Environs of Rapid Transit Stations: A Focus for Street Crime or Just Another Risky Place? (From Preventing Mass Transit Crime, P 237-257, 1996, Ronald V. Clarke, ed. - See NCJ-168781)

• NCJ Number: 168789
• Author(s): R Block; S Davis
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The geographic distribution of street robbery in 1993-94 was compared for four Chicago police districts to determine whether the areas near mass transit stations has a disproportionately high share of street crime.

Abstract

The results revealed that in the two districts of low rates of street crime, street robbery was concentrated near rapid transit stations. In contrast, in the two high-crime districts, robberies were most likely to occur along main streets, but almost every block had at least one street robbery during the 2-year period. These two patterns of street robbery exemplify arguments both for and against problem-oriented policing. Proponents of problem-oriented policing could argue that the general level of street robbery in districts with lower crime rates might be reduced by concentrating surveillance in the areas surrounding rapid transit stations. In contrast, in higher-rate districts opponents of problem-oriented policing might argue that where the risk of predatory violence is high and widely dispersed, the basic causes and not the symptoms of crime must be addressed. Findings suggested that problem-oriented policing may be of little use where poverty is widespread and predatory street crime occurs anywhere. Figures, notes, and 15 references (Author abstract modified)