Martha J. Smith

Expanding the Script Analytic Approach Using Victim Narratives: Learning About Robberies of Taxi Drivers from the Drivers Themselves

Driving a taxicab can be a difficult and dangerous job. Understanding the types of potential crime situations drivers face and the strategies they use to try to prevent or mitigate these potential harms is important. Robbery, one of these potential crimes, can have serious consequences for taxi drivers, including injuries, enhanced fear of crime, time off work, and loss of the stolen property. This chapter looks at taxi driver robbery and attempted robbery victimization among drivers operating in Cardiff, Wales, using the script analytic approach. Three main types of scripts are discussed here: (1) traditional offender crime scripts, (2) potential-victim scripts, and (3) actual-victim scripts. These “interpersonal scripts” were built from information provided by taxi drivers and include drivers’ reactions to offenders’ actions during the unfolding of these incidents—referred to here as “crimes-in-action.” These reactive tactics by drivers are discussed in terms of their potential for limiting loss of property and driver injury. Comments from the taxi driver victims on their reactions and other crime prevention measures are also examined.

Areas Where Vulnerable Public Transit Commuters Reside: A Method for Targeting Crime Prevention and Other Resources to Address Local Area Problems

Hart and Miethe (Chapter 11 in this volume) focused on where street robberies occur, taking proximate environments into account. In this chapter, we shift the focus from crime events and features of places to potential victims and the areas around their residences. We identify areas in which groups previously found to be vulnerable to crime victimization or fear of crime on public transit cluster in the New York City context. Reaching these vulnerable populations can be expensive if local area planners or agencies have to do all of the research by themselves, but it is easier, and less expensive, if agencies can build on existing research. One such publicly available set of information about US residents is the American Community Survey (ACS). The main purpose of the ACS is to inform policymakers about how to distribute federal and state funding to various local and state governments for infrastructure and services (USCB, 2013). Transit operators who want to provide more secure travel for passengers most in need may use the ACS to identify where commuters reside.