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Do your own research first.

There are online maps that show crime statistics by neighborhood and location. (for example https://www.adt.com/crime , there are many others). Look at local news and police reports. If it's really as dangerous as they say, it should show up there. If not, it's a prank (which this does indeed sound like).

If it's really as dangerous as they say, you may have to make a decision. Contact HR officially in writing (and keep a copy), state your concerns including the result of your research and ask for behavioral guidelines and a written statement from them that explains why it's necessary for your role and the business to put you in personal danger.

HR hates written documents of this type since it creates a legal liability for them and can be used as strong evidence in court, should it come to that. Chances are, they rather don't sent you at all (and take a business hit, if need be) then writing a document about why the sent you in harm's way.

In since-deleted comments, OP specifies Michigan and alludes to a particular location. I am familiar with "dangerous Michigan locations".

First, I'm going to make a broad, inclusive statement about all Michigan cities with 600,000 or more population.

They "all" look like donuts economically, with depressed inner cities, but very robust suburbs.

People in those suburbs tend to repeat a prejudiced cliché: that the city is full of crime. They really believe it; many Suburbanites wouldn't be caught dead in them. And yes, there is a racial undertone to that cliché.

What's actually true is that the city is a madcap checkerboard of middle-class, affluent and desperately poor blocks, and this varies almost block by block. It's like 3 blocks of San Francisco, 4 blocks of Ann Arbor, 5 blocks of Flint, and 2 blocks of Love Canal.

What's also true is that the city has bottomed out and is recovering, including fixing a lot of corporate/structural problems like owning a money-losing utility that was still generating DC power for street lighting. Now, all the cool kids want to live there, at least the nicer parts of the checkerboard, and the words "gentrification" are starting to be spoken.

And so you have to scope out your destination literally block by block to determine the level of threat. Keep in mind if the business you are servicing is there, it may be in one of the good parts, at least by day.

You should also be mindful of hours/time-of-day; some places are safe only during normal business hours. 10am may be fine; 8pm not so much.

Now, as far as guns and Tai Chi, very large Michigan cities have gun control, so check with your gun lawyer and know your RoE. But far more important, guns are not an "I win" button! They require genuine skill and experience to use effectively, or at least, more effectively than the other guy. The same can be said of both Karate and Tai Chi.

And with Karate particularly, the problem is Karate is an external martial art, where force meets force, and force is emphasized - while it can help, it depends heavily on inflicting techniques on the other person, using strength to do it, and if he's much stronger, you have a problem. Tai Chi has real potential as an internal martial art, with all the right bits to be extremely effective in survival street fighting. It can make differences in strength irrelevant. However it is extremely difficult to find a teacher who teaches Tai Chi as a martial art. Doing the arm-waving Yoga dance without having experienced e.g. "wipe hands" as an effective way to pry off a stronger attacker's grip, is just mistraining yourself. You must understand and practice the martial aspects, on mats, tossing people all over the place, with falls (another thing to learn). This takes thousands of hours and cannot be done for a work assignment.

I find this a bit extreme since I'm staying in the states, but people are fairly serious about it. Are any of these warnings warrented, is this common in workplace travel?

The United States is no exception when it comes to crime. There are dangerous areas ( i.e. areas where more crimes occur ) in the US so the warnings may be warranted.

As with any travel, it is important to research the location you are traveling to so that you are best prepared for that specific environment. That being said, karate and shooting lessons won't prevent you from being victimized. Learn about the area and use caution and common sense and you should be fine.

If you feel the area you are being sent to is too risky, you can always decline the work trip but this may have negative consequences at work for you. But at the end of the day, your life is more important than your job.

My work can take me all over the world. For some areas I would get a personal security detail, for others the guidance is to absolutely not go, and for others there is guidance on avoiding pickpockets or certain areas of town.

Coming from a country that does not have guns, this can raise all sorts of concerns. Many cities in the US seem very dangerous to me in this respect.

Would I still go if required? Absolutely, but I would follow guidance from my risk and threat teams.

Is the guidance you are getting real or prank? We have no way to know. You need to ask them. Do your company HR pages have guidance on security and safety? Do they list out this location as high risk?

This is completely ridiculous. You'll be going to a place of business, presumably during the day, and I assume you'll have a rental car - there is nothing to fear.

Make sure you have the address you'll be going, and have directions. Don't leave anything in the car, or if you do, put it in the trunk. Make sure you lock the car.

Sure, there are areas where I wouldn't go walking after dark, but this is not that. I suspect most of what you hear is due to prejudice and stereotypes that many people in the suburbs have towards the inner cities.

There are tons of sites you can look up online to determine if a metro area is crime heavy. Some sections are and some sections are not. The number of violent crimes per year along your service route are what you should consider.

If you want to risk your life for cash; that's your prerogative, but I wouldn't advise it. Simply because you and your coworkers don't have the right perspective for dealing with criminals.

In a violent crime scenario where you are the target, your Gun or Ju Jitsu training are not effective. Criminals will always put you in a scenario in which you will be unable to defend yourself. They are more aware than anyone that a citizen may be armed, and criminals are more prepared than anyone to use deadly force.

Suburban US people believing downtown areas are inherently dangerous is a common thing. But take it with a grain of salt.

Before you take these well-intentioned warnings too seriously, follow up with the people warning you asking for facts. Ask them, "what part of the city are you talking about?" or "who do you know who was attacked, and how did they deal with it?" The people with real knowledge can then give you helpful information. Others may mumble and say "friend of a friend." They will have less useful information. Some of it may be pure BS.

You should, of course, keep an eye on your surroundings in any place where you are a newcomer. If the place you visit suffers from extreme poverty, dress and conduct yourself so you don't stand out too much. Leave your fancy wristwatch and custom-tailored suit at home. You're there to do your job, that's all.

If homeless people are around, it can't hurt to buy a couple of extra coffees and donuts and offer them to people on the street when you take a break. Any sort of personal contact -- anything that shows you're human -- helps you fit in.

Some kinds of workers take serious, ongoing, training in how to use weapons or hand-to-hand combat to defend themselves. If you are a police officer or soldier, you know about this. If you're not, don't try this anywhere you're a newcomer.

That you might have to go someplace dangerous for your job isn't entirely unheard of though whether it's common depends on what you do and where your customers are. They could also be overreacting, especially if they're making assumptions about your ability to stay safe based on your size, gender, visible disability, etc.

There was a lot more mentioned about how to be safe and I was given a few coupons to free tai-chi/karate lessons and some discounts at a shooting range.

This part isn't normal when coming from "some random HR people". It's one thing to get random safety tips or even bad advice from someone who's just trying to be helpful but it's odd that people in HR would suggest a minimal amount of karate or gun practice with half a moment's notice given their position of protecting the company.

If your company is going to send people to work in dangerous areas, it should be taking official steps to keep their employees safe:

• Official safety training that includes how to stay safe in dangerous areas, situational awareness, and risk assessment.




• Sending employees to high risk areas in pairs and/or provide security.