Former Police Officer: 3 Reasons Robbery Advice Fails

We’ve all heard the advice for what to do during a robbery: “Just give them your wallet,” “Don’t be a hero,” “Avoid eye contact.” While well-intentioned, this conventional wisdom is dangerously oversimplified. We spoke with a former police officer with over 20 years on the force, including a decade as a detective investigating violent crimes, to understand why common robbery advice often fails in the real world.

“The problem is that people think a robbery is a simple transaction, like buying groceries,” he explains. “It’s not. It’s a violent, unpredictable event driven by a criminal’s desperation, substance abuse, or malice. A one-size-fits-all script doesn’t work when the other person isn’t following one.”

This article breaks down the critical nuances that standard advice misses, providing a more realistic framework for personal safety based on decades of street-level experience.

1. The “Just Comply” Fallacy: Why It’s Not a Universal Solution

The most common piece of advice is to comply with all of the robber’s demands without resistance. The logic is sound: your life is worth more than your phone or the cash in your wallet. While this is the correct course of action in *most* scenarios, assuming it’s a foolproof guarantee of safety is a critical mistake.

Our source, the former police officer, puts it bluntly: “Compliance works until it doesn’t. You are betting your life that the person robbing you is a ‘professional’ who just wants property. But many are not. They can be high, mentally unstable, or looking for an opportunity to escalate the violence.”

He recounted cases where victims who complied perfectly were still assaulted or forced into a secondary location, which dramatically decreases survival rates. The decision to comply should not be a passive surrender but the first step in a dynamic assessment of the situation. While handing over your property, you should be actively observing your surroundings.

Is there an escape route? Are there other people nearby who could help or be called upon? Does the assailant seem focused solely on the property, or is their attention shifting to you personally?

“The goal isn’t to be a victim,” he stresses. “The goal is to be a survivor. That begins with awareness, not blind compliance. You comply while you plan your next move, which is hopefully to get away safely the moment you have an opportunity.”

2. Misunderstanding “Don’t Make Eye Contact” – A Former Police Officer Explains the Nuance

The advice to avoid eye contact is meant to prevent the robber from feeling challenged. A direct, sustained stare can be interpreted as aggression. However, completely averting your gaze can also be problematic for two key reasons.

First, it makes you appear as a more submissive and easier target. Second, and more importantly, you lose the ability to gather critical information that could save your life or help law enforcement later. The perspective of a former police officer is invaluable here. “We rely on witness descriptions. If you stare at your shoes the whole time, you can’t tell me if he had a tattoo on his neck, a scar on his cheek, or the exact type of weapon he was holding. Details solve cases and get dangerous people off the street.”

So, what’s the solution? Don’t have a staring contest, but don’t bury your head in the sand. Use quick, observant glances. Your goal is to become a good witness without being a threat.

Take mental snapshots:

• Height, build, and general appearance.
• Clothing: Be specific. Not just “a jacket,” but “a black North Face jacket with a tear on the left sleeve.”
• Distinguishing features: Tattoos, scars, glasses, facial hair, a limp.
• Weapon: Revolver or semi-automatic? Long knife or folding knife?

This active observation keeps you engaged in your own survival. You are not just a passive participant; you are gathering intelligence. This mental shift from “victim” to “observer” can reduce panic and give you a sense of control. For more on this, you can read our guide on how to improve your situational awareness.

3. The Myth of Fighting Back (or Not Fighting Back)

The debate around fighting back is often polarized: one side says to never fight back against an armed assailant, while the other advocates for aggressive self-defense. According to our expert, both extremes are wrong because they ignore context.

“Deciding whether to physically resist is the most complex and personal risk assessment you will ever make,” he says. “There is no single right answer, only factors that you must weigh in a split second.”

Fighting back should never be about “winning” the fight. It should only be a calculated action to create a window of opportunity to escape. Before you consider any physical action, you must assess:

• The Goal of the Assailant: If the robber is trying to move you to a car, a van, or an alley (a secondary location), the risk of not fighting back often becomes greater than the risk of fighting. Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics consistently shows that crimes that move to a second location are far more likely to result in serious injury or death.
• Your Environment: Is there an immediate escape route you can get to? Can you create a distraction by throwing your wallet one way and running the other? Is there an object nearby (a chair, a fire extinguisher) you can use to create space?
• The Disparity of Force: Are you facing a single, smaller assailant, or multiple, larger ones? Is the weapon a knife at a distance or a gun pressed to your head?

The former officer emphasizes that the best self-defense is a loud, explosive, and violent action designed to shock the assailant and create a chance to flee. “It’s not a UFC match. It’s an explosion of activity—yelling, pushing, throwing something—and then you run, run, run. Your goal is to get away, not to neutralize the threat.”

What Should You Do? A Practical Summary

The traditional advice about robbery is a starting point, not a complete strategy. A former police officer’s experience teaches us that survival depends on adaptability, not on a rigid script.

To summarize, keep these realistic principles in mind:

1. Comply, But Assess: Use compliance as a tool to bide time and assess your situation. Hand over the property, but keep your mind active and aware.
2. Observe, Don’t Stare: Gather critical details about the assailant and the environment through quick, non-threatening glances. This empowers you and aids law enforcement.
3. Escape, Don’t Fight: Physical resistance is a last resort, used only to create an opportunity to flee, especially if you are being moved to a secondary location. The goal is to get away, not to win.

Ultimately, no blog post can give you a perfect answer for every scenario. However, by moving beyond the oversimplified advice and thinking like a survivor—observant, adaptable, and focused on escape—you dramatically increase your odds of walking away safely.