Act confident. Make appropriate eye contact with people in your surroundings. Walk with purpose. Be polite and helpful, but do not compromise yourself. [1] X Expert Source Saul Jaeger, MSPolice Captain, Mountain View Police Department Expert Interview. 21 February 2020. Sometimes predators will try to lure people by appealing to them for help. For instance, if someone in a car asks for directions, by all means help them - from a safe distance. Do not come to the car window. Be with friends or a crowd. It is harder to commit a crime if people have someone with them. Victims are easier to victimize if they are alone. Even having other people nearby make it less likely a crime will occur. Partake responsibly. If you do drink, or use other drugs, do not do so to excess. Having one’s mind impaired makes it more difficult to sense danger, make safe choices, or react appropriately to a situation. If possible, do not drink at bars alone. Always have a safe way to get home if you are too buzzed to drive, whether friend, Uber, bus or cab. Pay attention to your drinks at bars, parties, even with a date. “Date rape drugs” slipped into unwatched drinks can lead to assault, rape, or the like.

Avoid constantly texting, talking on your phone, or otherwise allow devices to make you oblivious to your surrounding. Do not have your earbuds on blasting music. Pay attention to the people who are around you. If a drunk person is yelling obscenities down the street, you can notice him or her and avoid trouble.

Be visible. Brightly colored, reflective clothing and lights (such as a headlamp or bicycle lights) helps lessen the danger from car accidents. Wearing dark clothes at night can make you practically invisible. And traffic accidents are far more likely to happen than any crime. It also can make you less of a target. Bright colors have a correlation with confidence and it can make someone who was going to mess with you, less likely to do so, because you’re so visible.

Stick to well-lit, public thoroughfares, roads, and paths for walking. The more people around, the better.

If you have to walk somewhere at night, make sure that a friend or trusted person knows the route that you took. This way if something does happen to you they know where to start looking.

Along with the obvious emergency numbers (like the police or fire department) you should have a friend or two that you can call if you run into difficulty. If you can, try to have these numbers be people who live in your area. While it can be tempting to call mom, she might live thousands of miles away and not be able to help you out at all.

If there is a designated driver, have them be in charge of making sure that all the friends are okay. You should also make sure that they get everyone’s keys, so no one else tries to leave without them.

Just remember that even if someone does tamper your drink, it isn’t your fault. It’s the fault of the person who tampered the drink.

Keep your backup money separate from the money you’re spending at night. This way you won’t decide to spend your money on the night out, rather than on getting home. This is important even if you’re just coming back from work at night. If something makes you uncomfortable or nervous you want to have enough money to get yourself out of the situation by taking a cab or bus, if you need to.

Make sure to have a contingency plan for if you do get stranded. Keep the number of a local cab company with you, or have a friend that you can call if you need to. If you do take a bus late at night, sit near the driver. It’s much more likely that you’ll be robbed or harassed if you sit in the back of the bus than if you sit near the driver.

Have the numbers of emergency responders like the police, the fire department, or an ambulance. You might also have poison control centers, or a local consulting nurse number in case of an accident or illness that you’re not sure constitutes an emergency. Have the number of a trusted neighbor or local friend that you can contact if something happens.

Keep the first aid kit in the bathroom in the same place so that you don’t have to hunt for it if it’s needed. Make sure that you have one or more fire extinguishers in the right places around the house: in the kitchen and by a fireplace are two good places. Also, you want to ensure that you and the people in your household know how to use the fire extinguisher in case there’s an emergency. Place a flashlight in an obvious place. If the lights go out or there’s a problem, you’ll know exactly where the flashlight is.

Have multiple escape routes for if there is a fire. Make sure that everyone in your household knows what to do and where to go. Depending on where you live you might have an emergency plan for a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, and so on. You might also try to make an emergency plan for if you ever had a home invasion: you might also figure out escape routes out of the house, where you might hide in the house, where you would go for help, and so on.

There are a variety of different alarm systems. Figure out which one works for you, or what your needs are. If carbon monoxide isn’t a problem in your home, for example, then you won’t need an early alert system for it. Always make sure that your alarm system is set and that it has all the appropriate batteries and wiring. There’s not much point in having an alarm system that’s never functional.

Depending on the area you live in, you may need to install bars on your windows, especially at the ground floor.

You also don’t want to post on Facebook or other social media how you’re home alone. This is especially important if you’re a kid and you’re at home alone. While things rarely happen the way they do in movies (like Home Alone, for example) you don’t want to risk anyone deciding your house is vulnerable because you’re the only one there.

This means, don’t hide it under the front mat, or a nearby flowerpot. That’s the first place a potential intruder will look. An example might be hiding a key to the shed on a hook beneath the back porch and having to use the key to the shed to get the house key from a hiding place in the locked shed.

If a light is on that shouldn’t be on, call the home phone and check that it isn’t a family member back when you didn’t expect them. Checking to see if the intruder is still in your home can lead to bad consequences for you, so it’s best to call the cops and let them handle it.

Keep your duplicates in a different place than your actual documents. For example, if you have a purse you’re keeping all the important documents like passport and so on, keep your duplicates in a different bag. You should also leave duplicates of everything with a trusted friend or family member. That way if everything gets lost or stolen you can contact them and get the copies of the documents from them.

Make sure you’re aware of local customs so you don’t offend people. There are certain gestures in the U. S. , for example, that are extremely rude in other parts of the world. Ask locals where is safe to go. The locals are the ones who are the most likely to recommend good places to go, as well as where to stay away from. There are lots of websites (like the one for Couchsurfing) where you can connect up with people from the area over the internet and they should be able to give you information.

Have a sheet of important phrases (not just “Where’s the bathroom?”) with things like: how to get to the train/bus station, where is the nearest police station/home country consulate, internet cafe, and so on. Knowing enough to make basic communication with local people will make locals more likely to help you, because you have made an effort to be more than just a tourist.

If your itinerary changes make sure that you connect with your trusted person and let them know that it has changed.

Do not bring your fancy phone or wallet packed with money with you traveling. You’ll be far more likely to be robbed.

Valuables can mean jewelry, phone, laptop or wallet. . . but it may be less obvious things like a denim jacket or designer purse. You also want to not stand out too strongly as a tourist by wearing T-shirts from your hometown, keeping your camera out constantly for photos, or dressed like a stereotypical tourist. If possible, don’t bring your expensive jewelry, watch, cell phone, laptop, and so on with you at all when you go traveling. [10] X Research source {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/9/91/Stay-Safe-Step-23. jpg/v4-460px-Stay-Safe-Step-23. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/9/91/Stay-Safe-Step-23. jpg/aid1672572-v4-728px-Stay-Safe-Step-23. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

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Make a mental checklist of your most important items (like your wallet, your phone, your passport, etc. ) and pause every now and then to make sure they’re still there. It’s easy to get flustered or in a rush while traveling and that’s when you tend to lose things. Check around your area if you’ve been sitting somewhere for awhile or before you get off something like a bus.

This way, if one thing gets stolen or you get robbed, you won’t be completely without money.

The reason people tend to be robbed while they’re traveling isn’t because other countries are more crime-ridden than your country. It’s because you’re more likely to be paying attention when you’re home and you’re more likely to notice when something is out-of-place. Thieves can orchestrate or take advantage of a chaotic situation to rob you. If a bunch of people are swarming around you, pay attention for any little hands in your pockets. The more alert you look, the less likely you are to be pinpointed as an easy target.

Unless everyone in the area is super nice, then you should be skeptical of anyone who is going above and beyond, or is incredibly insistent about offering you some assistance that is very distracting.