<i>&quot;loud enough to wake the dead (I have tried it at our local cemetery).&quot;</i>

So, Ira, did it? :)

Did you see the movie &quot;dead men walking&quot;? Based on Ira's script.

Ira, I love it! DH had one of those horns on his small boat.

When I want the attention of rowdy 7th graders, a varmint call really hits the spot.

We do have a police whistle; good idea to take it along.

Think about it, as you're walking down the sidewalk and your purse is lifted... how the heck are your going to get out the pepper spray and chase the bad guy down?

Most of the warnings about pickpockets I got when in Madrid involved subway travel. A friend of mine actually felt someone reaching into his backpack and by simply reacting, deterred the attempt. I've also seen gangs of young kids working as teams to lift a wallet or camera. In such an instance I think pepper spray might be just the ticket, but the odds aren't in your favor. Imagine spraying one bad guy then having the other three jump you. Or spraying someone on the subway and poisoning everyone else on the car.

The whistle or horn might be a better alternative. Maybe if you ride the subway with the whistle in your mouth the whole time, nobody will mess with you!

I vote for razor blades scattered in your pockets or purse.

I'm honestly trying to figure out how you would be able to use pepper spray. Most people are pickpocketed before they ever realize it. Are you planning to carry the spray at all times with your finger already on the button?

I have looked into a personal alarm for my daughter who lives in France and sometimes walks alone after dark. I am frustated by the fact that none of them seem to have a safety lock. You pull a pin out or slide a switch to turn the alarm on, but can you imagine it going off accidentally in school, church or at work?! LOL. I think they must all be designed by men who don't realize that a woman who carries such a thing in her purse needs a 2-step system to activate it.
If anyone knows of such a device, please let me know.

It is a good idea, when in a foreign country, not to carry weapons and not to indulge yourself in physical retribution, should you catch the little bastids. Often the local police will have the sob's head aching far more efficiently than you could, anyway. Give up your purse to the thief, throw your hands up for the police. You are off your turf (should you be the sort of person who has &quot;turf.&quot;)

&quot;You pull a pin out or slide a switch to turn the alarm on, but can you imagine it going off accidentally in school, church or at work?!&quot;
I had a little alarm that doubled as a keyring, with a pin that you pulled out to activate it. And as Susan4 suggests, it kept going off accidentally and I would have to take the screeching thing out of my bag and fiddle around to put the pin back in and switch it off. So I stopped carrying it.
Agree that a whistle in your pocket is probably a better idea!

I would worry about the possibility of having pepper spray (or any other weapon) wrestled off me by the mugger. Then used against me.

My mate, whose purse was nicked from her handbag said she was going to start putting mousetraps in the pockets!

After my friend had been mugged three times in Barcelona (and she still comes back/misses the city etc) we said we would fill her next bag with a bit of sand and some scorpions.
The other suggestion was to put a lot of dogsh*t in a handbag.

sorry i have to clarify mugged, robbed once, bagsnatched once, mugged once. unlucky.

Mrs. altajoe was arrested at Gatwick for carrying a can of pepper spray that she forgot about. They let her off with a warning (pre-9/11), but we're pretty sure she'll undergo some serious shakedowns the next time we pass through.

I walked the streets of Barcelona alone and never encountered one problem. And it was late at night.

And if you carry pepper spray, you better know how to use it, otherwisw you just may end up in the hospital yourself sicker than a dog.