Purse Snatching

One way to prevent purse snatching is not to carry a purse, or to carry it in a way that makes it quite inaccessible, such as wearing it under your coat. Many women think that wearing a shoulder bag with the strap diagonally across their body is a good idea but, in fact, if someone grabs the purse in that position and tries to run with it, it can catch the strap around your neck. Keeping your purse close to your body and your arm over it makes it a little bit harder for someone to grab the purse. Also, being aware of who is around you is also very important.

That’s a decision that you have to make on the spot, and that decision is influenced by a lot of different factors.

If the person is trying to injure you to get the purse, you have the right to defend yourself to protect against being harmed. In some situations, women make the decision that they would rather give up their purse and assume that the person is going to leave with the purse and not bother them further. If that’s the decision that you make, that’s a reasonable thing to do. If you decide that you want to fight for your purse, you should know how to fight and you should make sure that your attacker is not armed. If your cell phone is in you purse, that might give you incentive to try to keep your purse rather than lose your phone along with your purse.

If you prefer not to fight, you might reduce your anxiety about your encounter with this crime by taking advance steps to minimize its impact, such as not carrying much cash, making sure you have copies at home of the favorite photos you carry, and knowing the procedures for reporting stolen credit cards. If you have taken these precautions, it might be easier to give up the purse without a fight.