Personal Safety Advice

You can make yourself less likely to be the victim of a violent crime – for example, robbery (mugging) or assault – by taking a few sensible precautions. Many are common sense, and may be things that you already do. Making yourself safer doesn’t mean changing your entire lifestyle, personality or wardrobe, and it doesn’t mean never going out at all.

Although there are different sections on this page for men and for women, this doesn’t mean that personal safety is just for men or a women’s issue. Men and women can experience crime differently and it is important to remember this so you can protect yourself as well as possible.

Personal Safety is split into the following sections:

Personal Safety
Out and About	Women
Theft and Robbery	Men
Transport	Hate Crime
Your Family
Young Children	Teenagers
Domestic Violence	Alcohol & Drugs

Personal Safety: Out and About

• You will be safest in bright, well-lit and busy areas.
• Always walk in the centre of the pavement and avoid passing close to dark doorways and other places of concealment.
• Avoid taking short cuts through alleyways, yards and parking areas.
• Try to look and act confidently - look like you know where you are going and walk tall.
• Shout ‘fire’ rather than ‘help’ - it can get more results.
• If you decide to defend yourself, be aware that your attacker might be stronger than you, or may take what you are using in self-defence and use it against you. It is often better just to shout loudly and run away.
• If you use a wheelchair, keep your things beside you rather than at the back of the chair.
• When out walking or jogging, you should not listen to a personal stereo through headphones, so you can stay more alert to your surroundings.
• If possible, do not walk alone, particularly at night. If you go out to an event with a friend, and you are separated, be wary of anyone offering to take you home. Be careful if you are forced to walk home alone
• Be sure you know the area you are walking in, then should you be approached, you will know the safest place to run to.
• Avoid creating a regular pattern by making the same walk every day. This enables a potential attacker to know your movements and plan around them.
• When arriving home by taxi or car ask the driver to wait until you are inside your home. Have your key ready.
• You might like to spread your valuables around your body. For example, keep your phone in your bag, your house keys in your trouser pocket and your money in your jacket.
• You can use reasonable force in self-defence. You are allowed to protect yourself with something you are carrying anyway (for example, keys or a can of deodorant), but you may not carry a weapon.
• Try not to be conspicuous about the valuables you are carrying. Talking on your mobile phone, carrying a laptop, or showing your friend your new gold ring all show thieves that you are worth robbing.
• If someone tries to take something from you, it may be better to let them take it rather than to get into a confrontation and risk injury.
• If you believe that you are being followed, cross the street - if necessary criss-cross. If you are still being followed run into the busiest place you can find.
• If you are being followed by a car, turn around and walk back the other way. The car will have to turn around and it will be on the other side of the street.
• Never accept lifts from strangers. If a car approaches you and you are threatened, SCREAM and run away in the opposite direction.
• If someone in a car asks you directions, remain several feet away from the car as you give them. Be far away enough to be out of reach of a hand that might grab you, your purse or your handbag.
• Carry a torch at night.

You should think about how you would act in different situations before you are in them. Think about whether you would stay and defend yourself (using reasonable force), risking further injury, or whether you would give an attacker what they want, to avoid injury. There is nothing wrong with doing either, but you should think about the options – there will be no time to do so if you are attacked.

Personal Safety: Theft and Robbery

Street robbery is generally known as mugging. It can also cover snatching bags. Pickpocketing is slightly different, as you will not be aware of the offence taking place. Robbery is more likely to take place in quiet or dark areas, and pickpocketing where it is busy, for example, on a busy train in rush hour. Young men are most likely to be the victims of robbery, and are typically attacked by other young men. If someone tries to take something from you by force, it may be best to give it to them. This will help you avoid getting injured. For more information see the Personal Possessions section of the Securing Valuables page

Keep your cards separate from your cheque books. If your cards are stolen, call your bank or credit card company as soon as possible. Most banks put the number to call if your cards are stolen on your statement. This number often shown on cash machines.

Mobile phone theft is one of the fastest increasing crimes. See the Mobile Phone Theft page.

This section offers some general tips on how to keep yourself safe and secure when making a journey – either catching a bus or taxi, or when you’re in the car.

As with everything, you are safest where there are other people, and where it is light or well lit.

• Plan your route.
• Try to wait in busy or well lit areas.
• Sit near other people, near the driver if you are on a bus, or near the conductor if you are on a train.
• Move if someone makes you feel uncomfortable.

• If you are going to be out late, try to arrange a lift home or book a taxi. Check that the taxi that arrives is the one you ordered.
• If you can pre-book your taxi, make a note of the company you are using and the phone number, and leave it with friends.
• Always keep the number of a reliable firm handy. Avoid minicabs or private-hire cars that tout for business and are unlicensed.
• Always sit behind the driver on the back seat.
• If you feel uneasy, ask to be let out in a well lit area where there are plenty of people.
• If in any doubt, don't get in the taxi.

• Keep your car in good condition and try not to run out of petrol.
• Keep doors locked when driving and keep bags, phones and other valuables out of sight, preferably in the boot.
• If you break down on the motorway, follow the arrows to the nearest phone. Do not cross the carriageway. Wait outside your car (as far away as possible from the carriageway) unless you feel threatened, in which case you should sit in the passenger seat.
• You may feel more comfortable carrying a mobile phone with you. Try to keep it out of sight, and do not use it while driving.
• Try to park in well lit or busy areas. If you park during the day, think about what the area will feel like after dark.
• Some car parks have ‘Secured car park’ accreditation. Find out which ones do locally and try to use them – look out for the ‘Secured car park’ sign or visit secured car parks website
• Do not give lifts to or accept lifts with people you do not know, or do not know well.
• Do not drive if you have been drinking or taking drugs, and do not accept a lift from someone who has.
• See the advice on car-jacking.

Everyone has the right to live free of unwanted attention, harassment and abuse. You have this right, whoever you are, whatever your race, background, religion or sexuality, and however you dress or act. No-one has the right to interfere with this, whether they are strangers, colleagues, friends, acquaintances or family.

This is more likely to happen in crowded places. It includes being touched or rubbed against. It can be hard to know who is doing this, so it is often easier to move away, if this is possible. Try to move to where there are other women. If you feel confident to do so, a stern ‘take your hands off me’ may make the person stop. This will also alert other people to their behaviour.

Sexual assault and rape are more likely to happen in less busy areas. You can reduce the risk of this type of attack by following the general guidance earlier on this page. If you are attacked, you must decide whether to defend yourself, which may put you at risk of further injury. Or it may not be possible to defend yourself. Either way, you did not ask to be raped. It is not your fault. You did not deserve it. If you have been raped, you may or may not want to report it to the police, or to see a nurse or counsellor. The police are specially trained to work with women who have been sexually assaulted. You will be able to talk to a female police officer and to a female doctor or nurse if you go to hospital. If you want to report the crime straightaway, whether you get medical help or go straight to the police, try not to wash or change your clothes. If you want to report the crime at a later date, this is okay too. If you know someone who has been raped, try to be supportive, but do not be judgmental. It is up to them what they do now.

Personal Safety: Men

While women are most at risk from men on their own, men are more at risk from groups of men. Most commonly, young men are attacked by groups of other young men. You can reduce the risk by following the general "Out & About" guidance

Another way to avoid violence is to stop a confrontational situation turning into an aggressive one. Think about how you react when you get angry. If you feel yourself getting angry with someone, or if they get angry with you, try to move away. It takes a brave man to back down from a fight. If you have been attacked, you may want to go to the police, or to a doctor. The doctor may also ask you what has happened, but if you don’t want to tell them, you don’t have to.

Women are not the only victims of sexual assaults. Men are also sexually assaulted, or experience violent relationships in their lives. If you or a friend are a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence, follow the information given in the sections on sexual assault and domestic violence.

A lot of women’s fear of crime comes from men’s actions. You can help this by thinking about what you and your friends do. For example:

• Don’t start conversations with women on their own
• Try not to walk too close behind – they may think you are following them
• Respect women’s personal space
• Don’t make comments about women who walk past
• Remember that ‘no’ means ‘no’.

Personal Safety: Hate Crime

Hate crimes are directed against people because of some aspect of who they are, most typically because they are from an ethnic minority or visible religious minority, or because of their sexuality. Hate crime covers a wide range of behaviour, for example, verbal abuse, racist or homophobic graffiti or physical assault. A crime can be classed as a hate crime if the victim or witness sees it as being so. If you are the victim of what you think is a hate crime, it is not your fault. You have the right to live your life free from abuse and violence, whoever you are. You do not have to live with hate crime.

• Your local police
• Local race equality councils or voluntary groups; or
• The Commission for Racial Equality

If you have been a victim of a homophobic hate crime, contact:

• Your local police
• The Rainbow Network or local voluntary or support groups.

Your Family: Young Children (under 11)

Children are more likely to be the victims of abuse in the home, or from someone else they know, and can be as traumatised witnessing domestic violence as children who are physically abused themselves. Children are also at risk from other children, most commonly in the form of bullying, although they can also be bullied by an adult.

Kidscape is a national charity working to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse. This is what they recommend to help you keep your children safe.

• To be safe Tell your children they have the right to be safe. No-one can take that away.
• To protect their own bodies Children must know that their bodies belong to them, especially the private parts covered by their swimsuits.
• To say no Tell your children that it's all right to say "no" if someone tries to hurt them. A lot of children are told to always do what grown-ups tell them.
• To get help against bullies Bullies pick on younger, more vulnerable children. Tell children to get friends to help them, and to say no without fighting. Make sure they tell a grown-up. Tell them to give up something a bully wants, such as a bike, if they are going to get hurt. Tell them that you will not be angry if they come home without it.
• Try not to have secrets Child molesters that the child knows often say that a kiss or a touch is our "secret". Tell your children that some secrets should never be kept, even if they said they wouldn't tell.
• To refuse touches Tell your children they can say no to touching or kissing if they don't like it. If someone touches them and tells them to keep it a secret, they must tell you. Never force your child to hug or kiss anyone.
• To break rules Tell your children that they can break rules to stay safe. They can run away, scream, lie or kick to get away from danger.
• Try not to talk to strangers Most well-meaning adults will not approach a child who is on their own, unless the child is obviously lost or distressed. Tell your children never to talk to strangers, and to politely ignore any approach from a stranger. Get them to tell you if a stranger tries to talk to them.
• To be believed If your child wants your help, they need to know they will be believed and supported. This is especially true in the case of sexual assault, as children rarely lie about it.
• To tell Tell your children that they must always tell you what has happened and that you will not be angry with them.

The internet is very much a part of our lives these days, and provides a useful educational tool for adults and children. But there is adult material on the internet which is not suitable for children. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be able to advise you on filters which prevent children accessing adult or unsuitable material.

Chat rooms are often a fun way for children to gain social skills, ‘meet’ new friends and improve their computer and literacy skills. But they can be misused, and this can pose a threat. When they use chat rooms, encourage your children to:

• Never give out personal information or their e-mail address
• Arrange to meet someone in the chat room if they get on well with them, rather than contacting them direct
• Use a ‘moderated’ chat room where someone ‘referees’ - this protects them from abusive people.

If they become so friendly with someone they chat to on-line that they want to meet in person, you should always go with them. Arrange to meet in a public place where there are lots of people around. Children and teenagers should never arrange to meet anyone they have met on-line without a responsible adult being with them.

For more information visit Wise Up On The Net or Think You Know. There is also a Home Office leaflet called 'Keeping your child safe on the net.'

Your Family: Teenagers & Young People

The same rules apply to teenagers and young people as to other people about staying safe when they are out and about.

Helping your children to be independent is a vital part of growing up, but they must also know how to look after themselves. Young people are more likely to be the victims of theft and assault than any other age group. They are also the least likely to report a crime against them. Being honest with your children, and encouraging them to be honest with you, will help. You should ask them to tell you if they are in trouble, or if they have experienced any crime. Talk to them about ways to stay safe when they are out and about.

Being open with teenagers about relationships and sex can be difficult for you and them. But an open relationship will make things better for both of you if something does go wrong. There are a lot of pressures to become sexually active, and it is important that young people know they do not have to do anything they are not happy with. Most rape happens between people who already know each other– it is rare to be raped by a stranger. Sometimes, drugs are used to make people easier to rape. This is usually through ‘spiking’ drinks with a pharmaceutical-type drug or with stronger alcohol. The best way to guard against this is to keep your drink with you, drink out of a bottle and make sure that you take your drink straight from the bar staff.

See the advice in the rape section for what to do if you (or a member of your family) are raped.

Unfortunately, women are more likely to be at risk in the home than outside it, and statistics show that 1 in 4 women experiences domestic violence in their lifetime.

Men also experience violence at home, and the same advice applies to them. The Women’s Aid Helpline will be able to refer you to services for men experiencing domestic violence.

There are many different ways to experience domestic violence.

• Physically (being hit)
• Sexually (rape or degrading treatment)
• Emotionally or psychologically (being told you are a bad person, or that you are worthless)
• Financially (having money withheld, or being forbidden from getting a job)
• Socially (not being allowed to see friends and family or go out)

However you experience domestic violence, it almost always gets worse over time. It is not your fault, and you do not deserve it. You (and your children) have the right to live free from fear and harm. This is true whatever your race, age, background or religion and whether you are married or living with your partner. In some cases, the violence continues (and gets worse) after the relationship has ended.

• If you are experiencing domestic violence, you may feel like you have nowhere to go, or no-one to turn to. This is not true. There are a lot of organisations who can help you.
• You may report your partner to the police, and try to have them kept away from you, your children or your house.
• You may decide to leave the house and go to a friend or relative's house, or to a refuge or hostel for women.
• If you decide to leave, try to take things like passports or other identification, your children's birth certificates, and bank and benefit details.

Your Family: Alcohol & Drugs

Alcohol is a part of British life (particularly British social life) and is not generally considered harmful in moderation. But alcohol can lead to problems.

• Drinking a lot of alcohol can be bad for your health.
• Drinking can also lead to other crimes. Drinking and driving results in many deaths every year.
• Drunkenness can lead to disorder and violence, both in public and at home.
• Fifty times more people die from drinking every year than from all illegal drugs put together.

It is illegal to buy alcohol if you are under 18, and drinking can cause health problems in young people. But there is a lot of social pressure to drink. Discuss drinking with your children, but be aware that they will see you as a role model too. Try to set a good example with how you use alcohol.

Most drugs are illegal, and so taking or possessing them is a crime. But drugs can lead to other crimes too, for example, stealing money to pay for drugs, crimes committed whilst on drugs (for example driving under the influence of drugs, or antisocial behaviour), and supplying others with drugs (dealing). It is important to know that the penalties for dealing in a drug are much more severe than for possessing small amounts of that drug for personal use.

In an emergency:
If you suspect someone has taken an overdose:

• If they are unconscious or vomiting a lot phone 999 for an ambulance.
• Put them in the recovery position if they are unconscious (lie them on one side with a cushion behind them, bring their knees forward and point their head downward).
• Make sure there is good ventilation in the room, and that there are no obstructions in their mouth.
• Speak calmly and reassuringly to them, telling them that help is on its way.
• When the ambulance arrives, tell them what has happened, and what drugs they have taken, if you know. Neither you nor the person who has overdosed will get in trouble for telling them this.

Talk to your children about drugs from an early age. It is important that they know they can be honest with you. If they tell you they are taking drugs, do not panic. One sort of drug use does not necessarily lead to another, or to a life of crime. Research shows that most young people grow out of taking drugs after a while.

Solvents are things like glue and aerosols. They are not illegal and can make you 'high'. However, shopkeepers may not sell solvents to people under 18, if they believe they may inhale them. They are also very dangerous. If you suspect someone has been using solvents, and it is an emergency, follow the same steps as for drugs.