I would say that staying out of dangerous areas is most of it. Other than that, avoiding dark , badly lit areas at night, staying within groups of people, and not opening the door without verification are 90% of it. Is there a way to minimize your risk (to effectively zero)?
At the risk of breaking GQ rules - Stay in bed. Won’t be zero but if your bed is in Reykjavik, you will get pretty close.
Depends on what you mean by “crime victim”. You seem to be restricting it to personal assault type crimes perpetrated by non-household members.
I would add not perpetrating crime, living a clean wholesome lifestyle.
No area is 100% safe, but some areas are less crime than others.
However just using common sense even in low crime areas such as don’t flash money, be aware of surroundings.
People seem to txt all the time and aren’t always paying attention to what or who might be around and that is what criminals might look for…an easy mark.
Posture and other forms of non-verbal signaling are important too. If you walk around like you’re confident that you could handle the Devil himself if he were foolish enough to cross your path, even though you’re a pencilnecked weakling, criminals are likely to guess that you know something about yourself which they don’t, and go look for an easier victim. Whereas if you skulk around like you’re afraid of your own shadow, they know that you will probably be a pushover and an easy mark even if you may not have much to steal.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the crimes most people are likely to be victims of In the near are home burglary and cyber crimes. Staying out of bad areas isn’t going to help prevent those at all unless by bad areas you mean things like don’t do online banking.
nm
Don’t get born into a violent or criminal family. Don’t marry someone violent or criminal. Sometimes that’s hard to avoid, though. Preneonates usually have poor character analysis skills.
Look up the lowest crime part of your city. Rent an apartment in a secure building, at least five floors up. Don’t own anything worth stealing. Don’t leave the house and don’t use the internet.
Seriously though, there is a lot one can do. I’ve done a lot of travel in very rough countries, always by local transit and often alone. As a small blonde woman, I’m practically asking to be robbed. And yet I’ve only had one crime committed against me-- and I was using profoundly poor judgement at the time.
My strategies:
Don’t have anything worth stealing. Definitely don’t have anything visible worth stealing.
Don’t dress like you have anything worth stealing, but do wear clean and neat clothing
If you do have anything worth stealing in your hotel room, lock it up or hide it.
Use a good money belt. Expect your pockets to be picked.
Have an anonymous looking suitcase/backpack
Keep your bag either touching you or locked to something and within eyesight always, especially on transport.
Be conservative about where you go alone and at what times you are wandering around
Don’t get publicly intoxicated and have a safe plan if you get intoxicated in any way.
Keep an eye around you, pay attention. In sketchy places use shadows and shop windows to make sure you aren’t being followed
If someone is being shady on the street, look directly at them, make it clear that you see them, and keep doing your thing
If you are still being followed, duck into a public place (store, restaurant) and plan a safe exit
Look for women. Places where local women walk alone are usually safer, no women is a warning sign.
Read up on local scams, assume anyone approaching you unsolicited is trying to scam you
If someone is trying to scam you, make it clear you are on to the game without outright saying it, and have good humor about it
Also, look like you know where you are going. Don’t pull out a map or guidebook on the street. If you need to figure something out, do it in a cafe or other public place.
Keep half a billiard cue by the front door.
Some very good tips so far in this thread…
For your parked car, don’t leave any visible items in it, even charging cables leading to a hidden place (under the seat, etc.).
If you can’t avoid leaving items in the car, cover them up with a simple blanket or other cover.
Again when parking your car, already have your valuables (laptop bag, etc.) stashed in your trunk before you arrive at your destination. Some thieves hang out at grocery stores to watch cars arrive, and when they see arriving occupants put such items in the trunk before going in to shop, they know they have 5-20 minutes to break in and steal the bag. They’ve watched you put the items in the trunk and they’ve seen if the items look desireable (nice leather bag, nice backpack, etc). This was (is?) a recent trend in San Francisco.
When walking and if you ask for directions or help, not only must you be wise in choosing the person to ask, but also be aware of who is nearby and can observe your discussion.
When walking, have your items hidden on you, or your bag / backpack securely attached to you and not held in your hand. Don’t make it easy for someone to grab it and sprint away.
In general, don’t provide temptations to others. Don’t be the easy target. Let the next person be the easy target.
Another option is concealed carry of a gun.
There’s really 2 types of crime that I think people are worrying about. First, there are the crimes of opportunity. By that, I mean car burglars, muggers, rapists, robbers, etc… who choose certain people and places due to a perceived ease of accomplishing their crimes. These are the crimes that you can defend against by not looking like a victim, by staying in well lit areas, locking your doors and hiding any valuables in your car, etc…
But then there are the more random violent crimes, like that woman in San Francisco who was shot at random, or school shootings, or terrorist attacks, etc… There isn’t much you can do about those, other than be aware of your surroundings, and fight back when you can, I suppose.
Not being drunk in public has been my main strategy for avoiding being a crime victim (been successful to date, knock wood, but as a middle class man in Germany where there are noticeable but no huge social disparities that’s all that’s really needed.)
Being drunk gets you into quarrels that you’d easily avoid when sober, and makes you a target of opportunist small time muggers.
There’s a 1981 study by Grayson and Stein where they videotaped a bunch of random people walking down the street, and then showed the tape to criminals convicted of violent offenses and asked them to pick out ‘good’ victims. Their choices were surprisingly consistent, and weren’t what the researchers expected - the predators would sometimes pass over small women, or pick out big men.
When they analysed the people on the tape, the researchers found that what made the difference between ‘victim’ and ‘non-victim’ was their gait. Basically, the ‘victims’ walked more awkwardly. From here:
So doing yoga or tai chi, or anything that makes you more physically coordinated, should lower your risk of being a crime victim.
Fascinating info, e w, thanks for that!
I know from walking in places like Mexico City, that when I walk as if I know exactly where I am going, and especially if I acknowledge passerby (for instance, to shopkeepers, or to elderly people who usually appreciate a greeting), I am not bothered. I think the latter is especially important as anything that creates the impression “people around here know him/her, I can’t mess with this person like I can with a tourist.” But if I start fumbling about my pockets or I start thinking about work rather than paying attention to people around me, the street hustlers and panhandlers start to pop up. I think this is not just advice for staying safe, but also avoiding looking like an easy mark.
A wealthy individual can pay for personal security by living in a gated community and by hiring/employing bodyguards. While it sounds trivial as well as cynical, a long-term strategy to avoid being the victim of a crime would be to acquire wealth.