Power, Nicola and McManus, Michelle and Lynch, Rosa and Bonworth, James (2016) Fear of crime on the rail networks : perceptions of the UK public and British Transport Police. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 18 (2). pp. 91-104. ISSN 1460-3780
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Abstract
Counter-terrorism on the rail network is vital to the security of the United Kingdom. The British Transport Police (BTP) employ covert and overt security measures to prevent crime, which includes: closed circuit television, armed police, unarmed polisce, police community support officers, police dogs, stops and searches and awareness cam- paigns. All security measures aim to deter crime while importantly reassuring the public. We surveyed both members of the public and BTP officers about the perceived effec- tiveness of current security measures, specifically with regards to fear of terrorism. Feel- ings of reassurance and the perceived effectiveness of security measures were positively related. The most effective and reassuring security measure was the use of armed police; whereas the least effective and reassuring was the use of awareness campaigns. However, interestingly, qualitative analyses suggested that an increase in armed police without informed awareness campaigns would have a negative impact on public reassurance by increasing fear.