^aSchool of Community Affairs, Wichita State University, Kansas, USA. E-mail: martha.smith@wichita.edu

Abstract

Managers of public transport systems seeking to maintain or increase ridership need to be aware of the security needs of passengers on their systems. A recent review, edited by Smith and Cornish (2006), of five different types of crime and disorder on public transport looked at situational crime prevention measures currently used, or proposed for use, against these offenses. The present analysis draws on this work to present a framework for analyzing the security needs of women passengers. The discussion reviews previous research in four key areas: (1) women's reported victimization, (2) issues related to calculating the risk of being a crime victim, (3) the rationality of women's fear of crime and disorder, and (4) the need for effective and comprehensive crime prevention measures to address these security-related issues. The "whole journey" approach is used to highlight aspects of the transit journey for women passengers that require special attention among transport providers, local governmental authorities (including police departments), policy makers, and researchers.