Living in a big city has its perks. You get to enjoy great restaurants, high-end shopping, frequent events, and exciting nightlife adventures. There is a reason that people from small towns dream of city life. It can be glamorous and popular culture certainly paints it in a favorable manner.
However, big cities also come with a host of problems, and high crime rates are often one of them. As a city grows and its population increases, a lot of social issues start having severe side effects. Substance abuse becomes rampant in certain areas, which leads to crime. Gangs start to become more powerful, and there is a marked drop in safety.
People still have to live normal lives in such cities, but it becomes difficult to find peace when you always have to worry about being mugged on your way back home. Thus, it is important to know how to manage life in a city with a high crime rate, and this is what we will going to look at today.
Table of Contents
1. Know the Good and Bad Areas
Whether you are new to the city or have been living in it for some time now, one of the most important things you should do is become aware of hotspots and no-go areas.
These are areas that you want to avoid because of increased drug-related activity and gang violence. They could also be areas that are simply too isolated and dark and have a reputation for being dangerous.
Do not shy away from your intuition. If you have a bad feeling about an area, it is best to avoid it or pass through it only in a car and during the day. You should remember that traveling by foot instantly puts you at a disadvantage and makes your chances of escape in the event of anything bad pretty low.
Consider talking to your neighbor, a police officer, or even a bartender that has lived in the city for a while. They are likely to provide you with helpful guidance on which localities to avoid, as well as other useful information.
2. Make Use of Security Services
Knowing the areas to avoid is definitely helpful, but what about when you happen to live right in the midst of a high-risk area? Well, many residential communities are hiring security personnel who are well-trained and deter the possibility of crime even happening.
They can provide you with the peace of mind that you get from knowing your home is being protected by someone 24/7.
This becomes particularly relevant in areas like Orlando, where crime rates are shockingly high. Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tell us that crime in the city is 98.80% higher than the national average. As you can imagine, security companies in Orlando have their work cut out for them.
Firms like ACES, founded by a former police officer by the name of Henry Mota, find themselves needing to protect clients all across Florida, either with armed or unarmed personnel. It is sad that the situation has come to this, but as long as people fear for their safety, security services will continue to play a vital and necessary role.
3. Carry Some Form of Self Defense
Even if you manage to stay away from sketchy areas and live in a community that is protected by security, there is still a possibility that trouble may find you.
Even the “safe” areas have nothing besides their good reputation to stop a crime from happening. Unless you are a celebrity that hires bodyguards to protect you, the chance of getting mugged or worse still exists.
It is for this reason that carrying some form of self-defense in the form of a firearm or even something non-lethal like pepper spray can be life-saving.
Orlando has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, but you will still need a permit to carry a handgun on you. Handguns can be a great equalizer for women and the elderly, who may find themselves outmatched in case of a mugging.
Alternatively, pepper spray can be equally effective and helps you avoid the emotional weight that comes with the thought of potentially taking someone else’s life in self-defense.
Conclusion
Staying safe in a high-crime city is not as straightforward as it sounds. Remember that it is possible for some people to spend their entire lives living in high-crime areas and have nothing bad happen to them. Life is unpredictable in that way, but it still pays to take precautions.
Keeping your senses about you, learning about your neighborhood, carrying self-defense, and making use of security services are all critical to ensuring you stay safe and out of trouble.