Give me a break! Today, the US State Department issued a travel advisory warning Americans about potential crimes exploding in the UK. Tourists going to London could be victims of muggings, ATM scams and possible rapes by unlicensed cab drivers. Visitors should be on their guard.
The State Department’s UK advisory included, “Despite the excellent overall safety record, British trains have poor track conditions, which have resulted in some train derailments and have caused some fatalities.”
Tourists can be easy victims of petty crimes if they’re not careful and have that vulnerable or lost look. And as economies are hurting, expect increased crime wherever.
New York City banks are being robbed with greater frequency. Does this require a travel advisory? As Willy Sutton allegedly responded when asked why he robbed banks, “Because that’s where the money is.”
Perhaps it’s been a slow holiday season in the Nation’s Capital for those condemned to work. But wait a minute.
Here’s another alert: The State Department strongly recommends that American citizens “refrain from all travel to the Gaza strip and that people currently in Gaza depart immediately.” This recommendation has been in effect since the deadly roadside bombing of a U.S. Embassy convoy in Gaza in October 2003. It applies to all Americans, including journalists and aid workers. “No official travel is permitted inside the Gaza Strip at this time.”
Now that makes more sense to me because of the on-going bombings in Israel.
There’s something called being prepared and being prepared. Always use big city smarts. However, some places are more volatile than others. Travelers should keep things in perspective. London isn’t high on my “do not go” list. Is it on yours?
Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis
Karen Fawcett loves to travel anywhere. Karen was a founder & president BonjourParis.com while living in Paris for more than 25 years. She has traveled across Europe and the rest of the world. She is now based in Washington, DC.
This reminds me of the Homeland Security Terror Alert levels. Does anyone even notice the levels anymore? It’s been HIGH (Orange) or ELEVATED (yellow) for years. High has become the new “normal”.
Site: http://www.terror-alert.com/
Travel advisory warnings should exist and I’m willing to bet only the experienced traveler takes them into consideration.
Heck, waiting for the bus in New York, I’m always yelling at some young traveler who leaves their luggage UNATTENDED. So fascinated by the city, they forgot about SAFETY.
Gee Frank – I just clicked on the link you included and was advised that entering the site could harm my computer.
Is there a plot??
K
Research of the actual situation of a country needs to be done when advisories are issued by the State Dept. In a recent travel blog, a person questioned the safety for a daughter planning to visit a resort area of Ethiopia with a group. One responder chastised the parent for even considering such a trip when the State Dept. advisory said that Ethiopia was a war-torn country. It is true that if you go to the area near the borders with Eritrea or Somalia, for example, you will perhaps be in danger of encountering conflict, but the resort area in question is nowhere near such places. There are other concerns when visiting the country such as pickpockets and potential scams or simply continual accosting by beggars because it is a very poor country, but the incidence of violent crime in most parts of the country are not nearly as great as those in most US cities. Common sense needs to prevail whether one travels or stays at home.
While the perspective may be a bit off kilter to some, it’s amazing how many of us can’t even figure out which way to look for traffic in the UK, despite having it painted in the street in front of us!. I can’t imagine many of us paying extra attention to petty crime and taking precautions!
The site EVERYONE should be checking is: travel.state.gov
You will find relevant information regarding a country. It’s also recommended that if you plan to be in a country for an extended period of time (and this depends on the country, ie 1 week in Pakistan or 3 months in the UK), you should register with the consulate. It’s very easy and, in the event of an emergency situation, the consulate can contact you or a designate with an advisory.
These travel warnings usually err on the side of ABUNDANT caution. I’d hate to see the AmCit who wasn’t ABUNDANTLY warned (in their opinion) and then have something happen.
Kudos to the State Department for providing AmCits with outstanding service and information! One only has to look at the evacuation of Lebanon to see just how incredible the State Department is. Not to mention all the families they help with emergency passports and, sadly, when a loved one dies overseas, the ID’ing of a body, working with local governments to repatriate the remains, and comforting of family members.
I’ve traveled all over the world (33 countries) and always register with the consulate. Not because I’m scared anything will happen. But because I want to know that if anything does, I’ll know as much as possible and be as safe as possible.
Risk management is a science. Duly followed, it helps mitigate potential dangers. Ignored, it leads to surprises…some that can kill, maim and traumatize. I prefer abundant caution to nasty surprises.
The U.S. State Dept. does a fine job. Find something else more important to complain about.
I’m so fed up with the bad press London is getting and I blame London’s own media. For the first time in my mother’s life, my mother is afraid of the night -not because it’s dangerous outside but because in every newspaper and on every TV channel, there’s all this scare mongering around knives and mugging. But when the American media reports the same thing I think it’s totally rich. Hello?! How many people die from guns in the USA? America is a far more dangerous place to live because of guns. You know, I read the stats around knife killings earlier this year in the UK. It was 15! Fifteen people in a 63 million population. The report also said that the number of killings hadn’t changed in the last 17 years. So what does that tell us? As per usual the British media have a story to sell and this story has had legs for more than a year. I’m really annoyed with the British media.
Take all those warnings with a grain of salt. I have been to places such as North Korea and Iran and had nothing but excellent experiences. The same with Nigeria and Colombia. Yet, if judging by the State Dept. I should be in a remote jail being tortured for not handing over $10 in cash.
Crime happens everywhere…most major cities and countries that have advisories are safer than similar sized American cities; maybe there should be warnings issued for Detroit, Rochester, Buffalo, Chicago, St. Louis, etc?