Crime, Fear, and the New York City Subways

DENNIS JAY KENNEY, a veteran of eight years of police service, is Director of Research and Planning for the Savannah, Georgia, Police Department.

This book is a welcome study of the impact of citizen action on crime and on the fear of crime. The author obtained the consent and cooperation of the Guardian Angels to use their activities in Harlem and the Bronx as a model in determining the effectiveness of such operations. In addition, on-site interviews were conducted with 2,700 nighttime subway riders, making this work the first substantial study of passenger attitudes and fears. Contradicting many previously held beliefs, these data show that actual incidents of subway crime are remarkably low and that fear of crime among nighttime riders, while high, is not exceptional when compared to fear previously found in above ground settings. Moreover, the activities of the Guardian Angels were found to have no apparent effect on crime or on overall fear and did not increase the willingness of passengers to help one another.