Crime-wise, Phnom Penh has a bad reputation. In terms of armed robbery you are safer now than in the 1990s - but not exactly safe. As population and incomes have grown, so has vehicle ownership - but not driving skills - meaning the city's roads are its most dangerous places. Augmenting that danger are the present waves of bag-snatching, and of brick-throwing at foreigners.

Brick attacks

According to The Phnom Penh Post there has been a string of unprovoked brick attacks on foreigners along Riverside in 2010. The brick is generally aimed at the head, and is thrown from a moving SUV. The Post reports eight injuries to date, though the toll may be higher. Police have denied that these attacks are occurring.

Armed robbery

Phnom Penh still has more bad guys with guns than most Asian cities. Official figures (likely underestimates) report an average of 50 incidents per month (Cambodians and foreigners), leading to 5 deaths and 10 serious injuries. Most commonly Cambodians are victimised for their cell phones or motorbikes. Phnom Penh's Expat Advisory online forums reports a resurgence of armed robberies of foreigners - usually women - involving motorbikes with young men who carry knives or guns. (Often around Streets 51 and 57 in the wealthier area of town - but it can happen anywhere.) Avoid walking in quiet areas at night, try to find a dependable tuk-tuk driver, and don't carry unnecessary valuables or cash.

Additionally, there is street violence between groups of young men to watch out for; and the occasional street shooting. In 2008 a man was shot dead on the dancefloor at The Golden Beach nightclub for bumping another dancer (burly security guards now flank the dancefloor); and on the first Sunday in July, 2008, a wealthy Phnom Penh resident's bodyguard opened fire on a tuk tuk driver in the middle of Riverside - Phnom Penh's busiest tourist street - after their vehicles collided. The shooter missed the tuk tuk driver, but hit a passing moto driver in the leg. (The police found that nothing was amiss, and sent the participants on their ways.)

Bag snatching

In recent times Phnom Penh has endured a wave of bag-snatching. The Phnom Penh Post reports - and many foreign residents attest to - a large upsurge in this crime, both in broad daylight and at night; in crowded streets and deserted ones alike. The victims are almost entirely Western and Khmer women riding in tuk tuks or on motorbikes (either as passengers or drivers).

Sometimes these incidents are violent, with women dragged off moving motorbikes and thrown to the road. In November 2007, a 28-year-old French woman named Aurelia Lacroix was killed in one of these attacks - though Aurelia's death may just be the tip of the iceberg.

When targeting pedestrians, thieves grab bags, or snatch mobile phones and purses out of hands.

If you must carry a bag - and preferably don't - when using motodops put it between you and the driver. In tuk-tuks put it under your seat. Apart from their appalling road safety record, motorbikes do not allow you to protect your bag as well as you can in a four-wheel vehicle.

Bag-snatching happens all over Phnom Penh, including outside popular expat hang-outs (e.g. Elsewhere). Some moto drivers may be in league with the thieves.

Unsafe sex

There are dozens of girlie bars catering to foreigners in the cross-streets going back off the river. Freelance girls are picked up at establishments like Heart of Darkness, Sharkys Bar, Riverhouse Lounge and Martini Bar.

Thus another Phnom Penh danger is HIV, which surveys reveal is carried by about one in eight of Cambodia's female sex workers.

Additionally, certain high-risk sexual behaviours are emerging in recent Cambodian population studies: nearly 100% of men who have sex with men (MSM) also have sex with women; a new class of 'hidden' sex workers, such as beer girls and park-based prostitutes, is often out of reach of educators; there is very low condom-use among 'sweethearts', and many Cambodians have multiple sweethearts in one year; male clients persuade or force prostitutes not to wear condoms. (This happens to 67% of Cambodian prostitutes every week!)

On top of this, as of the first half of 2008 - according to interviewees in The Phnom Penh Post - the police have begun closing down brothels and beating up and raping prostitutes. This in turn is driving the trade underground, and thus into more dangerous waters where educators cannot reach.

NGOs have got the HIV rate down from around 2% to around 1% over the past decade. But it's possible these emerging behaviours will cause that to reverse.

Touts

The worst area is the tourist strip along the river - where some Phnom Penh residents won't venture, for that reason. Here drivers tout not only rides, but massage, sex and drugs. A polite refusal will generally guarantee being left alone (though tourists not accepting rides are sometimes abused outside the Foreign Correspondents Club). Older or disabled beggars in the market or other places will be happy to accept half or a quarter dollar (2000/1000 riel), and some older people might even invoke a blessing on you for your gift. Younger kids with modern needs may want a dollar, or to sell you a (pirated) book for around five dollars. A bit more worryingly, gangs of Vietnamese boys in this area sometimes cause trouble by pickpocketing and physically abusing tourists.

Some foreign visitors have cut short their stays in Phnom Penh after a day or two of such harassment. The DRP ('Don't Reward the Pests') movement is growing among Phnom Penh residents: adherents do not engage touts and drivers who harass them, but seek out those who wait to be approached.

Traffic

Having said all that, the greatest danger in Phnom Penh is none of the above: it is getting hit by a motorbike - or thrown off one - in the city's unpredictable traffic.

Cambodia has arguably the worst drivers in Asia. Although traffic tends to be slower than Bangkok's and less dense than Saigon's, it is literally all over the road: two streams going in each direction at any one time; plus endless switching from one stream to the other.

Crossing the road in this city requires constant 360 degree vigilance.

Using motorbike taxis, or riding your own motorbike, in the stead of tuk tuks, will save you a few dollars a week. However an airlift to a Bangkok hospital will quickly make that seem like a false economy. Tuk Tuks, however, can often give a false sense of security. They are usually very cheap motorbikes with substandard brakes pulling incredibly high loads, and if they need to stop quickly, it will often not be possible. Minimise the risk by choosing sober drivers, vehicles in good condition, and not overloading.