Well this thread had provide my partner and I many laughs. I lived in Perth from the age of 4 till I was 27 (2 years ago). I now live in a PIT villege in the NE of England. My partner lived with me in Perth for 12 months and he agree with Dorothy about the biggest threat being dying of boredom. He could believe some of the stories that made the news... Like 'man spends benefits at betting shop'. After living here for 2 years I think Perth is extremely safe however, never really used public transport.

this is very true ,i arrive in perth on the 2nd of december 9i havnt ever been )my cousins have lived their for 28 years and they go about their business like any other aussy ex pat and have no problems ,the problems come form people looking like victims if you walk around looking like a tourist with a bag full of money then expect some scum bag to take advantage ,if you shop clever and use cards rather than cash ,keep your bag small and to your body rather than swinging it round like a medallion ,same with mobile phones advertise it loose it ,anybody who reads the west will no that yeh their seems a lot of crime and bad shit happening but the diffrence is the aussy tell you everything ,i have grown up in manchester and lost a few mates to violent crime (seriously)1 got shot 1 stabbed 1 beaten with a axe yeh sound really bad but it never made the news it had a tiny little bit in ourlocal paper so people dont se how bad it really is if the british papers wrote about every stabbing bashing shooting the paper wouldnt fit threw the letter box .
from all the storeys i get told about the trains atnite in perth i gather that gangs of abos tend to freequnt the stations asking for a dollar for the phone if you acknoledge them then they give you trouble if you just keep walking they tend to leave you alone .i like i said havnt been yet but i walk round mancheter with my partner late at nite when we have been to clubs and you get the odd knob head but you dont let them see you as a scared little animal just keep walking and dont engage them .other wise come join me in mulalloo and il teach you aikido .

I am curious. Of if someone comes up to me to ask for coins or money, should I just keep walking? Or should I give them some money? Would they be offended if I ignore them and walk away? I need to know what to do in situations like these.

say no

As above, just politely but firmly say no (I usually say, "Sorry mate, no") but don't miss a step, keep walking away with a purpose like you would when dodging all those "survey" people near Wheelock Place.

One thing I have found here in Sydney is that the beggars are more polite and less menacing than in Leeds and seem resigned to a refusal.

I had two aborigines chase me for my bag at Freo station, I was walking across the road and a male and female stood either side of me and asked me for money, I gave a polite smile and shook my head to gesture 'no' and carried on walking, when I turned round I saw they were following me - the guy pointed to my bag and they both started running.

It was down to a couple that I wasn't mugged, I asked this couple for help and they walked me to my house, but I was STILL being followed - the guy who was helping me said 'Shit they are brave' as the aborigine woman was trying to run (she seemed stoned on something and couldnt run very fast).

Luckily we could walk faster and were finally left alone when we got to Ginos coffee shop.

The next day lots of police were at Freo station and I told the officer and he said they had a few complaints about that couple from the day before.

A handbag around your shoulders is a target, I have learned to carry a carrier bag with me and if I see the aborigines at the station I discreetly put my bag inside a carrier bag to disguise it.

You can smile/be polite but to be honest, if they are desperate enough and you are carrying something that they want, then you seriously need to be on your guard because no amount of politeness will stop them.

The policeman said I was lucky not to have been bashed.

If you have anything of value, anything that appears to be of value, just disguise it.

There is somewhat of a problem in Fremantle with some of the aborigines. They are not all like it, but it only takes one incident to affect you.

Easy. Go to AQWA in Hillarys and you'll be able to see them up close, with minimal danger of being eaten

Cheers
b

And if you go on a Wednesday you are likely to see Mrs Renth cleaning the shark tank - from the inside!

Wow, Professional Princess. That is freaky! Thanks for sharing your experience.

This sort of thing is not too infrequent ,sadly very often involving this minority group of society'
And being polite may or may not help you but if you do stand up for yourself then be prepared to see it through and do not take on more than you can manage and that includes confrontations involving females.
If one does take public transport often and after dark or walk alone in some city areas and suburbs you will become aware of the possible dangers in time.
Observe yourselves the sort of people on the streets...like every where just be aware..ofcourse it is not Bogata (colombia) nor JoBurg(Sth Africa) You will most unlikely not be shot or even stabbed more a punch to the head sort of violence.
Just do not let anyone tell you that there is no problems of this nature at all and maintain the normal awareness you would have at home.

Two of my mates have got into aggro with aboriginals on 2 separate occasions, one at Perth station, the other at Freo station.

What these unfortunate indigenous folk couldn't know is both these blokes are highly adept at various martial arts including kung fu and Muay Thai.

Both sets of aboriginals ended up getting the shit beaten out of them.

err..... Are you serious ?!

Wing Chung Kung Fu, yes, perfectly serious.

Sorry, I thought that kung fu was more about style/dance moves, not actual combat. But I guess I could be wrong.

Still, I bet that your two friends aren't really that tough.

You might be thinking about Capoeira.

One's ex-military and a martial arts instructor, the other probably isn't as tough as the first, but they'd both kick my arse.