Tackling Crime and Fear of Crime While Waiting at Britain’s Railway Stations

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Crime on the railways in Britain is an increasing concern for train operating companies, the British Transport Police (BTP), passengers, and local residents. Significantly, rail users consistently perceive their risks from crime to be considerably higher than official crime statistics indicate, having a negative affect on levels of patronage. This article presents an exploratory study of passengers’ fear of crime while waiting at railway stations using Quick Time Virtual Reality (QTVR) walkthrough scenes. QTVR arguably represents an innovative, dynamic, and interactive environmental stimulus for gaining insights into passengers’ fear of crime. Visibility at stations was identified as a crucial factor in determining levels of fear of crime. The design of the station shelter is analyzed as an example of how crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is being implemented on railway stations by Valley Lines (Wales and Borders Trains) on its network in South Wales (UK).