I go over there and punch the robber under his jawbone :)

This makes me laugh. You have the HP to do it and not be affected by it. Whenever I've tried that, I've ended up under a rain of DV's for a week haha.

It’s a perfectly fine personal safety decision.

Yep, that's why we keep walking. There's other ways to influence though, like setting a good example, not giving the bad players any air, or gentle suggestions, or reporting them to people like you who can punch them into next week!