Development and Application of a Scale to Measure Station Design Quality for Personal Safety

Abstract

Crime on public transport is a major concern for society and authorities, and many security measures have been adopted in public transport facilities, like stations, to reduce crime and improve the perception of passenger safety. However, a scale to measure the design quality of public transport facilities on the basis of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles has not yet been developed. This paper presents the results of a research program to develop a unified measure of the overall design quality of train stations in terms of the main elements of CPTED: surveillance, access control or target hardening (deterring access to potential targets; a term used in the security industry), maintenance, territoriality, and activity support. In this study, a scale has been developed and applied to four stations in suburban Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The scores illustrate the overall station design quality and highlight elements of the stations that could be improved to enhance safety. Areas for future research and implications for practice are explored.

The policing of subway fare evasion in postindustrial Los Angeles

“…Although studies across decades consider the nature of crime and policing within and around public transport (Block and Block, 2000;Di, 2017;La Vigne, 1997;Levine and Wachs, 1986;Rahaman et al, 2016;Ridgeway and MacDonald, 2017;Shellow et al, 1974), none examine how gentrification influences the intensity of policing on public transit. This represents a void in the literature as the appeal of global cities is highly dependent upon means of mass transportation to effectively move residents and visitors from place to place.…”

Derivation Factors of Smart Space Awareness for Effective CPTED

“…One other way to reduce crime is to improve residential urban environments so that these regions facilitate less crime [1,2,3,4]. Crime may be reduced by simply improving the physical environment using measures such as purification of the environment in crime-ridden districts, improvement of unsanitary facilities, and the installation of surveillance cameras [5,6,7]. Unfortunately, it is often easy for criminals to detect and avoid common security measures.…”

“…The data is then analyzed and police presence, including the number of patrolling officers, is increased in areas with higher crime risk. Safety Map has helped reduce crime rate and increase the number of criminal arrests made in high-risk areas [5,7,22,24].…”