EDITORIAL — The best way to avoid being a victim

These days, residents of Metro Cebu worry less about being victimized in an armed robbery or theft than they did in the early ‘80’s. However, this doesn’t mean that armed robbery or theft doesn’t happen anymore.

This is evidenced by a recent robbery in Punta Princesa in Cebu City where two people riding tandem on a motorcycle robbed a man, and the arrest of several thieves who specialized in victimizing people in malls who leave their belongings unattended. In a rather unpleasant development, the town of Minglanilla has even imposed a curfew and put in place more police checkpoints allegedly due to the rise of armed robbery incidents there.

There is no doubt that the police and the local government must do their share to make sure our cities and towns are safe, but there is also something that the ordinary citizens can do to keep safe. In fact, they are the persons most responsible for their own safety, more than the police or government.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim of armed robbery or theft is still to make sure we avoid becoming a target of opportunity. This goes without saying we should always be aware of our surroundings when we travel or commute, we should always make sure our homes are secure, and we should always know where our belongings are when in a public place, among other such precautions.

Criminals, whether they use intimidation, violence, or merely guile, don’t always have a plan. They seek out opportunities to gain. Once one presents itself --usually in the form of a person too engrossed in a cellphone in public transport, an open window, an unattended bag, or someone walking alone in a place he or she can’t ask for help easily-- that’s when they strike.

Avoid becoming a statistic by taking the necessary precautions against criminal opportunists. Crime is a malady of modern society; as long as there are people who fall through the cracks of the system no major city or province will be entirely free from it. The numbers may rise and fall, but it will never entirely disappear.