Railroaded: The effects of a new public transport system upon local crime patterns

Many cities are currently exploring public transportation options in an effort to deal with overburdened roadways and environmental concerns. The introduction of a new public transport system, however, may impact crime patterns in the neighborhoods that the system serves. Public transport systems may bring potential targets and offenders together in space and time; they provide settings that may be conducive to certain types of offending; and they may introduce offenders to previously unexplored ‘hunting grounds.’ Despite the potential negative effects of transport system introduction, there has been little formal research in this area.; This dissertation examined the effects of a new light rail transport system on local crime patterns in neighborhoods of varying character in a city in the northeastern United States. Specifically, this research sought post-introduction changes in the incidence and concentration of various offenses in neighborhoods served by the transport system, as well as evidence of offender redistribution in station areas, using call for service and arrest data from the local police department and mapping software. Ultimately, it would appear that this system has had minimal impact upon station-area crime patterns. In most cases, the average monthly number of calls for service decreased or remained the same following service introduction. Furthermore, few instances of significant call concentration were found—in many cases, calls were significantly distant from light rail stations. Finally, this system does not appear to have introduced non-local offenders to its constituent neighborhoods.; The findings of this project may be of practical use to criminologists, law enforcement professionals and transit planners alike. This study demonstrates that the addition of public transport options need not result in an increase in crime. Furthermore, the methods used may be easily replicated by transit planners, law enforcement agencies, and researchers wishing to monitor the impacts of new or expanding systems upon their station areas. As the smaller-scale systems that are likely to be built in the future may produce situations different from those surrounding large-scale systems, the continued study of transit-related crime is paramount to the further development of viable transport options in our cities.