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[AppleSeason]

Some days ago somebody attempted to mug me on a deserted train station After I declined to let him freeload on my transport pass. I got lucky since he wasn't a very smart one and decided to threaten me after jumping the slide turnstiles, Waiting for me there and threatening to beat me once I passed if I did not hand my valuables. I was able to call the police and that made him scram ( I also have an app from the police department that will send an emergency alarm in three touches with my GPS location data) , so everything ended in a big scare.


When the police arrived they asked me for a physical description, but I was so scared that I averted looking at him directly and the data I gave was mostly hair, skin color, height, clothes and voice, and when they found "somebody matching the description in a nearby street" and asked me if I wanted to sue, I could not be 100% sure it was him. I am bad at remembering faces and everything was so fast I was missing a lot of things. The other problem is that the train station (more like a small structure covering the turnstiles and ticket machines) not only had zero personnel, but security cameras were also missing. No witnesses or proof.


This is the first time something like this happens to me, and my confidence is down the drain thinking in how things would have been if he had jumped back, and the fact that nobody else saw it and the station's security camera, which could have been used as proof, was not there.

Apart from starting to carry a pepper spray and avoiding that station when it is not at peak usage, I was considering carrying a small clip-on camera on me, to have some proof to present to the police. Since if I were to defend myself I can be sued too. Kinda like this, which directly uploads to internet in case they steal the camera too:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/16/shonin-streamcam-kickstarter/


So any thoughts on what can be done to keep a record of what happens? And no, I could not have run fast enough after peppering him. My knee was busted that day.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Not really worth it. Might want to talk to a professional therapist or counselor to help you process this though dude. It's perfectly normal to ask yourself what else you could have done to prevent it.

But I don't think a bodcam is realistic. I'm really sorry you had to go through that.

My personal solution is I always stay vigilant with my situational awareness. I don't look at my phone. I don't have headphones in my ear in certain neighborhoods/areas. I make immediate eye contact with someone approaching briefly just to let them know I see and acknowledge them.

Other than that not much else I can do.

 

[DonShula]

Carrying a camera like that seems like living in fear. If you're gonna get mugged, allow yourself to get mugged and live to fight another day.

 

[old manatee]

I've been mugged and my strategy is to close my eyes and give them my shit and then move on with my life. I won't even call the police next time, because last time I told them I didn't know what race the muggers were and they put a call over the radio for everyone to be on the lookout for "2 number 1 males". I spent the whole night worried because my neighbor was a young black man who would walk home from work in the middle of the night and I thought the police were going to harass him.

 

[AppleSeason]

My personal solution is I always stay vigilant with my situational awareness. I don't look at my phone. I don't have headphones in my ear in certain neighborhoods/areas. I make immediate eye contact with someone approaching briefly just to let them know I see and acknowledge them.

This time I made the mistake of not scanning the train for people who give me a bad vibe before getting to my stop. Ever since they cut the staff so much that you barely ever see security guards or ticket inspector, this station has turned into a haven for freeloaders and scummy people since it is so easy to get out without paying. Usually if I see somebody who gives me a bad vibe I will act like I am switching platforms instead of going for the door, or drop at another station.


It's been a low blow on realising that in a real situation I would be pretty useless. So far the plan is to start doing the unsafe part of the trip on Metro since it is has heavy security at all time with armed guards (and automatic weapons after somebody went full Allahuh Akbar with a Knife some months ago) even if it is more expensive, and we will be arranging a self defense for women course at the LGBT centre in a future). But I hate how I can't remember details and everything gets blurred so fast.


Another thing that worries me is that even if I have had a self defense spray (not pepper, the police told me to switch to capsacine since the one I have is not approved anymore for civilian usage), I really did not know it's effective range or how much effect it would have had, which added to my insecurity. mostly I have it to feel safe, but I never expected I could have to use it. Maybe I should use it on myself to have an idea. Or something like that.