeast. One day as I was walking in the woods I noticed a hemlock tree had blown down and been uprooted by a recent windstorm. There was a small crater about eight feet across and three feet deep where the root ball had been torn out of the ground. It occurred to me that this would be a good spot for my rifle.
Since I now had the location, I began preparing the rifle for storage. I bought a piece of 6-inch diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe, end caps, and PVC solvent from a hardware store in another town where I had never done business before. Being in a rural area where everyone knows everyone I didn’t want to arouse any suspicions about what I was up to. I then disassembled the rifle and completely coated every metal part with a rust preventative oil intended for storing unused machinery in damp locations. This oil dries to form a waxy coating. I was extra careful that the bore was completely coated. I wanted to vacuum-pack the rifle as extra insurance against rust. As it turned out my employer had just taken delivery of a mainframe computer that happened to be wrapped in a large aluminized mylar bag for shipping. This proved to be the perfect
material for my purpose. I discovered that with a warm iron I could fuse the edges of this material into a custom-fitted airtight bag for the rifle. I placed each individual component of the partially disassembled rifle in its own custom-made mylar bag with a small bag of silica gel desiccant to absorb any moisture present. Using my shop vac and an iron I managed to produce a professional-looking vacuum-packing job. The barreled action, stock, trigger assembly, hand guard, magazines, scope, and mounts all went into individual bags.
Image
Since the rifle was so heavily preserved I knew I would need something to degrease it with when I finally retrieved it so I included two small cans of 1-1-1 Trichlorethane in the package. Also, since a rifle is of little use without ammunition, several thousand rounds of .223 were included. Because every well-maintained rifle needs to be cleaned and oiled occasionally, I added a cleaning rod, patches, Hoppe’s #9 solvent, gun oil, grease, and owner’s manual. A set of reloading dies was included as well. If dire circumstances required me to retrieve my rifle I wanted to be sure that I would have everything at hand necessary to put it into service. All of the individually wrapped components were sealed together into a larger mylar bag custom-made for the purpose along with a couple more medium-sized bags of desiccant. A few bags of ammo were taped to the side of this bag and the entire thing was wrapped in duct tape. Additional ammo was packed into zip lock freezer bags.
Image
With everything prepared I was ready to load the pipe. I first put in a large bag of desiccant followed by several bags of ammo, followed by the bag containing the rifle and supplies. Since there was some empty space surrounding the rifle, I dumped in some loose ammo just to fill the voids. More bags of ammo were then added to fill the pipe. Since I had a tank of nitrogen available, I also purged the air from the tube with the nitrogen before sealing it. This was undoubtedly overkill but I had it available so I used it. I took extreme care while using the PVC solvent to insure that the caps were perfectly sealed and watertight. Finally, I painted the pipe black, and at this point, 15 years later, I’m not sure why.
I loaded the sealed pipe in the back of my truck and drove up into the woods to the downed hemlock tree previously selected. With a post hole digger I dug a hole about six feet deep and a foot in diameter in the center of the crater left by the root ball of the tree. After gently placing the pipe in the hole, I carefully pulled the tree upright using a chain attached to my truck. By this time the tree had died and most of the needles had fallen off. Once returned to vertical it was pretty stable and a little dirt and debris shoveled around the edges did the trick. In any healthy, well-managed forest there are always a few standing dead trees, so this one would not arouse the curiosity of anyone who hunted or hiked there.
Image
I never told anyone what I had done and I didn’t write down the location anywhere. About five or six years later I had a timber harvest. I had my consulting forester mark the tree as a wildlife tree so it wouldn’t be disturbed by the loggers. It was, after all, popular with the Pileated Woodpeckers. It has been 15 years since I buried the rifle and I have recently had another timber harvest. The tree was quite rotted by this time and it didn’t survive the harvest. I had been keeping an eye on it, so when it finally fell I marked a nearby tree so I could find it again after the loggers left. Even careful logging causes quite an upheaval in the forest and it can be difficult to locate a specific spot after all the landmarks have been changed. After the logging crew had left it took me several days with a shovel and a rake to locate the rifle. In hindsight, I should have had some additional way of locating it. Since the top of the pipe was about three feet below ground level, my old metal detector wasn’t much help. I decided that it would be interesting to retrieve the rifle and see how well my storage plan had worked.
I managed to locate the very rotted stump beneath the logging debris and started digging. Once I located the top of the pipe I excavated around it about a foot on all sides and to a depth of about a foot below the top of the pipe. I attached a noose of polypropylene rope and used the winch on my truck and a convenient log to slowly pull the pipe out of the ground. After all these years the soil was still very loose around the pipe and it was relatively easy to pull it out. I could have accomplished it without the winch had it been necessary. After removing the pipe, I filled the hole with logging debris and covered it up with some loose hemlock boughs to prevent someone from falling into it.
Image
Back at the house I hosed off the mud and prepared to saw the pipe open. Using a handsaw, I very carefully cut completely around one of the caps. I didn’t want to damage the contents by being too enthusiastic.
With the cap removed it was immediately obvious that no moisture had gotten into the pipe. I carefully slid the contents out on to a table for examination. After unwrapping the duct tape and removing the outer bag, it was obvious that all was OK. All of the individual packages were unwrapped to reveal the contents were as good as the day they were packaged.
So if you think it is necessary, you can store a rifle safely for long periods in harsh environments. A little attention to detail, some scrounged materials, and a few dollars in supplies are all it takes.
(You can go to the like to see the pic's)
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wood115.html
Another good source of info is found here
www.ssrsi.org/Onsite/cacheguns.htm
Financial analyst Ralph Silva of TowerGroup told CNBC this morning
<http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=975644719&play=1> that he expects no
less than one third of banks to fail in 2009 and that anything up to a
thousand could collapse if they don’t merge.
Silva said that only five or six global banks have enough funds to survive
comfortably throughout 2009.
“The rest of the banks, and that means a thousand other banks, don’t have
enough money to get themselves through 2009,” added Silva.
“In 2009 we’re gonna see one third of the banks in the G8 countries
disappear, either being merged, forced or not forced, or completely
disappearing,” said Silva.
The analyst predicted that rather than letting banks fail, governments will
force them to merge, citing the example of Bradford and Bingley in the UK,
which would lead to “very few banks owning quite a bit more.”
Silva warned that banks would not be able to lend any money throughout 2009
because they would be more concerned with merely surviving and being able to
pay their own employees.Banks expected to squeeze U.S. retailers in 2009Allison Abell Schwartz, Bloomberg
Published: Friday, December 19, 2008
NEW YORK -- Retailers will face a Darwinian fight for survival next year as
they run out of cash as early as January and competition forces thousands of
store closings, according to private-equity buyers and restructuring
experts.
Probably 50,000 stores could close without any effect on consumer choice,
Gregory Segall, a managing partner at buyout firm Versa Capital Management
Inc., said earlier this month during a panel discussion.
"The United States is massively over-stored in all categories," Mr. Segall
said. He said his firm is in "a wait mode" and he expects banks to squeeze
retailers after Jan. 1.
Plunging home prices, rising unemployment and tightening credit have led
consumers to rein in spending, resulting in what may be the worst holiday
season in at least four decades. Macy's Inc., Kohl's Corp. and other
retailers have marked down items 50% to lure customers, eroding margins at a
time when store owners hope to make a third or more of their annual profit.
Only retailers with healthy balance sheets will survive the recession, said
Matthew Katz, a managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners LLP.
"This is a very Darwinian time," Mr. Katz said.
At least a dozen U.S. retailers have entered bankruptcy this year, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg. Circuit City Stores Inc. and Boscov's Inc.
have said they will reorganize and leave court protection as smaller chains,
while Linens ‘n Things Inc., Sharper Image Corp., and Value City Department
Stores LLC all plan to liquidate.
There are some "fires that need to be left to burn" in retail, Mr. Segall
said. "At the moment we think it's a time for a very cautious approach."
Increases in consumer confidence, reductions in credit spreads and a lower
jobless rate would be indicators that the retail sector is beginning to turn
around, panelists said.
"Americans are inherently optimistic," said Cathy Leonhardt, a managing
director at boutique investment firm Peter J. Solomon Co. "And when the
credit markets open back up, and they will, our optimism comes back."
The Standard & Poor's 500 Retailing Index had shed 29% by mid-December, with
only three of its 27 members posting gains. The index doesn't include
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, which had climbed 16%.
While Wal-Mart will continue to be important, smaller specialty stores are
returning, said James Schaye, chief executive officer of Hudson Capital
Partners LLC. The liquidation firm's clients have included Kmart and Linens
‘n Things.
"People are going back to the one, or two, or three-store chains," he said.
"People are getting a little tired of going to the mall and buying all the
same thing."
Overall, the retail market will get tougher starting next month as banks
start to see all "the messes that have been left to fester," Versa's Mr.
Segall said. With the turmoil in the financial sector, banks have been
focused inwardly for the past few months and that will change come January,
he said.
There are also some perfectly healthy companies trading at distressed
values, according to Leonhardt at Peter J. Solomon.
"For acquirers, this is an unprecedented period," she said.
Here is oldie but something to think about and keep in the back of your mind.
It has been attributed to a lot of different sources.
100 Things That Will Run Out
1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled ect.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers Any size. HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY
14. Mini Heater head (Without this, propane won't heat a room.)
15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, ect. (Without this, lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, ect.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. ("Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (keep items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, "No. 76 Dietz" Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting)
49. Men's Hygiene: Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, ect
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffle Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, ect.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, ect
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & thingyroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, ect.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, boullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, ect. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattresses
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, ect.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, ect,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, ect.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens/Rabbits
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