Addressing Fear of Crime in Public Space: Gender Differences in Reaction to Safety Measures in Train Transit
This article reports on a study undertaken to determine whether train transit security practices and service attributes affect men and women differently. The authors begin with a review of the literature on fear of crime and the impact of gender on those fears, as well as factors affecting perceived train safety, such as the appearance of trains and train stations, reliable service, security technology (such as closed-circuit televisions), the presence of police, personal experiences, and demographic attributes such as age, disability, ethnicity, and income. The authors then use data from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Customer Satisfaction Survey of 2003, a survey that was designed to assess and understand customers’ changing expectations and requirements. The telephone survey was administered to 2577 CTA customers; the sample size for train customers was 1,172. The authors found that, while the presence of video cameras has a lower effect on women’s feelings of safety compared with men, frequent and on-time service matters more to male passengers. Additionally, experience with safety-related problems affects women significantly more than men. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of the study for theory and gender-specific policies that could be implemented to improve perceptions of transit safety. They stress that, in order to identify safety strategies that could effectively address fear of crime, it is first necessary to identify the factors that make individuals feel more vulnerable to crime in public space.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00420980
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Authors:
- Yavuz, Nilay
- Welch, Eric W
- Publication Date: 2010-11
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 2491-2515
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Serial:
- Urban Studies
- Volume: 47
- Issue Number: 12
- Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
- ISSN: 0042-0980
- EISSN: 1360-063X
- Serial URL: http://usj.sagepub.com/
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Closed circuit television; Crimes; Demographics; Females; Gender; Males; Passenger security; Pedestrian safety; Public transit; Quality of service; Rail transit stations; Safety; Safety factors; Schedules and scheduling; Travel behavior; Video
- Subject Areas: Public Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01351546
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Sep 14 2011 11:11AM