Abstract
Crime prevention through the use of strategies designed to reduce opportunities for criminal activity is recognized as both practical and cost effective (NCPI, 1986). Routine strategies tend to focus on a siege or fortification model (NCPI, 1986; Sheleff, 1978; Jeffery, 1977; Newman, 1972) that may be neither possible nor desirable. A crime prevention strategy that goes beyond the fortification model routinely suggested by professional law enforcement involves the concept of coproduction (Schneider, 1986). Described as providing collective goods for the common welfare of the citizens (Ostrom, 1973), this concept is implicit in studies seeking to understand the behavior of witnesses (bystanders) in emergency situations. This study, based on a survey of New York city subway riders, examines the relationship between personal factors associated with bystanders and the likelihood of their intervention on behalf of a person being victimized in a criminal attack, i.e., their participation in coproduction. The findings identify a)bystander assessments regarding the likelihood that other bystanders will or will not intervene as the strongest predictor of willingness to intervene in these situations, and b)a composite model consisting of the other bystander willingness, carrying a self protective device, and gender variables as having the best goodness of fit score.
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