TBH I didn't ever start feeling safe walking anywhere until I got a car. And that's because I stopped walking everywhere.
In my region of the UK we call urbanite loitering menaces of all colours 'scallies'. The rest of the country calls them chavs, neds and other such things. Have you seen the movie Wedlock, starring Rutger Hauer? Basically, I think life should be like that, but instead of the collars being activated by proximity, they should be activated by loitering with intent. Standing still outside a shop or pub door for more than 1 minute should cause your head to explode and kill you.