Background

Unwanted sexual behaviours (USB) are widespread within mass transit networks worldwide. The present study examines the effectiveness of a place-based approach to tackle USB: repeated visits by capable guardians to prevent victimisation in train stations with a greater propensity for incidence of USB.

Methods

Pretest-posttest between groups randomised controlled trial on the effect of an intervention administered by a non-police security team at a prominent train operating company in England and Wales. Eligible hotspot stations (n = 51) were randomly assigned to two conditions: enhanced security measures, encompassing heightened presence of security staff, proactive interaction with possible victims, and pre-emptive efforts to prevent USB, and business-as-usual conditions. Negative binomial regression models estimate the treatment effect in terms of USB, violence, and all other incidents in the treatment compared to the control arms.

Findings

The implementation of heightened security measures led to significant reductions in reported incidents of USB at treatment stations compared to control stations. The intervention has also led to significant decreases in reported violent incidents but has had no significant effect on other reported incidents.

Conclusions

Security personnel have the potential to serve as efficient guardians in train stations, effectively reducing the risk of USB and violence. The findings highlight the efficacy of place-based interventions as measures against USB. However, the intervention comes with a significant opportunity cost as the security teams had limited capacity to deal with other crime types. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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遏制火车站不良性行为的私人保安：一项基于地点的随机对照试验

 背景

不良性行为 (USB) 在全球公共交通网络中普遍存在。本研究探讨了基于地点的解决 USB 问题的方法的有效性：有能力的监护人反复访问，以防止在 USB 发生率较高的火车站受害。

 方法

组间预测-后测随机对照试验，研究英格兰和威尔士一家著名火车运营公司的非警察安全团队实施的干预措施的效果。符合条件的热点站 (n = 51) 被随机分配到两个条件：增强安全措施，包括加强安全人员的存在、主动与可能的受害者互动、预防 USB 的工作以及一切照常条件。负二项式回归模型根据 USB、暴力和治疗中的所有其他事件与对照组相比来估计治疗效果。

 发现

与控制站相比，加强安全措施的实施使得治疗站报告的 USB 事件大幅减少。干预措施还导致报告的暴力事件显着减少，但对其他报告的事件没有显着影响。

 结论

安保人员有潜力成为火车站的高效守护者，有效降低 USB 和暴力风险。研究结果强调了基于地点的干预措施作为针对 USB 措施的有效性。然而，由于安全团队应对其他犯罪类型的能力有限，干预措施会带来巨大的机会成本。讨论了对未来研究和实践的影响。