"As I mentioned above, locals will almost always downplay the threat. A security professional will look at each area to be visited, determine the main threats to the type of client, and arrange security with the appropriate signature."

My experience has been that locals, people with whom I've worked and/or have developed a relationship, will NOT downplay a threat. They're typically the first to provide the cautions. I wouldn't expect you to post any other answer, though. Your comments seem more self-serving than helpful. But, maybe I've misunderstood you.