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| Mexico Safety |
Anyone can be a victim of crime at any time or in any place. However,
there are a few tips that will greatly reduce the odds of your being
at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Tip 1 :
Be aware of your surroundings. Watch the people around you and pay
attention to who is doing what and who is paying attention to you.
Mexican culture dictates that a woman looking at a man could be misinterpreted
as attraction . . . so don't stare, but be aware.
Tip 2 :
Being drunk makes you an easy target . . . So if you are going to
hit the bars . . . know your limits, don't go alone, stay in well
lit areas, if you are walking and find that the way home is dark
or deserted, go back to the first open business and have them call
you a taxi.
Tip 3 :
If you are a female and you are not in a tourist zone like the center
of Cancun . . . Don't go bar hopping without a male escort. Visiting
Mexican cantinas as a single female is like playing Russian roulette
. . . it's just a matter of time and the odds are not in your favor.
This isn't some lame scare tactic . . . it is wisdom from someone
who has been around the block in Mexico enough to know. Disregard
this one at your own peril.
Tip 4 :
If you find yourself on the wrong side of the law . . . Let's just
say that I have heard of some people getting 10 years for a joint
and others paying a $30 "fine?" to go free on the spot.
I'm not suggesting that you bribe the police, but you do whatever
you feel you should do. If, however, you choose to pay the officer
to let you go . . . you will have learned a valuable lesson, he will
receive a bonus for doing his job, and you won't spend the next 10
years in a Mexican jail wondering, "what if?". -- Just
do it before you are officially booked (if you feel that is what
you should do). No judgment on this one . . . just calling it the
way I see it.
Tip 5 :
Thieves like to choose isolated
areas to do their dirty work, so avoid being places where there aren't
a lot of other people. If you are the victim of highway robbery,
car-jacking, bus-robbery, or just robbed on the street . . . chances
are that there is nobody around and your property is not worth risking
your life (give it up). Just one more good reason to have full Mexican
auto insurance (check what it covers and the deductible) or rent
a car rather than driving your own.
For up to date security information on locations throughout Mexico visit www.securitycornermexico.com |
