Nobody ever hopes to experience something like this. Not when you’re at home, but certainly not when you’re enjoying your well-deserved vacation either. I’m sharing some guidelines that can help you in an intense situation like a robbery.
You might be in a country where you don’t know your way around, don’t fully know the area, and where values and norms are different. But if it does happen, be conscious of what you do.
What to Do if You’re Being Robbed?
I’ve compiled a number of tips for you that are good to read through and perhaps, like tip 1, to really go over and visualize.
Train Your Brain for Situations (Visualization)
Have you ever thought about how you would react to certain situations? If you have, you’ll stay calmer and be able to act sooner. You can train yourself and therefore prepare for situations without ever having to actually experience them. Review the situation/possibilities as they could happen and think about what you could or should do in such a situation. This way you prepare yourself to act: if this happens…then I do that. You can do this with countless situations. It seems too simple, but this is how our brain works. The brain sees something happen and opens the drawer of experience…then sees that you’ve thought about it and have a response ready. This helps you stay calmer and think better in such a hectic situation.
If you can dream it, you can do it!
Stay Calm
If anything is important, it’s that you remain capable of thinking and acting. Often it turns out that people can no longer act because they had a blackout, seemed rooted to the ground. You can prevent this by having visualized beforehand. Having thought through the situations and prepared one or more responses that you could use.
Make sure you keep breathing calmly and try to do this in a controlled manner. By breathing properly, you keep your body under control. The best way is to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Be Confident – Then You’ll Project This Too!
Stand firmly and be confident; you’ll radiate this too. You know what you want to do, you do what you want. You do what you thought of at a time when you could think clearly and well, and what was a good plan then!
Scream as Loud as You Can!
Make a scene so that everyone will look at you. Generally, the person who wants to rob you wants money or other valuables from you. They won’t want to hurt you initially but will threaten to do so. It’s a means to convince the other person to hand over money or jewelry more easily.
Additionally, the robber or attacker doesn’t want to stand out and certainly doesn’t want to be seen by many people. The chance of getting caught becomes much greater then. So if you make a scene, they get attention they don’t want. The chance that they won’t complete their attack and will quickly flee is then greater.
Safety First!
This does require courage to do. The robber will want to keep you quiet and calm, perhaps under threat.
Is the robber pointing a knife or perhaps even a firearm at you? Then safety comes first. Remember as many characteristics of your robber as possible, I will discuss this in more detail later in this blog.
When to Hand Over Your Belongings
Someone who is under the influence of drugs or other substances, or a drug addict who needs money to buy drugs, can do unexpected things. Don’t hesitate and give them what they want. Drug addicts are often recognizable by their appearance, such as poorly maintained personal hygiene.
Your life and health are always worth more!
Your life and health are ALWAYS worth MORE than the phone or money/jewelry you have with you.
Use ‘Pepper Spray’
If the attacker isn’t after your money or jewelry but after you, your body, then that requires a different approach. Do you have deodorant or hairspray with you? Use this as if it were pepper spray. Of course, it’s not allowed to have pepper spray, but you can pretend that what you’re going to use is pepper spray.
You’re not allowed to have it, but you can pretend!
Spray the attacker in the face with the can of hairspray or deodorant. The first thing someone will do is turn away and grab their face to stop the spray, to protect their eyes. They will think it’s actually pepper spray. Those seconds you create for yourself can be crucial to get away or to get attention and help from a third party.
Attention from Bystanders
If you decide not to simply comply, make sure as quickly as possible that people look at you. Make sure people notice what’s happening. Often passersby don’t realize what’s happening because it looks like two people are arguing, perhaps in a relationship context. We’re simply raised not to immediately interfere with other people’s business.
Address people personally; let them know you’re talking to them by saying: sir with the red shirt or ma’am with the blue coat. Tell them to call the emergency number. Say that you’re being robbed or that you don’t want this situation.
Make sure you’re no longer alone and ensure the robber becomes the minority.
So make it clear that you are being mugged or attacked. Shout as loud as you can! Make sure people come to your aid and that you are outnumbered.
Remember as Many Characteristics as Possible
Try to remember as many specific characteristics as possible of the person or perhaps a car. To do this well, I’ve taught myself to say out loud what I see. What clothing is someone wearing, color of hair/eyes. What build does the person have – fat/thin/tall, etc. Speaks with an accent or not. Any noticeable tattoos or moles you see.
With a car, and specifically the license plate? Make a word out of it; that’s almost always possible with a license plate. Or a sentence in which the number is also incorporated. You’ll remember this better and longer.
Remember Specific Characteristics
To still make someone pay for their actions afterward, there must be recognition so the attacker can be arrested. Specific characteristics can be crucial, allowing an officer to perhaps know who it is. Think of a mole or a tear or hole in clothing, for example.
Often the same people are active in a neighborhood and usually have a fixed method of operation, also called Modus Operandi.
Leave Traces Behind
If someone is so close that you’re already in a physical fight, then try to scratch them, wound them, or grab hair. A wound is something that will remain visible days after the attack and thus make the investigation easier. Additionally, DNA can be taken from your hands or under your nails if you’ve wounded them. If they’re then a ‘known person’ to the police, their DNA might already be stored in the DNA database and the match can be made easily.
Emergency Number
Know what the emergency number is in the country where you’re located at that moment. In most European countries it’s 112, but this isn’t always the case. Make sure you have this number in your phone. If you’re abroad, you could put it in your list of dialed numbers. Since I don’t call much abroad, it will stay high on that list.
Know the Emergency Number – Know Where You Are!
Where Are You?
Try to remember where you are: tourist attraction, nearby store or hotel. Remember the name so the police know where they can find you.
Be Prepared
Of course, we all hope we never experience these kinds of situations. Most of us will never experience this, but unfortunately it can happen, and be prepared for it! If you’ve ever thought about it, the chance is so much greater that you’ll act and actually implement your plan.
What would you do if you were being robbed?
Want to know how I reacted when I was robbed?
Read more:
- 5 Tips to Increase your Safety during the Dark Hours – Delhi
- 5 Tips to Drive Safely in a Foreign Country
- How to Travel Safely by Bus & Train