Your safety is your personal responsibility. At a time when threats to security are increasing by the day, it is important that you know how to protect your peace. Below are 10 key tips that can help you stay safe as you go about your everyday life.
1. BE ALERT
Criminals need you to be distracted, lost, in need of assistance, or simply being in the wrong place. Just adopting the habit of stopping and watching people around you and (behind) you will arm you against crime.
2. BE SOBER
Alcohol, drugs, jet lag, and too much of a good time can fuzz your common sense, making you think you are with cool cats when you’re really among wolves. Bars and nightclubs are where bad people hang out.
3.LOSE IT OR LOSE IT
Preventing theft begins when you pack. If you take too many things and are forced to leave items in the car or hotel, you dramatically increase the chance of losing those things.
4.ENSURE AND INSURE
It really makes a difference if your camera, clothes, health, and even your life are insured against loss when traveling.
5.TRUST NO ONE, SUSPECT EVERYONE
When you travel you meet hundreds of strangers with either pure or impure thoughts. It all depends on how you present yourself. If you’re interested in their kids, their health, and their family, the chance of something evil happening to your decreases. At the same time understand that financial pressures in some countries might force the same people to finger you to gangs, thugs, radicals, and the like.
6.STAY AWAY FROM TOURIST
Tourists attract petty criminals, con artists and potential suicide bombers (in some places), like dogs attract fleas. It goes without saying that crime occurs at youth hostels, tourist attractions, main plazas, foreigner bars, red-light districts, and other popular areas.
7. PREVENT OPPORTUNISTS
Crime generally occurs after you change $2000 at the Amex office or your wife/girlfriend hitches up her girdle or dives in her bra to get $10 to pay for museum tickets. Zippers on backpacks, luggage circling carousels, papers sticking out of breast pockets, fat purses and bulging pockets are “ROB ME” signs. Places like trunks of rental cars, towels at beaches, and daytime hotel rooms are areas where cameras, money and just about everything of value should be expected to disappear.
8. LOCK EM OUT
The best defense is preparation. By being careful you will avoid unfortunate incidents and wonder what all this fuss is about. Most hotel rooms can be flipped open by a 90-lb.maid, so it doesn’t take much for 200-lb.thug to enter your room at night. (That is where you keep all your worldly possessions isn’t it?) Although this is not as pervasive as street robbery, hotel robbery is more serious. Use a wedge, motion detector, or chair against the door when you go to sleep. During the day, leave a TV or radio on. Take the room key with you and keep your valuables in the hotel safe. In less developed countries, leave your valuables with the innkeeper or his family.
9. FAKE ‘EM OUT
If you find yourself being trailed by an unshaven man through the back streets of Manila, Mexico City, Bali, or even L.A., Miami, San Antonio, wherever, then it’s time for Plan B.Strange as it seems, the act of throwing down your decoy pouch will diffuse most situations. (Unless of course, the swarthy man is just trying to catch up to you to return the camera you left at the restaurant.) Assume that your attacker is just after your money. So give it to him, but not much of it. Carry a money belt, pouch, wallet, and neck pouch with a little bit of money in each place. Protest a lot, and then run like hell in the opposite direction. When you are being robbed, your attacker may have a weapon. The trick is to keep slowly shuffling backward as you fumble with your decoy pouch or wallet. If you think you can sprint into a safe place, do it. Most thugs will not chase you when other people are around.
10. TAKE EM OUT
If you are attacked, your attacker will have the advantage. He will either sneak up behind you, walk up to you and then quickly turn, or he will hit you with a pipe or stick. Violent attacks often are performed by gangs. They will typically continue to kick and hit you while they tear off your possession and empty your pockets. Quite honestly, you are better off shielding your head and stomach and helping them find what they are looking for. Keep in mind that if you choose to fight you are endangering your life. If you choose to fight back you must also be prepared to see this through until your attacker becomes the victim. Not a comfortable thought for tourists out on town for a night. Any book or program that teaches you to be like Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, or to be fearless, a badass is, for lack of a better term, BULL. The last thing on the victims mind is their capability to be movie-like, to do smooth Kung fu, Karate, Aikido moves that you will use to destroy your opponent.