Where Angel Fears To Treat: A Test in the New York City Subway of the Robbery/Density Hypothesis (From Preventing Mass Transit Crime, P 217-235, 1996, Ronald V. Clarke, ed. - See NCJ-168781)

• NCJ Number: 168788
• Author(s): R B Clarke; M Belanger; J A Eastman
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 19 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Data on subway platform robberies and passenger densities for 206 stations in the New York City Subway were used to examine Angel's hypothesis that street robberies were more likely to occur at intermediate levels of pedestrian traffic and less likely to occur at either low or high levels.

Abstract

Angel's 1968 hypothesis is often cited but has not been tested. This research used robbery data for the 30-month period between August 1992 and January 1995 and data on passenger density from hourly counts by the subway system for 2 consecutive days in 1989. Robbery rates for each station were graphed against their daily passenger densities. Results revealed that, contrary to Angel's contention, the incidence of subway robberies was greater at low levels of passenger density. These findings might not hold beyond the subway setting, but they suggest options for reducing robbery on subway platforms. These include closing off lightly used station areas at night, concentrating passengers in particular parts of the train or the platform late at night, and providing more staff surveillance of platforms. Figures, tables, notes, and 15 references (Author abstract modified)