Personal security on public transport
Our latest research has highlighted a number of problems for people when reporting crimes they have experienced or witnessed on public transport
It is vital that victims of crime on public transport can report what has happened to them quickly and easily, receive appropriate support, and have confidence that their report will be taken seriously and acted upon.
However, our latest research has identified key issues with the reporting process:
Lack of confidence and/or understanding
Victims of crime do not feel confident in the reporting process, lack trust in authorities, and also might not know how to report as there isn’t one clear pathway or journey
A poor experience of reporting
If victims do report a crime, the process often does not work as expected, with victims not receiving adequate support, empathy, updates or feedback
As a result, many people do not report when they have been a victim of crime on public transport, with only 2 in 5 people making a report when they experience an incident. As well as leaving victims without the support they need, this also creates a significant gap in understanding the true scale and nature of crime and can stop transport providers and policing authorities targeting resources where they are most needed.
What needs to change?
The current fragmented reporting process – across multiple operators, public authorities and police forces – can be too confusing and intimidating for victims of crime to engage with, and a single streamlined system would be by far the best approach. Following the publication of our research, we are asking transport operators and policing authorities to commit to the following:
More staff empowerment and training. Staff should be trained to provide a proactive and compassionate first response, make supportive referrals and deliver regular and compassionate updates.
More public campaigns. As well as building on existing campaigns, more needs to be done to raise awareness of why and how to report a crime.
Monitoring and improving the current reporting system. There needs to be consistency and an empathetic response across all stages of the reporting journey, regular updates for victims and independent monitoring of the process to improve performance.
Read our report to find out more about the research, its findings, and our recommendations.
Personal security on public transport – improving the reporting journey
You can also see all the research data here: Personal security – detailed research
