| This dissertation explores the purported success of "Metro," Washington, DC's subway system. Metro authorities designed the subway to embody a combination of preventive measures spanning physical design characteristics, maintenance policies, and stringent enforcement of rules and laws. Anecdotal evidence suggests Metro's planners were successful--that crime rates on the system are unusually low--but no empirical studies on this subject existed prior to this dissertation. Thus, this dissertation set out to answer two research questions: (1) Is Metro safer than one would expect, given the incidence and prevalence of crime on other subway systems and crime occurring in communities that Metro serves? and (2) Is Metro's unusually low crime rate explained by its environment--the way the system is designed, managed, and maintained? These questions are answered through a series of nine tests, which include: (1) an ANOVA comparing mean crime rates per station on four systems for which crime data by station were obtainable; (2) Pearson correlation coefficients measuring the degree of association between Metro crime rates to those above ground in Census tracts where Metro stations are located; (3) F-tests comparing coefficients of relative variation for Metro crimes versus those occurring above ground in Census tracts where Metro stations are located; and (4) regression analyses of predictors of both Metro underground crime and crime occurring in and around Metro's parking facilities to determine the extent to which Metro crime is influenced by station characteristics as well as external factors relating to the environment in which Metro stations are located.;Alternative hypotheses are also explored, such as the argument that Metro's low crime rates are explained by the nature of its ridership, service area, or resources. The results of these tests, when examined in combination, support the argument that Metro's crime rates are unusually low, and that there is something unique about Metro's environment (ostensibly that its design, maintenance, and rule-enforcement policies minimize opportunities for crime) that explains these low rates.;This dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications for theory and policy, and makes recommendations for future research in the area of crime prevention on public transit systems. |
