Crime Concern Fear of Crime Research

Crime concern commissioned a survey into fear of crime in 2002 and 1996. Here are some of the findings from those surveys that relate to the public transport network.

What are the main changes between 1996 and 2002?

• 24% of all respondents in the 2002 survey say they had experienced one or more incidents when travelling on public transport.
   

• The most common incident overall is being stared at in a hostile or threatening way, which has been experienced by 10% of all respondents.  For young people, though, the most common experience was being deliberately pushed.
   

• There has been a significant increase in the number of men who have been the victim of violence or threat or have observed such an incident while travelling on public transport.
   

• Nearly 80% of all adult respondents did not report the last incident they had experienced.
   

• There has been a substantial increase in the reports of harassment by black and minority ethnic respondents because of their colour, race or religion.
   

• There is some evidence that men now perceive greater risks to their personal security than in 1996, whereas the perceptions of women have remained similar or improved slightly.
   

• There is some evidence of greater concerns while travelling by train, especially for women.
   

• There are greater concerns, both during the day and after dark, about travelling on the underground.
   

• Both women and men expressed greater concerns about walking through open and multi storey car parks.
   

• Consistent with the British Crime Survey findings, greater concerns were expressed by people living in rural areas in 2002 than in 1996.
   

• The presence of staff as a reassurance was less important in 2002.  More emphasis was placed on the quality and training of those staff, together with physical security measures (CCTV) in place to support them.
   

• The lack of appropriate and accurate information was more closely associated in 2002 with concerns about insecurity.  There was greater awareness of the capabilities of technology for providing up-to-date information through, for example real-time displays.
   

• Stronger feelings were expressed about personal space, graffiti and litter, the behaviour of those influenced by alcohol or drugs, and 'aggressive' begging.

An awareness of these general factors will help in designing a more effective response strategy. But it is important to have a detailed understanding of local conditions before formulating a plan. Some questions that might be helpful in understanding the factors related to fear are provided below:

• What behaviours are passengers fearful of? (e.g. sexual attacks, violence, bullying, racial harassment)
  
  
• Are certain types of passengers more fearful than others? (e.g. females, older passengers, persons from certain ethnic backgrounds)

• In what locations or circumstances are passengers fearful? What are the characteristics of these locations that make passengers fearful? (e.g. dark, closed-in, poorly maintained, large amounts of graffiti)
  
  
• At what times are passengers most fearful? (e.g. after dark, on weekends, late at night) What is significant about these times? (e.g. dark, few passengers or staff available)
  
  
• What is the actual incidence of crime and anti-social behaviour on the system? (official statistics are not likely to reveal all incidents occurring on systems)

• Does local media coverage contribute to levels of fear on local public transport? If so, how?

• Does fear on the local system impact upon levels of patronage? How significantly?

• Are there certain types of passengers that are deterred from using public transport due to security concerns? (e.g. elderly, females, students)