CRIME AND SECURITY MEASURES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS - A NATIONAL OVERVIEW

• NCJ Number: 56077
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 51 pages
• Corporate Author: Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
• Sale Source: Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: A TECHNICAL REPORT

Annotation

AN ASSESSMENT OF TRANSIT CRIME AND SECURITY MEASURES AS REPORTED BY 59 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA IS PRESENTED.

Abstract

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOCUSED ON THREE TYPES OF INFORMATION: TRANSIT SYSTEM OPERATIONAL DATA, TRANSIT CRIME DATA, AND TRANSIT SECURITY DATA. ANALYSIS OF DATA ON THE EXTENT OF INDIVIDUAL CRIMES REVEALS THAT 281,821 TRANSIT-RELATED OFFENSES OCCURRED IN 1977 FOR THE SAMPLE, WITH LOCAL ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS AND OTHER MINOR INFRACTIONS CONSTITUTING THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF THESE OFFENSES. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS PART I CRIMES REPRESENT ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF KNOWN OFFENSES, AND PART II INDEX CRIMES, SUCH AS VANDALISM, DRUG LAW VIOLATIONS, AND SIMPLE ASSAULTS, ACCOUNT FOR 26 PERCENT OF ALL REPORTED CRIMES. THE LARGER TRANSIT SYSTEMS SERVING OVER 100 MILLION PASSENGERS PER YEAR REPORT 88.5 PERCENT OF ALL CRIMINAL AND NONCRIMINAL OFFENSES (E.G., VIOLATIONS OF MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES), BUT THE MEDIUM-SIZED AND SMALLER TRANSIT SYSTEMS INDICATE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES ALONE. INFORMATION SOUGHT ON TRANSIT SECURITY PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON POLICING, SECURITY PLANNING EFFORTS, PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAMS, SECURITY TRAINING, AND COST ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES. RESPONSES INDICATE THAT 37.5 PERCENT OF THE SYSTEMS MAINTAIN A PRIVATE POLICE AUTHORITY OR RELY ON A COMBINATION OF PRIVATE AND LOCAL POLICE SERVICES. THE MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS HAVE INITIATED OR PLAN TO IMPLEMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS (59.2 PERCENT) OR PERSONNEL SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAMS (57.1 PERCENT). COST ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES, USEFUL IN ASSESSING THE EXTENT OF CRIME AND VANDALISM AND EVAUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS SECURITY MEASURES, HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED OR ARE PLANNED BY 22 SYSTEMS. TWELVE RESPONDENTS ARE USING OR PLAN TO IMPLEMENT A COMPUTERIZED CRIME DATA PROGRAM. OVERALL THE RESULTS REVEAL CERTAIN SIMILARITIES REGARDING TRANSIT CRIME AND SECURITY MEASURES; I.E., THE LARGE PERCENTAGE OF MINOR INFRACTIONS THAT HELP MAKE UP THE TOTAL OFFENSE PICTURE, RELATIVELY RECENT IMPLEMENTATION OR PLANNED STATUS OF MOST SECURITY EFFORTS, THE ABSENCE OF CRIME PREVENTION DESIGN CONCEPTS IN OLDER SYSTEMS, AND A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES. TABULAR DATA AND THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT ARE PROVIDED. (DAG)