Hot Spots of Bus Stop Crime: The Importance of Environmental Attributes

Abstract

This study focused on bus stop crime and sought to identify the environmental attributes that can affect the bus rider's security while at the bus stop. Following the argument of criminologists that certain place characteristics can affect the incidence of crime, the study used direct observation, mapping, interviews, and surveys to examine the physical and social environment around the 10 most crime-ridden bus stops in Los Angeles during 1994 and 1995. It found an abundance of “negative” environmental attributes and a general lack of “defensible space” elements. It also found that different types of crime tend to occur under different environmental conditions. The use of four control cases of low-crime bus stops in matched pairs with four high-crime bus stops in close proximity showed that the low-crime bus stops typically lacked “negative” environmental attributes, while offering better surveillance opportunities from surrounding establishments. The article discusses design responses as an approach to crime prevention at bus stops.