at occur in large urban cities go unreported, “Surveying 1,088 households in Los Angeles, Levine and Wachs found that the actual incidence of transit crime was 20 to 30 times greater than that listed in official reports” (Loukaitou-Sideris 2).
In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) recognized the importance of bolstering transit security. Section 3013 of the Act mandates that transit operators “expend not less than 1% of funds received for transit security projects” (Loukaitou-Sideris 3). However, many strategies have been tried but few agree on which methods are most successful in stopping crime and lowering fear of victimization. Basically, there have been four categories of countermeasures to transit crime which involve law enforcement patrols, technology, awareness campaigns, and redesign: (1) more security and patrols; (2) use of technology (surveillance cameras, radio contact, emergency systems on vehicles); (3) better information (media campaigns, posters, help-line instructions, antidrug messages); and (4) design actions (better lighting, recessed walls, platform layouts that increase visibility (Loukaitou-Sideris 3).
The subway or metro has often been a mode of transportation that the public perceives as a high safety risk. Once again, this is most true in large urban areas where crime rates are high across most dimensions. Further, the subway is often out of the public view and escape routes are often lengthy and remote for riders. During late night and early morning hours when subway riders are at a minimum, the risks of being victimized are even higher. Further, terrorists have used subways as a primary target because of the contained nature of the area and the mass numbers of people who ride them. In New York City,
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