My Mum's story not mine.

One time when she was in her mid-twenties she was policing in Bristol at night. She and her partner (who she already knew was a t**t) were driving around on patrol, when they drive past some road works, which consisted of a trench in the road so the road maintainance guys could get to the pipe.

As they drive past they see a group of stereotypical thugs also in their mid-twenties drunk and throwing road signs and traffic cones into the trench. So my mum's partner pulls over and say to my mum "go over and tell them to stop". There are about 6 or 7 of these guys so my Mum asks if he's going to go with here as he is a larger man in his mid 40's and a hell of a lot more intimidating than a petit woman in her twenties. He replies that it only takes one person to do it and he wants to stay in the warm car. So being fairly new (she wouldn't take that s**t now) she does what the more experienced officer says. So she gets out and walks over to the men, offers them a f*g (she doesn't smoke, but always carried a packet and a lighter for occasions like this) and asks them to stop throwing signs into the trench, cause it's criminal damage. Apparently one of them looked over to the car saw my mum's partner and says "Why doesn't he come and talk to us", to which my mum replied that he didn't want to leave the warm car.

Apparently the man then gathered his friends in some sort of huddle for a word and then they started jumping in the trench and taking out the road signs and traffic cones out and putting them back where they took them. My mum thanked them, to which they replied it was no problem for such a nice lady like her offered her a can of Stella, to which she declined and told her it was dangerous in Bristol at night and that the d**k of partner should have come with her, as anything that could of happened (bare in mind police in England don't carry guns). They then walked away into the night making the w****r sign and shouting a***e at the policeman sitting in his car that sent the new young female police officer to deal with a gang of drunken yobs.

TL:DR If you don't act like a d**********e people are more likely to help you out.