If you can't avoid a fight

Remember that meeting aggression with aggression will probably mean that you get hurt. If you use something you're carrying to try to fight someone off, it could be turned into a weapon against you. Remember, if you use a weapon, you could be accused of starting the fight instead of trying to protect yourself.

• Hit you attacker quickly, as hard as you can, where it will make them stop. Aim for the knees, groin, stomach, eyes, throat, nose or elbow or pull back their little finger.
• Get away as soon as you can. Get to a phone (or use your mobile) and call 999. Answer the operator's questions as clearly as possible and ask for the Police.
• As soon as you know the Police are on their way, contact a friend or family.

Stay safe on Public Transport

Public transport day or night

• Plan your journey there and back, tell someone about your plans or leave a note where someone you know will see it easily.
• Find out the train or bus times so you don't have to wait alone for a long time.
• Trust your instincts about who you sit near. Many people feel safer not sharing a compartment with just one other person. Sit near the driver or guard on a train, or downstairs near the driver on a bus if you can. On the train or tube, you can get out and get into another carriage at the next station.
• If someone threatens you or deliberately touches you, take control of the situation. Tell the other passangers or the guard or conductor loudly and clearly what has happened. In an emergency, you can use the communication cord or emergency cord, or keep ringing the bell to make the driver stop. If you're on a train, contact the British Transport Police as soon as you can, or ask someone else to.
• Keep your secrets. Make sure no one can see your name and address on your letters if you read them on the bus or train. Say "hello", not your name, if you answer your mobile phone on public transport.

Public transport at night

• Catch your bus from somewhere busy and well lit, even if you have to go a bit further to get there. Plan your route.
• Most criminals don't like bright lights - stay in a well-lit part of the station, near a help point if possible.
• Make sure you know the time of the last bus or train home.
• Trust your instincts about people getting off at the same stop or station as you. Arrange for someone to see you home if you can, or walk with people who you know travel the same route as you every night.

Stay Safe in Taxis and Minicabs

Whether you travel by taxi or minicab, trust your instincts. If you're not sure it's safe, get another taxi. Sit in the back, not next to the driver. Talk about everyday things, not about yourself. Share the journey with a friend if you can.

• Have your keys ready when you get home so you don't have to search for them and can go straight indoors.
• If it makes you feel safer, ask the driver not to drive off until they can see you're inside your home.
• Ask a friend for the name and number of a cab firm they trust, or contact the Community Safety Officer at your local Police Station to recommend one.
• Don't give your full name and address when telling the taxi company where you want to go. Make sure strangers can't listen into your call when you phone for a taxi.
• Take control by knowing about the taxi before it arrives. Remember to ask them what kind of car is coming to pick you up and the driver's name. Before you get in the car, ask the driver their name, what company they're from, who they've come to collect and where they're going.

Taxis ("black cabs")

• You can stop a taxi in the street or queue at a taxi rank.
• London "black cabs" are licensed by the Metropolitan Police and have a white plate on the boot and a smaller one inside. If it hasn't got the white plate, it's not a real taxi - stay away. Licensed taxi drivers should always wear a green or yellow metal badge. Outside London, taxis are licensed by the local authorities.
• If there is a problem with your taxi or driver, make a note of the number and report it to the Police or the Public Carriage Office, 15 Penton Street, London, N1 9PU. Tel: 020 7941 7941).

Minicabs

• Minicab operators are now licensed. Minicabs cannot stop in public places and offer to take you anywhere. They can legally only carry passengers who book them by phone in advance. Take control of your safety by planning ahead when you're using a minicab. Carry the number of a minicab company you've used before and know you can trust, whenever you go out.

Stay Safe Cycling or Biking

Make sure your bike is in good condition. Check the brakes and tyres regularly. Fit a loud bell to your bike. Wear a safety helmet.

You'll be much safer if people can see that you know exactly what you're doing. Even if you're in a hurry, avoid short cuts, especially through badly-lit places. Plan your route and stick to it.

Always lock your bike with a good quality lock when leaving it unattended. Property mark your bike (ask at the Police station or get the leaflet with advice on how to mark your property) - visible marking can help prevent it being stolen.

If you're cycling at night

• Make sure your lights (front and rear) are working properly - check before you start.
• Wear clothes that make it easy for people to see you. Wear something white or, even better, reflective or luminous.

Stay safe on your motorbike, moped or scooter

Because a motorbike, moped or scooter is faster than a bicycle and much more manoevrable than a car, it's easy to think that you are safe.

• For your own safety on the roads, it's important to make sure that drivers can see you clearly.
• Look at the suggestions for staying safe on a bicycle - you will probably find that most of them are good ideas for helping yourself to stay safer with a motorbike, moped or scooter as well.

Stay Safe in Your Car

Wherever you go

• Let someone know where you are. Work out your journey in advance and let someone know where you should be and when.
• Be in control - learn some car maintenance. Many colleges do courses on the basics - changing a tyre or fanbelt, keeping the radiator topped up, when to put in anti-freeze etc.
• Take a phonecard, some change or your mobile phone in case you need to call someone in an emergency. Keep the names of family, friends or work colleagues with you.
• Drive with the doors locked and lock them every time you get out - even if you are only going to a shop for a few minutes or to the garage to pay for petrol.

Driving in town

• Look and listen when you stop at traffic lights. If someone tries to attract your attention, just look away. Keep the windows and doors locked so no one can reach in and steal from your passenger seat. Keep valuables such as your handbag, briefcase, wallet or mobile phone out of sight.
• Keep a pen in the car to make a note of a car registration number, for example, if necessary.
• If someone tries to force your window open, hit their hand or fingers with anything you can find and completely close the window. Move on as soon as possible and report what has happened to the Police.
• Take control if someone tries to make you stop your car. Use your hoen and hazard lights to get help if a car pulls in in front of you and forces you to stop. Get someone's attention if you think you're being followed. Drive to somewhere crowded. Flash your lights and keep sounding your horn. Remember what kind of car it was and the number plate if you can, and describe the driver to the Police.

If you're going further from home

• Take a map so you never have to stop and ask strangers for directions.
• Let people know where you are. If you're travelling on business and you have to change your route unexpectedly, phone and let work know.
• Stay on your planned route. Phone the emergency services if you see what looks like an accident. Remember to say exactly where you saw it. Weigh up the situation before you stop to try and help at an accident or if someone flags down your car.
• You know that hitch hiking is risky; stopping to give someone a lift can be too.

Stay safe when you park your car

Whenever you park

• You'll feel safer and more confident if you park in a well-lit place - and remember that places that look busy and bright in the daytime can become dark and empty at night.
• You can protect yourself by putting any valuables or anything that might give a clue who you are in the boot before you set out on your journey. Lock the boot and all doors when you leave the car.

Parking on the street

• Avoid parking near walls or high hedges where someone could hide.

Car parks

• Where possible, use a car park that has been approved under the secure car parks scheme. These car parks have agreed security measures such as closed circuit TV (CCTV) systems and good lighting.
• You will feel safer if someone official can see you set out of and back into your car. If there's an attendant's cabin, park near it.
• Being able to get out of your parking space easily gives you more control. In a multi-storey car park, try to find a space on one of the lower floors in a well-lit space near a staircase or ramp. Reverse into the space so you can get away quickly when you come back to your car.

When you get back to your car

• Check that your car is secure before you get back in. Check whether someone has got at, or even into, your car. Use a torch to check the back seat if it's after dark.
• You will feel safer if you have at least one hand free. Try to carry shopping bags in one hand, or put them on the ground (not up on the roof) so you can keep the car keys handy.

Stay safe if your car breaks down

Before you set out

• Plan your route and make sure you have enough petrol to complete the journey - carry extra petrol in a safe portable tank.
• Remember to take a map
• Being prepared will make you more confidant. Write out a note saying "BROKEN DOWN - PLEASE CALL THE POLICE" to put in the car window if you need to. Take a phone number for a friend, or a taxi firm you can trust, in case you need to leave your car.

If your car breaks down

• Take control of the place where you are. Try to finf a well-lit, public place to stop the car. Stay in the car with the doors and windows locked shut and your hazard lights on if you can call for help from a mobile phone. Otherwise, phone for help and get back in the car as soon as you can. Wait for help from an official organisation or someone you know well rather than accept a lift from a stranger.
• Open the window just a quarter of an inch (1 cm). That's enough to hear and be heard if someone comes over to your car. Get them to call the rescue service or the Police if they want to help. Stay in the car, even if it's the other driver in an accident who wants to talk with you.

If your car breaks down on the motorway

• Take control of what happens until you are rescued. Stop on the hard shoulder, switch on the hazard warning lights and follow the arrows to the nearest phone to call for help. If you use a motorway emergency phone, the Police will know exactly where you are calling from even if you can't tell them. Take your car keys with you.
• Tell your breakdown service if you are a woman travelling alone, if you are disabled or if there are children with you.They will give you top priority.
• You will feel safer if you know you can trust whoever comes to get you. Ask the breakdown service for proof of who they are and that they know your name when they arrive. Avoid operators who cruise the motorwats looking for broken-down cars.

Stay safe at home

Keep your home secure

• Take control of your home so people can get in only if you invite them. Lock the doors and windows when you go out, even if it's only for a few minutes or to go into the garden. Lock up when you go to bed, but put the keys somewhere you can find them quickly in an emergency.
• Don't let people see into your home - draw the curtains or blinds when you put the lights on.
• If you're selling your home, arrange with the estate agent to phone you about everyone who makes an appointment to see your home, and to come with every potential purchaser.

Avoid being conned by doorstep criminals

An honest face or a good story often hides a trick to get into your home. Although a confidence trickster is probably looking for money or valuables, you should be prepared to protect your personal safety as well.

• You will feel safer if you can see who is at the door. You need a light outside and a peephole in your door or a window so you can see without being seen. Remember to keep the door on the chain while you get proof of who is there.
• Take control of who comes into your home. If someone comes to your door to try to sell you something, don't invite them in. Even if you're interested in what they are selling, ask for a brochure or a business card. Say you need to talk to someone else. Never hand over money at the door.

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