Lalaguayaba

Panama City is far safer than the city in Florida of the same name...merely because it doesn't have the influx of drunken college students every year. Most of the tourism horror stories come from overly trusting (read:American) tourists who trusted someone w/money, papers, land, etc. and got scammed. I didn't feel unsafe when I left the casino one night after winning a bit of money; but I also got directly into a cab, went right to hotel, dropped off the cash and then went out.
The basic question is; what behavior do you engage in when in your home city that you would classify as dangerous in another city?
Take the subway/Metro late at night? Go out and close bars down? Spend a lot of money on drugs or prostitutes? I don't mean to be too graphic, but most crime happens to criminals. Don't do anything that you wouldn't feel comfortable doing in the confines of your hometown and you greatly lessen the chances of a minor crime happening to you.
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Funny, I always feel a little safer when I see armed officers or troops.
Israel and Lebanon are excellent examples of that; every where you go there are well-trained, really good-looking, English-speaking guys with machine guns--and one just feels really secure that a mugger is not about to pop out of the shadows.

The most unsafe I've ever felt was in England--there is apparently at least one surveillance camera for every 3 persons, that's crazy. And it didn't make me feel one bit safer at all! The cops don't carry guns; the criminals do. That equation just does not work for me.

As far as staying safe in cities, well, that's fairly easy, right? Don't go out at night, don't go off the beaten path, and don't talk to strangers. Oh, and don't have any fun while you are at it!! I just can't live scared like that; I'm not about to go bungyjumping, but I'll walk through a dark neighborhood at night? Oy. No thanks.

Take taxis. Don't carry a ton of cash. Smile a lot. Don't drink too much (unless you're taking a taxi...), etc.

Cheers.