Avoiding being a victim of pirates and thieves while cruising/voyaging

[acem]

However do y'all avoid being the victim of thieves and pirates while cruising or voyaging in unfamiliar places?

I'm very familiar with avoiding and dealing with criminal elements on land. I'm pretty comfortable in my limited crusing time in unfamiliar areas of the southern us.

If you don't know the area how do you find out?

What do you do with your boat to avoid becoming a victim?

Please, this is not meant as a gun vs bear spray vs boat hook question.

It is about avoiding the problem before it happens on the water.

As an example on land. I monitor my surroundings. If there are families playing in the streets, I expect it is a safe area. If there are mostly rough young men possibly not.

Thx-Ace