This section presents a series of tables that summarise responses to some commonly encountered crimes on public transport:

• Robberies and assaults committed against employees
• Theft, robberies and assaults committed against passengers
• Vandalism and graffiti committed against system property.

These tables summarise information from research and practice. This information is laid out in detail in the three Problem Solving Guides for Public Transport Problems contained in the Appendix. These Guides contain a substantial amount of additional information designed to help analyse local problems and devise solutions suited to local circumstances, including information about causes of the problems and questions that need to be answered before solutions can be selected.

The Guides have been modelled on the problem solving approach advocated by problem-oriented policing and situational crime prevention. Both approaches have proved successful when used to solve highly specific crime problems. They advocate the in-depth analysis of problems and the implementation of local responses based upon this analysis. Generally these responses are intended to increase the risks and difficulties associated with committing crimes in question, reducing the anticipated rewards and removing excuses for its commission. These approaches are particularly effective in environments, such as public transport, where management can effectively control the characteristics of the environment that regulate the opportunity for crime and disorder (e.g. levels of surveillance, levels of crowding). The Appendix provides a more detailed description of the problem solving approach.

The tables below outline the mechanisms by which each response listed is intended to work, the conditions under which it works best, and some additional factors to consider before implementing a particular response. These tables are intended to provide only a brief overview of possible responses and are of limited practical use on their own. It is vital that responses are tailored to local circumstances, and that their use is justified by a reliable analysis of your local problem.