Safe Transport: Security by Design on the Washington Metro (From Preventing Mass Transit Crime, P 163-197, 1996, Ronald V. Clarke, ed. - See NCJ-168781)

• NCJ Number: 168786
• Author(s): N G La Vigne
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 35 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The design, maintenance, and management of Metro, the subway system of Washington, D.C. are examined with respect to their crime prevention characteristics and their impacts on security.

Abstract

Metro officials did not intentionally apply a specific theory to the design and management of the system, but its philosophy is compatible with situational crime prevention and the earlier model of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. Features designed with crime prevention in mind included the platforms; entrances, exits, and pathways; lighting and maintenance; security devices; signs; money-handling policies; and the use of transit police and personnel. The evaluation research focused on whether Metro is safer than would be expected, and whether its design and management environment explains its safety. Results documented Metro's success in keeping crime rates o the system at an unusually low level and demonstrated that these low crime rates are explained by Metro's environment. Metro's environment reduces criminal opportunities and suggests the feasibility of manipulating environments to reduce offenses. Figures, tables, notes, and 42 references (Author abstract modified)