If you are wondering what to do if someone tries to rob you, the first rule is simple:
Do not fight for property.
Give up the phone. Give up the wallet. Give up the jewellery. Give up the vehicle.
Property can be replaced.
You cannot.
But understand something most robbery advice fails to explain: compliance is a tactic. It is not a contract.
You can decide to surrender your property. You cannot control what the predator decides to do next.
That is why “just give them what they want” is good advice—but incomplete advice.
The real question is not only whether you should comply. The real question is whether you can recognize when a demand for property has changed into a threat against your body, your freedom or your life.
Beth Andress puts it better than anyone:
“We fight for our body and our life. We never fight for valuables.”
— Beth Andress
That is the rule.
The Street Safe Answer
When someone tries to rob you, surrender the property if property is what they want.
Keep your hands visible. Explain any necessary movement before you make it. Watch the predator’s hands. Maintain awareness of the distance, possible exits and whether another offender is present.
If the predator takes the property and begins leaving, let them leave. Do not chase them.
However, if the predator attempts to relocate, restrain, sexually control or continue attacking you after receiving the property, recognize that the objective has changed.
Your body, freedom or life may now be the resource.
Escape or physical self-defence may become necessary to break contact and get away.
Street Safe’s position is clear:
- Property: Let it go.
- Compliance: Use it as a survival tactic, not a guarantee.
- Escalation: Recognize when the objective changes.
- Self-defence: Protect your body and life, create an escape opportunity and leave.
What to Do If Someone Tries to Rob You: The Immediate Priorities
If someone is threatening you for money, a phone, jewellery, a vehicle or another possession, your immediate priorities are:
- Keep your hands visible.
- Avoid sudden movements.
- Use short, clear sentences.
- Give up the property if property is the objective.
- Continue watching the predator’s hands, distance and behaviour.
- Recognize immediately if the objective changes.
- Leave as soon as a safe opportunity exists.
- Call 911 once you are safe.
Do not insult the predator.
Do not challenge the weapon.
Do not announce that you know martial arts.
Do not allow your ego to turn a demand for property into a contest over pride.
Your objective is not to win.
Your objective is to go home.
Keep Your Hands Visible and Explain Your Movements
A person committing a robbery may be watching your hands for a weapon or a sudden attack.
Reaching quickly into a pocket, purse, coat, glove box or waistband can be misread.
If you must move, explain the movement before you make it.
“My wallet is in my right pocket. I am going to reach for it slowly.”
Short. Clear. No argument. No unnecessary explanation.
Keep your movements controlled.
This is survival communication. You are reducing the chance that a necessary movement will be mistaken for resistance.
Give Up the Property
If the predator wants your wallet, phone, watch, jewellery, vehicle or bag, let it go.
We do not fight for valuables.
That does not mean you are weak. It means you understand the difference between something you own and something you cannot replace.
Do not throw an item at the predator’s face unless you have made the separate decision that immediate physical resistance is necessary to protect your body or life.
Do not turn compliance into a surprise attack because you saw a trick online.
If the predator takes the property and begins leaving, let them leave.
Do not chase them.
Do not follow their vehicle.
Do not attempt to recover your property through violence.
Distance is now working in your favour.
Use it.
Compliance Does Not Guarantee Safety
Giving up property may remove the predator’s reason for using violence. That is why compliance can reduce risk during a robbery.
But compliance does not create control.
The predator is not obligated to become reasonable because you cooperated.
They may be intoxicated, impulsive, panicked, inexperienced, overstimulated or comfortable using violence. They may also want something you have not recognized yet.
Continue thinking while you comply.
After the property is surrendered, ask yourself:
- Are they leaving?
- Are they creating distance?
- Are they still focused on me?
- Are they trying to move me?
- Are they attempting to restrain or control me?
- Are they continuing the assault even though they have the property?
What the predator does next matters more than any slogan telling you to “always comply” or “always fight back.”
Watch the Hands, the Distance and the Environment
The hands deliver the violence.
Do not stare so completely at the weapon that you lose awareness of the predator’s other hand, a second offender, the distance between you or the nearest exit.
Watch:
- The weapon and the hand controlling it.
- The predator’s free hand.
- Changes in distance or position.
- Possible accomplices.
- Barriers and escape routes.
- Whether the predator is leaving or closing in.
Treat any displayed or credibly implied weapon as capable of causing serious injury or death.
You do not get extra points for correctly guessing that a firearm was an imitation or that a knife was only being used to frighten you.
Make decisions based on what the weapon can do—not what you hope it might be.
Theft and Robbery Are Not the Same
Robbery is not simply having something stolen.
Under section 343 of the Criminal Code of Canada, robbery includes stealing through violence or threats of violence, assaulting a person with the intent to steal, or stealing while armed with an offensive weapon or imitation weapon.
Theft is about property.
Robbery brings violence—or the threat of violence—directly into the contact.
Statistics Canada reported that the police-reported robbery rate declined by 6% in 2025.
That is good national news.
It offers no protection, however, to the person facing a weapon tonight.
A national crime rate cannot tell you how the individual standing in front of you will behave.
Who Is the Resource Predator?
Street Safe uses resource predator as an operational violence-prevention term. It is not a medical diagnosis or legal classification.
A resource predator uses intimidation, threatened violence or actual violence as a tool to acquire something they want.
The desired resource may be:
- Money.
- A phone.
- Jewellery.
- A wallet or purse.
- A vehicle.
- Drugs.
- Access to a building.
- Account information or passwords.
The resource predator does not need to hate you.
They do not need a relationship with you.
They do not need a personal grievance.
You may simply be the person standing between them and the resource they want.
This is why understanding Social Violence and A-Social Violence matters.
Social violence often grows from anger, status, pride, humiliation or the need to be right.
A-Social Violence is objective-driven.
The predator is not trying to settle an argument. They are trying to complete a task.
Confidence, politeness, authority and rehearsed de-escalation scripts may not change an objective the predator has already decided to complete.
Resource Predator vs. Process Predator
Street Safe distinguishes between a resource predator and a process predator because the difference changes the decisions available to the person being targeted.
| Predator behaviour | Likely objective | What you must recognize |
|---|---|---|
| Demands money, a phone, jewellery or a vehicle and begins leaving after receiving it | The property is the resource | Let the property go and allow distance to increase |
| Takes the property but remains focused on controlling you | The objective may be changing | Compliance has not ended the threat |
| Attempts to relocate, restrain, isolate, undress or sexually control you | You may have become the resource | Escape or immediate self-defence may become necessary |
| Continues attacking after receiving the valuables | Violence may now be part of the objective | Protect your body and life; break contact and leave when possible |
Our article about someone approaching you while you are sitting in your vehicle explains this distinction in another enclosed environment.
A person demanding your vehicle may want the resource.
A person ordering you to remain inside it may want access to you.
Their Experience With Violence May Be Greater Than Yours
For you, this may be the first time someone has placed a weapon in your face.
For the predator, it may not be the first time violence has been used to get what they wanted.
They may already know that people freeze.
They may know that a weapon narrows attention.
They may understand that shouting several commands at once creates confusion.
They may understand distance, positioning, intimidation and surprise through experience.
They did not have to learn any of it in a classroom.
Repetition is training.
If intimidation or violence has produced money, property, compliance and control before, then it has already been proven effective in that predator’s world.
You may be trying to process the most frightening moment of your life while they are moving through a familiar process.
Never measure their willingness to use violence by your willingness to use violence.
You are not dealing with another version of you.
Why the Resource Predator May Be Unpredictable
The property may be the objective, but it may not be the only reward.
For some violent individuals, dominance, stimulation, fear, control and successful acquisition can become part of the experience.
When aggressive behaviour repeatedly produces a desired material or psychological result, that behaviour can be learned and reinforced.
Dopamine is involved in motivation, reward and reinforcement. Research into dopaminergic activity and aggression has examined whether aggression may be more rewarding for some individuals and become internally reinforced.
That does not mean dopamine causes robbery.
It does not mean every robber has “low dopamine.”
Human behaviour is not that simple.
The practical conclusion is narrower:
Violence may have worked for them before. The result rewarded the behaviour. They may use it again.
The same caution applies to the sensationalized phrase “warrior gene.” It commonly refers to variants of the MAOA gene.
A meta-analysis of MAOA and antisocial behaviour found modest associations alongside substantial variation, while separate research examined the interaction between MAOA, childhood maltreatment and antisocial behaviour.
No gene identifies a person as a violent predator.
Nobody can look at another human and determine their genes or brain chemistry.
Biology may influence behaviour.
Environment may expose someone to violence.
Experience may teach them that violence works.
Repetition may make it familiar.
None of that excuses violence.
It explains why you must read the behaviour in front of you instead of assuming the predator experiences fear, risk, violence or reward the way you do.
The pattern may be recognizable. The predator’s stopping point may not be.
Recognize When the Objective Changes
The most important question during a robbery is not:
“Have I complied?”
It is:
“What does the predator want now?”
The threat has fundamentally changed if the predator attempts to:
- Force you into a vehicle.
- Move you to another location.
- Take you toward a secluded area.
- Bind or restrain you.
- Remove your clothing.
- Sexually control you.
- Continue attacking after receiving the valuables.
- Prevent you from leaving after taking the property.
At that point, the encounter may no longer be a robbery in which property is the objective.
You may have become the resource.
Forced relocation is a critical escalation.
It gives the predator greater control while potentially removing witnesses, exits and access to help.
There is no slogan or universal technique that guarantees the correct outcome. The weapon, distance, environment, number of offenders and available escape opportunities all matter.
What matters most is recognizing the change.
If the predator is trying to take your body, freedom or life, escape or physical self-defence may become necessary.
If you must respond physically, the purpose is not punishment.
It is not revenge.
It is not recovering property.
Create the opportunity.
Break contact.
Leave immediately when it is safe.
What If the Robber Has a Gun or Knife?
Treat the weapon as real.
Keep your hands visible, avoid sudden movements and explain necessary movements before making them.
Do not attempt a disarm because you watched a video or practised a cooperative technique in a comfortable room.
Weapon defence is never one technique.
Distance matters.
Position matters.
Environment matters.
Surprise matters.
The offender’s free hand matters.
A second offender matters.
Your physical capability matters.
Anyone offering one guaranteed answer to an armed robbery is selling confidence—not reality.
Canadian Self-Defence Law During a Robbery
Canadian law does not require you to wait until you have already been injured before protecting yourself.
Section 34 of the Criminal Code provides a defence when a person reasonably believes force or a threat of force is being used against them or another person, acts for the purpose of protection, and the response is reasonable in the circumstances.
The court considers the full situation, including:
- The nature and imminence of the threat.
- Whether another response was available.
- Whether a weapon was used or threatened.
- The size, age and physical capabilities of the people involved.
- The person’s role in the incident.
- The nature and proportionality of the response.
Self-defence is not permission to punish someone, chase a robber or recover property through violence after the threat has ended.
The legal question is not whether you knew a fighting technique.
It is why you acted, what threat you reasonably perceived and whether your response was reasonable in those circumstances.
This article provides general violence-prevention education. It is not legal advice.
What to Do After a Robbery
Once you are safe, move to a locked, populated or staffed location and call 911.
Give your location first.
Then explain:
- Whether anyone is injured.
- Whether a weapon was seen or implied.
- How many offenders were involved.
- Which direction they travelled.
- Any vehicle description you remember.
Do not delay the emergency call to post online, contact an insurer or track the stolen property yourself.
Adrenaline can hide pain.
If you were struck, choked, cut, knocked down or threatened with a weapon—or believe you may be injured—seek medical attention.
Preserve the scene when possible.
Do not handle anything the offender dropped.
Do not clean the area or alter potential evidence.
Save relevant messages, video, tracking information and transaction records.
Tell police about nearby cameras, but do not place yourself at risk trying to obtain the footage.
As soon as police say it is appropriate, write down what you remember:
- The exact words used.
- The weapon and which hand held it.
- Clothing and footwear.
- Distinctive marks.
- Voice, gait or mannerisms.
- Direction of travel.
- Vehicle information.
- Objects touched.
- The sequence of events.
Do not fill gaps with guesses.
“I do not know” is more valuable than a confident error.
If multiple people witnessed the robbery, avoid comparing stories before speaking with police. Shared discussion can unintentionally change individual memory.
If your phone, wallet, keys or identification were taken, contact your bank, card issuers and mobile provider.
Use a safe device to change critical passwords and activate legitimate lost-device protections.
Notify your employer or building management if stolen keys or identification create an access risk.
Give tracking information to police.
Do not personally travel to the location shown by a tracking app.
The Robbery May Be Over Before Your Body Knows It
People expect to feel relieved after surviving a robbery.
Some do.
Others shake, vomit, cry, become angry, go numb, replay the event, struggle to sleep or blame themselves for freezing or complying.
Those reactions do not mean you failed.
Freezing is a survival response.
Compliance is not cowardice.
Losing property is not losing.
You survived an encounter in which another human used threatened or actual violence to take control.
Tell someone you trust.
Seek medical or psychological support when needed.
The Department of Justice Canada’s Victim Services Directory can help locate services throughout Canada.
The Bottom Line: What to Do If Someone Tries to Rob You
If you remember nothing else about what to do if someone tries to rob you, remember this:
Do not fight for property.
Keep your hands visible.
Explain necessary movements.
Give up the valuables.
Continue watching the hands, distance and behaviour.
Let the predator leave.
Do not chase.
But never confuse compliance with control.
Recognize immediately if the objective changes from your property to your body, freedom or life.
If escape or physical self-defence becomes necessary, the purpose is to create an opportunity, break contact and leave—not to punish the predator.
“We fight for our body and our life. We never fight for valuables.”
— Beth Andress
Stop the Before, So the After Never Happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if someone tries to rob me?
Keep your hands visible, avoid sudden movements and use short sentences.
If property is the objective, give it up. Continue observing the predator and recognize immediately if they attempt to restrain, relocate, sexually control or continue attacking you.
Leave when it is safe and call 911.
Should I fight someone who is robbing me?
Do not fight over property.
Physical resistance may become necessary if the predator attempts to injure, abduct, restrain, sexually control or kill you.
The purpose of self-defence is to create an opportunity to escape—not to recover property or punish the offender.
Does complying guarantee that I will not be hurt?
No.
Compliance may reduce the reason for violence when property is the objective, but it does not control the predator.
Watch what the person does after receiving the valuables.
What is a resource predator?
Street Safe uses the term for someone who uses intimidation, threatened violence or actual violence as a functional tool to acquire money, property, access or another desired resource.
It is an operational violence-prevention term, not a medical or legal diagnosis.
What is the difference between theft and robbery in Canada?
Theft concerns the taking of property.
Under section 343 of the Criminal Code, robbery involves stealing combined with violence, threats of violence, assault with intent to steal, or stealing while armed with an offensive weapon or imitation weapon.
Robbery places threatened or actual violence directly into the encounter.
Why is compliance a tactic and not a guarantee?
Compliance is something you choose in an effort to reduce the reason for violence.
It does not create an agreement the predator must honour.
You control the decision to surrender property.
You do not control whether the predator leaves, escalates or reveals another objective.
What if the robber tries to force me into a vehicle?
Recognize forced relocation as a critical escalation.
It gives the predator greater control and may remove witnesses and escape options. The encounter may no longer be about property.
Escape or immediate self-defence may become necessary, but no single response is safe in every circumstance.
Can I legally defend myself during a robbery in Canada?
Section 34 of the Criminal Code provides a defence when you reasonably believe force or a threat of force is being used, act for the purpose of protection, and your response is reasonable in the circumstances.
Every incident is fact-specific.
This article is educational and is not legal advice.
Should I chase the robber or track my stolen phone?
No.
Do not pursue the offender or travel to a location shown by a tracking app.
Move to safety, call police and provide them with the tracking information, description and direction of travel.
Related Street Safe Reading
- What Do I Do If Someone Approaches Me While I’m Sitting in My Car?
- What Do I Do If Someone Blocks My Way?
- What Do I Do If Someone Follows Me Into a Parking Lot?
- Self-Defence Is Not Martial Arts: Understanding Social and A-Social Violence
About the Authors
Rob Andress is the co-founder of Street Safe Self Defence Training Company, a Violence Prevention Specialist, REALTOR® Safety Expert and reality-based self-defence educator.
His work focuses on recognizing violence before physical contact, understanding human behaviour under stress and making defensible survival decisions when avoidance is no longer possible.
Beth Andress is the co-founder of Street Safe Self Defence Training Company, a Digital Self Defence and AI Governance educator, REALTOR® Safety Expert and reality-based violence-prevention trainer.
Street Safe’s objective is simple:
Stop the Before, So the After Never Happens.