Concern for security on transit systems has increased across the nation. The level of concern varies widely depending on the jurisdiction involved and the type of operation; for example, rapid transit, bus, and commuter rail. Passengers and transit employees have a right to expect security while on the transit system; their concerns for security may be exacerbated by media coverage of serious crime events, which reduces their perception of personal safety. The issue facing general managers, transit police chiefs, and security directors is how best to use uniformed police to reduce crime and increase the perception of a safe transportation system.

The following are among the more specific dimensions of this issue: (1) is presence of uniformed security forces sufficient to change passengers' perceptions and to curtail crime on the system; (2) how and where should uniformed security forces be placed for optimal effectiveness and efficiency; (3) should most uniformed security forces be placed during rush-hour times to change perception and if so, what happens to the crime rate as a result; and (4) does the mere presence of uniformed security forces change perceptions or do officers need to be performing in a certain way?

There are currently no guidelines to assist policy makers, general managers, and transit police chiefs in making decisions to improve security through more effective use of uniformed police and security forces on transit systems. Little research has been done in the area of transit police practices. Thus, there is a need to develop guidelines on how the use of uniformed security forces on transit systems can be used to control crime and provide the perception of a secure system. These guidelines should be prepared for use by policy makers, general managers, transit police chiefs, and other transit system security practitioners.

The scope of this research includes both bus and rail systems, stations, and commuter parking lots. The focus is on facilities used by transit passengers as opposed to other system facilities such as maintenance facilities, storage yards, or offices.

For purposes of this project, uniformed security forces include transit police, uniformed security personnel, and local police.

The objectives of this research were to (1) develop guidelines that give direction on the use of uniformed security forces and (2) demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategies in reducing crime and improving passenger perception of security.

Strategies included

Deployment of uniformed security officers at high-crime locations during specific time periods;

Use of various patrol tactics and techniques, such as proactive vs. reactive; individual vs. team patrol, stationary vs. mobile patrol, and saturation techniques; and

Emphasis on reducing specific types of crime, such as felonies vs. quality-of-life offenses, crimes against property vs. crimes against persons and vehicles, and station- vs. parking lot-based offenses.

Status: The results of this project are published as TCRP Web Document 15. It is available in portable document format (PDF). Double-click on the files below to access the document. PLEASE NOTE: Due to the very large size of some files, it may take a long time--possibly more than 1 hour collectively-- to download. We regret the inconvenience.

TCRP Web Document 15 Part A

TCRP Web Document 15 Part B

TCRP Web Document 15 Part C

TCRP Web Document 15 Part D