NCJ Number
35342
Date Published
1974
Length
12 pages
Annotation
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF OFFENSES ON U.S. MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS IS ESTIMATED AT 33-39,000 FOR 1971 WITH A DOLLAR-VALUE OF OVER 12 MILLION.
Abstract
NO FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS WERE FOUND BETWEEN VARIOUS FACTORS SUCH AS TOTAL CRIME INDEXES AND TOTAL CRIME PER 100,000 VEHICLE-MILES OR 100,000 REVENUE-PASSENGERS. A COMPUTED TRANSIT EXPOSURE INDEX LED TO THE TENTATIVE CONCLUSION THAT THE RISK OF BEING INVOLVED IN A CRIMINAL INCIDENT COULD BE AT LEAST TWICE AS GREAT WHEN RIDING ON URBAN TRANSIT VEHICLES AS IN NONTRANSIT CIRCUMSTANCES. IF THIS CONCLUSION IS SOUND, THE PROBLEM OF CRIME ON TRANSIT SYSTEMS MAY BE PROPORTIONATELY MORE SERIOUS THAN HAS BEEN GENERALLY CREDITED. THE TOTAL NATIONAL TRANSIT VANDALISM COSTS FOR 1971 ARE ESTIMATED AT $7.7 MILLION TO $10 MILLION. DIRECT TRANSIT VANDALISM COSTS ON THE AVERAGE AMOUNTED TO LESS THAN 0.5 PERCENT OF OPERATING COSTS IN 1971, BUT THE PROBLEM ASSUMES GREATER DIMENSIONS WHEN INDIRECT COSTS ARE CONSIDERED. WINDOW BREAKAGE WAS THE LARGEST COMPONENT, FOLLOWED BY DAMAGE TO SEATS, DAMAGE TO STATIONARY FACILITIES, AND GRAFFITI. NATIONAL TRANSIT SYSTEM COSTS OF LIABILITY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM INCIDENTS OF CRIME AND VANDALISM IN 1971 ARE ESTIMATED AT $1.85 MILLION TO $2.33 MILLION. THE ESTIMATES ARE BASED ON DATA COLLECTED FROM 37 TRANSIT SYSTEMS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)