On the street
- Don't walk chatting on your phone, looking at your screen or wearing headphones.
- Walk with your head up and stick to busy, lit-up areas. Don't wear obviously expensive clothes or jewellery.
- If people who catch your eye continue to stare at you, they may be targeting you. (Most peopl will look away again.)
- If you feel threatened, dial 999 on your phone. If unsure, dial the number but don't send until things escalate.
- If attacked, don't curl into a ball; protect your vital organs and inner arms as stab wounds here can be fatal.
- Vehicle-ramming incidents. Walk along the inside of pavements with traffic facing you.
- The impact of jumping into water from a bridge could kill you; if no other option, concentrate on keeping your mouth closed, your arms by your sides and legs bent to lessen the impact.
- Research your destination. Are the countries bordering it unstable?
- Always check gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.
- Put the emergency services of the country you are visiting into your phone.
- At your hotel, check fire escapes, entrances and exits.
- Walk around outside to familiarise yourself with the layout.
- In a hotel shooting, may be best to barricade yourself into your room. Use a wardrobe across the door first, then a bed and mattress. Take cover well away from the door.
- Gunfire sounds like a whip being cracked (not fireworks).
- On a beach and hear gunfire? Don't go into the sea, you'll be a slow moving target. Avoid your hotel.
- Run if you can, hide if you can't and tell the authorities what is going on.
- A crowd heading in one direction, is probably running away - join them.
- In a shopping mall, look for a fire exit.
- In direct sight of a gunman, move in a zigzag with your head down.
- At a concert venue, stay on your feet and get to a wall, then move along it, towards the stage area fire exits. Hide in a lockable storeroom and barricade yourself in.
- Stay silent till you are sure the threat has gone.
Taken hostage?
- If you are British and taken hostage, the SAS will be in charge of the situation.
- Take shelter - sit in a corner (not along a wall, window or door, which could be SAS entry points). The same applies to the seats by the emergency exits of planes.
Protecting your family
- Be careful on Facebook and social media. Check your privacy settings and and be careful what you post. You don't want to tell everyone where you are and that you are not at home.
- If someone breaks into your home when you are on your own with the kids, go into one room and use a wedge shaped door jam. (Take one with you on holiday.)
- GPS trackers can be useful for vulnerable people like children and the elderly. They can be sewn into clothes, put onto a keyring or shoes.
