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Staying Safe and Obeying the Law

Taking Personal Responsibility
Safety and security depend to a large degree upon being well prepared, listening and heeding the counsel you are given, and remaining vigilant. Here are some essential rules:

  • Try not to make yourself conspicuous by dress, speech, behavior, expensive personal accessories (cameras, iPods, laptops, etc.), or careless behavior.
  • Avoid crowds, protests, rallies, or any potentially volatile situations, as well as restaurants and places where Americans are known to congregate.
  • Keep abreast of local news. Read local newspapers and magazines and speak with local officials to learn about any potential civil unrest. If there should be any unrest, do not get involved.
  • Report to the responsible authority any suspicious persons loitering around residence or instructional facilities or following you; keep your residence area locked; use common sense in divulging information to strangers.
  • Whenever possible, make reservations at a hotel or hostel before you arrive in a city. Check a map and be sure you know where you are going before you leave where you are staying or your mode of transportation. Looking lost or confused can often make you an easy target.
  • Make sure the resident director, host family, or foreign university official who is assigned the responsibility for your welfare always knows where and how to contact you in an emergency. Leave a schedule and itinerary if you are traveling, even if only overnight.
  • Develop a plan for regular telephone or e-mail contact with your family, so that in times of heightened political tension you will be able to communicate with your parents directly about your safety and well-being.
  • Be careful when using ATMs on the street and avoid using them in isolated places or at times of day when you are likely to be the only person around.
  • Do not impair your judgment through excessive consumption of alcohol, and do not fall under the influence of drugs.

Registering with the Local Embassy or Consulate
Embassies exist to provide assistance to their citizens while abroad, including providing information about social and political events, health and safety concerns, and educational and cultural affairs.

We recommend that all students travelling abroad register with the embassy or local consulate of their home countries so they will be aware of your presence and be able to assist you should an emergency arise. Should you encounter serious social, political, health, or economic problems, the embassy and/or consulate can usually offer limited assistance (for example, contacting next of kin in the event of emergency or serious illness, replacing a lost or stolen passport, trying to ensure that you are treated humanely under international conventions). Non-U.S. citizens should check with their embassy or consulate in the U.S. to find out what services will be available to them while abroad.

U.S. citizens can register with the U.S. embassy or consulate in their host country through the Department of State’s secure online travel registration system. This registration service allows you to update your contact information at any time. The site also provides up-to-date travel information customized to your itinerary. The data you provide is accessible only by cleared personnel in embassies, consulates, and the Department of State, and releasable only with your permission under the provisions of the Privacy Act.

The U.S. State Department provides information on medical, financial, and legal problems while abroad (you can also call 888/407-4747). The U.S. Department of State website also has useful information about travel and residence abroad. "A Safe Trip Abroad" and "Tips for Traveling Abroad" may be of particular interest.

Embassies and consulates cannot act as travel agencies, lend money, cash personal checks, arrange free medical service or legal advice, provide bail or get you out of jail, act as couriers or interpreters, search for missing luggage, or settle disputes with local authorities.

Crime and Terrorism
Depending on where you are traveling, you may be in a place with less, more, or the same level of street crime that exists in the U.S. In any case, being a foreigner and not knowing the customs and patterns of local behavior may increase the odds of your becoming the victim of crimes such as fraud, robbery, or theft. Thieves often strike when people are distracted. When making a phone call, eating at a restaurant, checking a train schedule, or reading a map, stay aware of where you are and always keep your bags in your line of vision or in hand.

Additionally, in some circumstances, it is possible that you will get caught in the midst of political strife that may not be directed at you personally, or even at you as an American, but nevertheless can be dangerous. Students abroad should check the U.S. State Department website for information about any country that they plan to visit. In the case of a serious international incident, International SOS and Princeton University will try to reach you, so keep your phone line open and check e-mail if you can. If you are part of an organized program abroad, follow the emergency plan for your program or university.

Local and National Laws
While you are visiting another country, you are subject to the laws of that country. You should make sure you know the laws and obey them scrupulously. Many of the legal protections you may take for granted are left behind when you leave the U.S. Embassies and consulates are very limited in the assistance they can provide should you get caught up in the legal system of your host country. They can give you the names of competent attorneys and doctors, but not any financial assistance in paying for legal or medical services. They cannot intervene on your behalf in the administration of justice in the host country.

Avoid involvement with drugs and all other illegal substances. Do not assume that buying or carrying small amounts of drugs cannot result in your arrest. Drug laws vary, but in many countries they are extremely severe, regardless of whether the drug in your possession is for personal use or for sale to others.

Bail provisions as we know them in the U.S. are rare in many other countries, and pre-trial detention without bail is not uncommon. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is not necessarily a tenet of legal systems abroad. Bail is often not granted for drug-trafficking cases. Pre-trial detention, often in solitary confinement, can last for months. Many countries do not provide a jury trial, and in some cases you may not even be present at your trial. The average jail sentence in drug cases worldwide is about seven years. Americans have been jailed abroad for possessing as little as three grams (about one-tenth of an ounce) of marijuana.

You could be in a country where prison and law enforcement officials do not speak English, the significance of which you may not fully appreciate until you are confined and feeling helpless.

Office of Overseas Citizens Services
For U.S. citizens, emergency assistance is available through the Citizens’ Emergency Center of the Office of Overseas Citizens Services, operated by the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. This office can transmit emergency messages from your family, provide protection in the event of arrest or detention, and transmit emergency funds to destitute nationals when banking facilities are not available. The office is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday–Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (EST) on Saturday (closed on federal holidays). The phone number is 888/407-4747. When calling after hours, you will be transferred to the Overseas Citizens Services Duty Officer. From overseas, call 202/501-4444.