Street-smart kid

This is one smart kid! Sadly too many people don't know about strategic planning and the positive effects of preparing for what we call worst-case scenario.

Story:
New York -- An 11-year-old girl kept herself ready for the worst, constantly rehearsing in her mind how she could escape an attacker or kidnapper. Little did she know her hours of mental preparation would pay off - possibly saving the Brooklyn girl's life.

On Sunday, the 4-foot-5, 80-pound sixth-grader was hailed as a hero for fighting off an attacker twice her size - then having the wits about her to help capture the suspect.

The girl was coming back home when she realized a 19-year-old male was following her and decided to run home.

She recalled seeing him talking to her landlord before, she said, and wondered if she had misjudged him. But after making it up two and a half flights of stairs in her building, the man grabbed her just short of her apartment, she said.

"He grabbed my mouth and told me to not scream. I thought he was going to take me up to the roof and rape me or something like that," the girl said. "When [we] went downstairs, he loosened my wrist a little bit. And I took advantage of that and I broke out of where he was holding me and I ran outside."

That was Plan B - "to calm down, relax and try to get away." The girl also admitted, "Before a robbery happens, I always think of a plan to do. But sometimes when I'm nervous or scared, I forget my ideas. I only came up with half a plan when I got caught." She didn't immediately scream because she wasn't sure her brother would hear her.

When she got away, she screamed for help and buzzed all the apartment intercoms. Finally, two residents heard them, and the two men, with the help of other neighbors, grabbed the suspect, who had taken off his green shirt, possibly to evade capture. According to the media, the man said, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I won't do it again," as the "crowd pummeled him to keep him from escaping."

The girl's parting advice: "Try to figure out a plan before somebody tries to kidnap you. That way if somebody tries to touch you, you're ready to attack them back."

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For the thrill of it

UK -- An increasing number of muggers carry out violent crime for the thrill of it and not financial gain, a report has said.

Boosting street cred or feeling a rush - especially when the victim fights back - are among the reasons why muggers carry out their attacks.

A poll of over 120 persistent offenders comes a day after two teenagers were jailed for the death of City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce who was killed while being mugged.

The study, by Professor Trevor Bennett, director of the University of Glamorgan's Centre for Criminology, and Dr Fiona Brookman, says: "Both the amount and the severity of gratuitous violence used in street robbery are increasing in the UK."

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