Tips: Being Safe On The Street

  • Apr 04, 2012

The Seattle Police Department offers tips to be safe while being on the street.

General Safety Tips

  • Follow your intuition -- trust your feelings. If you feel that a situation is not right, move out of the situation.
  • Be aware of your surroundings. In social situations, be alert to places and situations that make you vulnerable.
  • Walk confidently and alertly.

Being Safe On The Street

  • Be aware that walking alone at night may be dangerous.
  • If you are being followed or you see a person or group further down the street who makes you feel uncomfortable, cross the street, walk in another direction, or ask other people walking if you may walk a short distance with them.
  • Walk near the curb, in the middle of the street, and away from buildings, trees and shrubbery, which can hide potential assailants.
  • When walking near the car to your home or apartment, carry your house keys in your hand. Don’t stand in a doorway and fumble in your purse or pocket for your keys. Have them ready to use.
  • Use a grocery cart when you have many packages. You make a good mark when your arms are full.
  • Always dress so that movement is not restricted.
  • Try to vary your routine routes of travel. Most rapists have been found to study their victim's habitual patterns.
  • While waiting for public transportation, keep your back against a wall (or pole) so that you cannot be surprised from behind.
  • Know your routes. Notice lighting, alleys, abandoned buildings and street people.
  • Pick out places that you consider safer, places where you can either make a stand or reassure yourself that you are not being followed or watched (i.e., lit porches, bus stops, stores, etc.).
  • If you are going somewhere in a city with which you aren't familiar, check a map, know where you are going. Looking lost increases vulnerability.

If You Are Confronted

  • If may seem like a good idea to tell a robber that you have no money, but this technique may backfire. It is safer to give up a few dollars. Carry a little money separate from your other funds in an accessible place.
  • If someone demands your property and displays or implies in any way that they have a weapon, don't resist.
  • If someone tries to grab you, make a scene. Scream, kick, fight . . . do what you can to get away and attract attention.

Featured

  • Data Driven, Proactive Response

    As cities face rising demands for smarter policing and faster emergency response, Real Time Crime Centers (RTCCs) are emerging as essential hubs for data-driven public safety. In this interview, two experts with deep field experience — Ross Bourgeois of New Orleans and Dean Cunningham of Axis Communications — draw on decades of operational, leadership and technology expertise to share how RTCCs are transforming public safety through innovation, interagency collaboration and a relentless focus on community impact. Read Now

  • Integration Imagination: The Future of Connected Operations

    Security teams that collaborate cross-functionally and apply imagination and creativity to envision and design their ideal integrated ecosystem will have the biggest upside to corporate security and operational benefits. Read Now

  • Smarter Access Starts with Flexibility

    Today’s workplaces are undergoing a rapid evolution, driven by hybrid work models, emerging smart technologies, and flexible work schedules. To keep pace with growing workplace demands, buildings are becoming more dynamic – capable of adapting to how people move, work, and interact in real-time. Read Now

  • Trends Keeping an Eye on Business Decisions

    Today, AI continues to transform the way data is used to make important business decisions. AI and the cloud together are redefining how video surveillance systems are being used to simulate human intelligence by combining data analysis, prediction, and process automation with minimal human intervention. Many organizations are upgrading their surveillance systems to reap the benefits of technologies like AI and cloud applications. Read Now

  • The Future is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reason. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. But as the number of cameras grows and resolutions push from HD to 4K and beyond, the cloud’s limits are becoming unavoidable. Bandwidth bottlenecks. Latency lags. Rising storage costs. These are not abstract concerns. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.