Do you worry that you will be a victim of crime?

[SheilaT]

30. Not in the least.

But I do pay attention to my surroundings, try not to be in "bad" neighborhoods, don't flaunt my (hah!) wealth, and just a go about my life. An awful lot of crime is purely random. The victim simply has the misfortune to be the one targeted.

I feel reasonably safe from burglary because anyone getting into my house would look around, see there's no TV, probably wouldn't be bothered to steal my desktop computer, maybe my laptop but even it's old enough not to be very desirable. I have some jewelry that might be worth taking, but not sure how hard a thief would search.

When I worked at DCA (National Airport) back in the 70's I took the bus from Alexandria, VA, to the airport. Almost always worked an afternoon shift, meaning I got off work at 10pm or later. Often, if weather was bad, a LOT later. Occasionally someone would ask if I wasn't worried about taking the bus home at 1am. I always laughed, pointing out that someone trying to stalk me would soon give up in despair because I never took a bus at the same time any two nights in a row. My walk from the bus stop to my apartment was well lighted, I paid attention to the surroundings, and NEVER had anything the least bit odd, let alone scary, happen.

I'm now 67, and am aware that as I get older there's the potential for being more of a target just because of my age. And while there are no guarantees in life, I simply trust that doing what I've done all along is sufficient.

If I become a crime victim tomorrow I will most likely just chalk it up to random, unfortunate chance. And I hope I'll then go about my life as before.