Look poor to avoid attacks: Australian top cop

Prima facie the Australian Police advisory may seem laughable, especially understood from an Indian context. Given the fact that Indian Police starts from a presumption that Poor commit more crime and the finger should point at them always to start with. Flaunting an I-Pod or an I-pad and a clipped accent when a cop stops you in India would definitely get you past a local Naka Bandhi since Indian Police have a mindset that affluence cant be a driver for crime. Whereas this may not be the mindset in Police world over. Each Police system profiles crime from its own specific cultural and social milieu. There were muggings and murders in U.S for a pair of Sneakers. The Teen hooligans in London or New York may not be after all your average Indian criminals. They just want your Blackberry or I-Pod. They may even perceive in recessionary times that an average Indian immigrant has a good job or business and is the ripe target to pick. As a lawyer who is acquainted with the way Policing works and the paradox that criminal motives may not be what they are initially thought to be and attributed, my humble opinion is policing is culture and social specific. The Australian advisory may not be necessarily absurd, given the fact that its not Indian Police who are protecting the respective expats.

Dear Yash,

Times have changed. But we should not forget how NRIs have survived in other countries in past and they have learnt this hard way. Whether it was US of A , UK or any other part of the world, similar circumstances were faced by the immigrants. We learnt to live and show the next generation a better way to accommodate in the new atmosphere. I remember at one time , you were not supposed to keep more than 10 dollars in your wallet so that if attacked by a drug addict you have enough money to give and come out safe . This way you saved your money and your life too. You were not supposed to visit the area which were hostile towards foreigners specially asians. Therefore this has happened since donkeys years and will keep happening.

We have to learn from our past experience in the other countries and implement to come out of the present situation in Australia. We should also do some introspection and find the truth why this has started happening in Australia. Every society has certain dos and donts. We have to train our students before going there. The agencies who have minted millions in this business are doing nothing about it. They even today do not train their clients to learn the finer aspects of the society where they are sending their clients. They must take steps immediately or this will ruin their  business soon.

We must have sufficient knowledge of the society where we are going to spend a good part of life ( ironically many are going for education as well as job opportunity without any knowledge of social norms in adopted country ). We must understand that even our neighbor has a different atmosphere in his home.

It is good that Australian Police is guiding the immigrants. They must have done it after evaluating the circumstances when these attacks have taken place. Everyone should accept these guidelines for a safer and happy life abroad, 

Instead of picking on every word spoken by someone, one should have a pragmatic approach in issues like this. Every MNC give a briefing to their persons going abroad to take adequate measures to safeguard themselves. It is quite usual thing to advice them not to be flashy when moving around, not to carry or display too much money, not to wear ornaments and other costly personal items. Others also when they have gone there on their own, it is necessary to abide with such measures not to get mugged by some unlawly persons, the like of them we can find every where including in many of our own cities and towns.

One thing we should to know, all white skinned guys are not rich. A 1000 rupee note nowadays is not a big money for the ordinary person in the street in India, but even a 10 dollar bill is big money for many in the streets of New York or Meborne or London. While I was cashing a $1000 Travellers Cheque in a New York bank, the manager advised me to hide the money in my briefcase and not to carry it in the vallet and to keep small value notes for usual expenses.

Many guys around you may be looking for where his next meal come from. Most of them live on weekly government doll and many spend this in two days on drinks and hash. So much mugging happen there, the victims includes locals, especially the women. It is only natural they also find migrants an easier target. Making big hue and cry, only encourages the muggers who get a an extra kick out of it. I am not saying that we should not protest. At the same time, there is nothing wrong to be prgmatic and take care of ourselves, heeding to the advice from local authorities also, instead of finding fault about the way how the words are framed framed and said.