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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:38 am
Time: 11:38 am
Results for parking facilities
2 results foundAuthor: LaVigne, Nancy Title: Evaluation of Camera Use to Prevent Crime in Commuter Parking Facilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial Summary: Car-related crimes are a pervasive problem in the United States: each year an estimated 3.3 million people have their cars stolen or broken into. The cost of these crimes is significant: in 2008, the total value of stolen cars was roughly $6.4 billion, while another $1.6 billion was lost through thefts from cars. Commuter parking facilities, where owners leave their cars unattended for most of the day, have particularly high rates of car crime (Clarke 2002; Clarke and Mayhew 1998). Almost onequarter (23.7 percent) of car thefts and nearly 12 percent of all thefts happen in parking lots and non-residential garages. Despite the frequency and cost of car crime, strategies to prevent these crimes have not been well studied. This evaluation report examines the impact of digital cameras in reducing car crime in parking facilities serving riders of Washington, DC’s commuter rail system. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) runs the second-largest rail transit system and sixth-largest bus network in the United States. Between 1999 and 2003, before this study began, roughly half of all serious crimes on Metro property took place in parking facilities. Car crimes were roughly split between stolen cars and thefts from cars, but crime rates were not equal across Metro stations: just over one-third (36 percent) of the stations accounted for 80 percent of car crimes in 2003. These data suggest that some stations make better targets than others — and finding out why could help prevent those crimes. Urban Institute researchers, working with Metro Transit Police (MTP), set out to identify what parking facility characteristics and management practices might create opportunities for crime, analyze those findings in relation to past crimes, and identify promising crime reduction strategies. Noting the limited surveillance of Metro station parking facilities, researchers recommended WMATA use prominently placed cameras to deter offenders. To minimize costs, MTP chose to invest in digital cameras, installing still cameras (not video cameras) at the exits of half of Metro’s commuter parking lots, along with signs alerting drivers (and potential criminals) that license plate numbers and exit times were being recorded and monitored. Similar to “red light” traffic cameras, the digital cameras were equipped with motion detectors to take still photos of cars — including their license plates — as they exited the facility. In addition to deterring criminals, the cameras could provide Metro police with information to tailor their patrol schedules (such as the exact times of thefts) and aid in investigations. In reality, however, only a third of the cameras were live due to budget constraints; nevertheless, the dummy cameras were expected to convey the perception of surveillance. This strategy relied heavily on rational choice theory as embodied in situational crime prevention (SCP): by creating the perception of greater surveillance, law enforcement agencies hope to convince potential criminals that they are more likely to get caught and that they should consequently refrain from crime or take their criminal activities elsewhere. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center, 2011. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/236740.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/236740.pdf Shelf Number: 123594 Keywords: Automobile TheftMotor Vehicle TheftParking FacilitiesSituational Crime PreventionVideo CamerasVideo Surveillance |
Author: Armitage, Rachel Title: The Impact of the Design and Layout of Car Parking on Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Summary: This briefing note is one of a series of themed papers which reports the findings from a collaborative project funded by the Home Office and managed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). This note focuses upon the impact of the design and layout of car parking on crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) within residential housing. The project set out to strengthen and update the evidence base on the impact of residential design on a range of crime types – with a specific focus on housing developments acclaimed for their innovative design and award winning architecture. It should be highlighted that although this briefing note is designed as a summary document, the findings and recommendations are based upon a seven month project conducted by a consortium of universities including experts within the field of designing out crime, statistical modelling, urban design and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The project was overseen by an expert Steering Group who ensured that the research was conducted to the required standards in terms of independence and methodological rigour. The main aim of the research was to establish which features of residential design impact upon crime (either positively or negatively) and whether these design features are those being promoted as good practice within planning policy and guidance. In terms of car parking, this includes questions such as: Are properties with garages safer than those without? Where garages cannot be provided, what is the safest form of parking? How safe is underground parking? What impact are planning policies designed to remove the car from the street scene having upon crime and ASB? Recent and imminent changes in both planning policy and policing provision, increase the importance of ensuring that research findings are conveyed in a clear and comprehensible format. Practitioners (with increased workloads and reduced numbers) and newly formed community and locally based bodies need to be able to extract the relevant implications and apply these to proposed developments within their area. For this reason, this series of briefing notes will not dwell on the complex methodology or detailed analysis; rather it will focus upon the key recommendations for policy and practice. Details: Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield, 2011. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 19, 2012 at: http://www.hud.ac.uk/media/universityofhuddersfield/content/image/research/hhs/acc/Briefing%20Notes%20-%20Car%20Parking%20on%20Crime%20and%20Anti-Social%20Behaviour.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.hud.ac.uk/media/universityofhuddersfield/content/image/research/hhs/acc/Briefing%20Notes%20-%20Car%20Parking%20on%20Crime%20and%20Anti-Social%20Behaviour.pdf Shelf Number: 123661 Keywords: Anti-Social BehaviorAutomobile TheftDesign Against CrimeGeographical Information Systems (GIS)Parking FacilitiesResidential HomesSituational Crime Prevention (U.K.)Urban Design |