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This article explores the nature and extent of crime in the railway environment in South Africa. Crimes against Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Transnet Freight Rail, Gautrain, and commuters are prevalent and the victims are being exposed to serious damage emanating from criminal activities. The challenges and implications for individuals and businesses, rich or poor consumers are recurrent themes in this study. A qualitative research approach was adopted to follow a non-probability purposive sample comprising 25 participants from the South African Police Service Rapid Rail Police Units. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews from research participants deployed in the Division: Visible Policing. The findings highlighted that the most prevalent crimes are cable theft, robberies and malicious property damage. The targeted trains are the Metro trains that operate locally, as they transport many commuters because it is the affordable mode of public transport in South Africa. The perpetrators also target this mode of transport because the train stations have an open system where perpetrators can easily access the entrance, therefore some do not even buy tickets and board the trains illegally. It is understood that Gautrain has a closed system and the security is advanced and watertight because of extra security measures such as the closed-circuit television cameras. Based on the findings, effective implementation of policies to improve safety is essential. Critical dialogues between all relevant.

The motorcycle taxi business is increasingly becoming one of the key livelihood strategies in the urban settings of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, crime against operators is threatening the subsector and jeopardizes the livelihood of motorcycle riders. This study examines urban crime and its implications on the livelihoods of motorcycle taxi riders in Dar es Salaam Tanzania in a bid to recommend strategies for alleviating the looming crime. Based on the qualitative design, data were collected using in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and indirect observations with a sample of 100 motorcycle taxi-riders. Thematic data analysis was employed based on the five themes [aka assets] pre-determined from the sustainable livelihood framework namely natural, physical, human, social and financial assets. Findings show that crime has negatively impacted the motorcycle taxi riders’ livelihoods through erosion of the livelihood assets. Accordingly, in order to alleviate the crime, relevant authorities should devise a well-defined mechanism of sharing crime information, use of technology such as the GPRS system and security cameras around the city, ensure the availability of the police and prompt response to crime incidence through night security patrols and sharing reliable contacts, provision of security and crime education and awareness to the riders. Others are ensuring an effective, communication system between and among the motorcycle riders e.g. through phones, WhatsApp groups, and other social media, and use of ID cards by the riders for easy identification and traceability whenever they fall victims of crime.

Despite official crime figures showing a continuous decline in the rate of crime, the perception of the high level of crime by many Malaysians suggests other factors are affecting their perception of safety from crime. The objective of this study is to identify and understand these factors through a qualitative study that employs online focus group discussions. This study argues that the perception of safety from crime is the result of interactions of a number of factors such as the experience of victimisation, crime information, neighbourhood conditions as well as the perception of law enforcement and government crime reduction policy. The sense of safety from crime is also contextual as it may fluctuate according to time, place, activities and situations. Analysis of the data from the focus group discussions found that participants generally have a high perception of safety from crime. However, participants felt less safe when they were in public places and when interacting with online services. In most circumstances, participants' sense of safety is affected by the pressure to be vigilant and to avoid criminal victimisation. This pressure is exacerbated by low-quality information on crime that is often received through social media. Crime information on social media has a significant impact on participants’ perceptions of crime. The overall analysis of the findings suggests that the most important factor which affects the perception of safety from crime among these selected Malaysians is their sense of safety in their homes and their neighbourhood.  Hence, efforts to increase the sense of safety among Malaysians should focus on this context.