I'm not sure what that means but I can tell you from first hand experience there are not only cultural differences in how you deal with the criminal mindset but differences between cultures too. Asian, hispanic, and black people don't go by the same rules and have to be dealt with differently. making a blanket statement like, "look them in the eyes", regardless of what you read, to apply to all criminals is naive and at worst dangerous. One thing I "read" and I've seen in my own experience is that criminals tend to respond to someone who is confident and appears in charge of himself and his situation. It shows strength. Don't be over brash or challenging but if you look uncertain and afraid you will look vulnerable. Keep yourself calm and strong. They don't like fear and they respect confidence. Don't ever appear like you think you are better than them. Most crooks have a low self esteem and compensate for it by their loud outgoing personality. If you treat him like you are equals you will be on much better footing. All in all its better to try to avoid the situation all together. The really "bad" people are usually, from what I've seen, drug or alcohol influenced and they don't play by any rules but their own. He may have decided how your night it going before he even said one word to you. My experience in the field of corrections. MOST of the men I have dealt with for the last 20 years have been sober and they are different people when they are sober. When they get a hold of some hooch they become totally different, unpredictable, and dangerous. Many have severe psychological and/or emotional issues that can play out any number of ways. Setting rules for how you engage someone on the street when his is un-medicated or SELF-medicated is like playing chess by the rules with someone who can move all his pieces any direction.
When I was in the Marine Corps I was a FTO for a while and one thing I taught my Marines was that as an MP, you are always at the disadvantage. You don't get to decide if the situation is deadly, if force is necessary, if things are going to go bad, only the suspect gets to decide that. What you can decide is that you are going to do everything you can to resolve and avoid trouble BUT when the moment comes to REACT, you will do so with all the strength, explosiveness, fortitude, and determination that YOU are going to survive that you can gather. The only thing you will know at that moment is that YOU are going home when it is over. You don't get to decide how or when the decision to fight for your life will be start but YOU have to decide when it ends. That is what it all boils down to for me.
Be a good person, treat others with respect, don't pick a fight when you can walk away, and remember the words of Col. Jeff Cooper,
“One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that ‘violence begets violence.’ I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure—and in some cases I have—that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.”