Crime Prevention

Unfortunately, wherever one travels in the world, be it 50 miles to the nearest city or to the other side of the world, exposure to crime remains a threat. The protective measures one may take remain the same virtually regardless of the destination.

Awareness is the first step. The traveler should be aware of the predominant types of crime native to the proposed destination. Most travel medicine clinics (including ours) have databases which track this sort of thing. Knowing what scams or types of crime are currently popular, we can advise of special precautions specific to a given area.

But awareness is also a moment by moment thing. To really enjoy a new setting the traveler must pay attention to surroundings. And surroundings include people. What are the people around you doing? If they seem to be paying inordinate attention to you, then you may be wise to pay attention to them in return. Often the mere realization that he has been noticed is enough to deter a criminal from committing a crime.

On the other hand, being unobtrusive makes one less of a target. Try to blend in; not to look like a tourist, executive or other standout. Clothing, bearing, baggage and gait may all mark one as a good prospect for a robbery. Cameras can be a dead giveaway, of course, but even they can be carried and used in a way which draws little attention to oneself or perhaps gives the impression of being a local professional photographer rather than a tourist.

Whenever possible, know where you are going or at least look as if you do. Look at maps and read directions in private, out of the public gaze. Walk purposefully, not aimlessly. Try to know at least a smattering of the language sufficient to read signs and understand greetings. The most successful--and safest--tourists are those who always walk with such an air of purposeful confidence that people ask them for directions, assuming them to be natives.

Street crime such as mugging and purse snatching is best avoided by the standard preventive measures. Do not travel alone, especially after dark, in neighborhoods not definitely known to be safe. LISTEN to the warnings given you by the locals. It's amazing but true that MOST robberies of tourists occur when they are in areas they have been warned to avoid. Carry your belongings tightly, securely and whenever possible, out of sight. Remember that lonely beaches, nature trails and other beauty spots carry the same risk as dark city streets and the same preventive measures apply.

Know the "guides" with whom you are dealing. They should be part of a recognized company or personally recommended by someone you know. This goes, too, for local taxi drivers who offer to act as guides. There are instances in many countries of their simply being front men for scams of varying sorts.

Likewise, never accept food or drink from strangers as it could be drugged.

Major crimes such as hijackings and terrorist attacks, often the subject of our worst nightmares, are rare events and even then sometimes avoidable. Avoidance includes things such as choosing only reputable and reliable airlines, ground transportation and hotels and avoiding political hot spots. (This sort of information can also usually be obtained from a reliable travel clinic such as our own.) Even when these things cannot be avoided, the best principle, as elsewhere, is to make oneself unobtrusive and unnoticed.

Other resources:

Travel Safety: Don't Be A Target--Uniquest Publications The Safe Travel Book--MacMillan The Complete Security Guide for Executives--Lexington Books Executive Safety & International Terrorism--Prentice-Hall RISKNET--The Ackerman Group (305-865-0072)