Over the last year and a half there has been an upsurge in crime around the town where my college is situated. We?ve been warned both in the local newspaper and by college to watch out for daylight robberies in the local park, placed next to the college where the majority of students travel through to get to and fro the institute.

My opinion was that the threats were overrated and that it hardly happened. But when both my brother nearly got mugged (he stood was with a friend and overwhelmed the two robbers) and my best friend it acted as a wake up call.

I decided that when confronted by a group I would run, just run run run. As I do athletics at college and train regularly I doubted that they would catch me, if they even would bother with chasing me at all. Furthermore when passing through the park I would stay alert and have an escape route planned.

On Friday morning I took my normal route through the park to get to college with a sleepy head. The park was relatively quiet when suddenly two guys in there 20s (estimated) appeared in front of me asking me if I had a ?1 to spare. I sprinted/jumped couple of metres to the left where there was a large grass field which would act as my escape route. At the same time I shouted **** off!
They were startled by my sudden reaction, as was I. But they didn?t come after me so I jogged a further 30m and continued with my journey. They did shout ?Hey it?s the same one? probably confusing me with my twin brother who they tried to rob.

So did they want to rob me? I?m certain they did want to, looking for an easy catch. I planned what I would do when confronted but am still surprised that it was such a quick reaction. It happened instinctively. I doubt that without going through my mind what I would do, it would have turned out the same. It might well have been a rather different situation.

The question is that what else can I do to prevent it? I keep a lookout, plan possible escape routes, attempt to travel with more people and stay alert. I?d love to join a specialised self defence club if I had the time...maybe at university.

Regards,
Reinhardt <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I don't know you and I don't know your potential attackers. That being said you did the right thing by fleeing--you better be one tough cookie if you are going to fight off two guys at once. Were they muggers? You are lucky you didn't have to find out--the price might have been your life. Fighting two guys at once should be your absolute LAST resort, especially if you are unarmed. Even if you are Evander Holyfield, the other guy might have a knife.....

Regards, Vince

Avoid the park to begin with perhaps? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I would have to rely on the chance that said muggers were very lazy and would not try to run after me. I am too slow. Fear might make me run faster, but my people/family aren't built for speed. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'm no expert on these things, and I'll stay away from specific advice; most ot the "pat" strategies I've heard for dealing with this sort of danger are nonsense, and many could get a person killed quickly.

Please don't assume that their MO will remain the same, and don't underestimate the stakes. For a while, in one major city, the preferred MO was for one assailant to engage a victim in polite, friendly conversation, often just asking the time. In the meantime his accomplice would approach the victim from behind, and from some feet away, whip a heavy chain around the victim's ankles, pulling him off his feet, then they proceeded to methodically kick the victim into unconsciousness, or worse.

The fences who buy stolen credit cards in some cities will pay more for one if the owner has been killed. If the card is just stolen, it's usually reported as stolen and cancelled very quickly. When the victim has been killed, it's often a day or more before family know about it, that credit cards tend to be much further down the priority list, hence the credit cards are viable for longer, and more valuable. In other words, there's a premium for killing you.

IMHO, those- including authorities- who advise not resisting these animals are just unbelievably naive. Again, please don't underestimate the stakes.

The first rule of survival is not to get into the situation in the first place through planning and common sense. I agree that the park with the crime should be avoided. Walk in pairs if you must. Fighting is a last resort as the outcome is usually not good.

That being said all possibilities should be accounted for and some simple weapons like some pepper spray and a good knife along with training will go along way in both deterring and helping you survive such an altercation. I personally carry a blade and a large can of bear spray as its stronger and shoots further for a longer period.

I am not built for speed either but am strong and can handle myself.

There is no guarantee.

Flip

in europe most people don't use have a creditcard, but a ATM card. Which not only allow use to get money out of machines, but also pay in store's. It's PIN code protected. So i doubt anybody would kill you for a creditcard in europe.

I really don't know what i would do, you could draw a legal-to carry-defence-spray. But i'm not so sure about the legal bit wenn you are going to school with it.

While I am in no way suggesting standing and fighting by any means, if one decides to follow that course of action, it would be well advised to develop a "Kill or be killed" philosophy, and if you're not ready to litterally KILL your attacker, then don't even think of standing your ground. As far as personal oppinion goes, I think society would be a lot better off if more people decided that it's better to be tried by twelve than carried by six, but not everyone has the conviction of character to follow this through and be the one left standing to appear in court in their own deffence (mores the pity).

Troy

Thank you all for your guidance. Im taking it all to heart. Since the event I noticed that im checking over my shoulder more often <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> and generally more heads up.

One thing I forgot to mention in my first post, we do have regular police patrols through the park. Which is a good thing.

Let you know when/if something similar repeats itself.

Reinhardt

Kudos for your swift reaction. You did absolutely the right thing. Way to trust those instincts!

There is a lot of crime in my old college town (Providence, RI), which for it's size is appalling. Luckily, I was never mugged (but scores of students are every year), and I only had to brandish my EDC knife once to a guy who was repeatedly "asking" to come into my room from the ground-level window. I yelled at him and called campus security as well, but you can be damn sure I was ready to fight back if I had to, even though I was really scared.

The kids at school, they never ran away or fought back during a mugging. Acquiesing to any of the demands of the criminal is, in my mind, an invitation for worse (and as a woman I stand to lose a lot by giving up). I guess the fear made them freeze. You did well by taking that adrenaline and running away. I can only hope that if faced with that situation, I can do the same thing.