PERCEPTION AND INCIDENCE OF CRIME ON PUBLIC TRANSIT IN SMALL SYSTEMS IN THE SOUTHEAST

The initial report of a set of studies undertaken in small cities in the Southeast included questions to police departments and transit agencies in the region and a set of personal interviews with drivers, passengers, and nearby residents of the public transit system in Greensboro, North Carolina. The results indicate little violent crime on transit with varying perceptions of safety depending on the gender and race of the subjects, yet residents perceive the system as being unsafe. It is recommended that transit security focus on means of countering such perceptions.