NCJ Number
97524
Date Published
1985
Length
222 pages
Annotation
This report discusses a survey of 1,088 randomly selected households undertaken from November 1983 to April 1984 to measure the incidence of bus crime in west central Los Angeles and to assess sources of reporting error and isolate environmental factors contributing to bus crime.
Abstract
Both bus users and nonusers were interviewed by telephone. The interview questionnaire focused on issues such as bus usage and experience with bus crime. Interviews were conducted in either English or Spanish. One adult, aged 16 or older, was randomly selected from within each household to be interviewed. Analysis of the survey data revealed that the incidence of bus and bus-related crime in west central Los Angeles is much greater than has been documented. About 9 percent of respondents had been victimized, with 3 percent being victimized in 1983 alone. Based on the survey data, it was estimated that about 23,292 bus-related crimes occurred in 1983 in west central Los Angeles (20 to 30 times the official data published by the Southern California Rapid Transit District). Survey responses indicated that victims experienced considerable financial loss, as well as physical and emotional harm. Respondents expressed substantial fear of using buses, especially for travel at night and to downtown Los Angeles. Some significant environmental correlates of bus crime were identified, such as overcrowding on buses and at bus stops. Most crimes occurred in the afternoon and early evening although crimes occurring at night were more life threatening. An analysis of bus stop crimes by specific intersection revealed that the locations of bus stops which have more crime are distributed across the west central Los Angeles area. The survey also revealed strong support for a bus crime prevention program. Respondents offered suggestions to reduce bus and bus-related crimes, such as rescheduling to reduce overcrowding, redesigning the back of the bus to allow better passenger flow, and improving bus drivers' roles in protecting passengers. The report offers three recommendations to (1) revise the current system for collecting information on transit crime, (2) include environmental information in a transit crime data base, and (3) assess the physical and social causes of bus stop crime at particular locations before developing a strategy to protect passengers at bus stops. A total of 49 references are listed. Appendixes include the survey questionnaire, survey data, and technical information on the survey methodology.