This is Part 2 of a two-part blog post and deals with the low overall crime levels apparent from light rail crime statistics.

   In recent weeks, a few light rail opponents have raised the specter of light rail transit being “dangerous,” with crime being “a real problem” on light rail lines. These opponents have characterized crime as one of the major reasons why Kansas City should not pursue light rail. But a review of the situation and some stats shows any general association of light rail and crime may be distorting light rail’s actual safety level.

   Randal O’Toole, an anti-rail crusader with the libertarian Cato Institute, recently came through town with a new study intended to dissuade Kansas City from pursuing light rail. In it, O’Toole played up light rail’s crime record, stating for instance that light rail “has by far the worst crime record in the transit industry,” with more homicides, rapes, robberies and the like than any other form of transit, on a per-passenger basis.

   A local light rail opponent, Johnson Countian Wayne Flaherty, made the same case to a Kansas City citizens task force that was studying light rail routes. “Crime is a real problem both in terms of quality of life on the trains and in actual dollars,” Flaherty wrote.

   Given their rhetoric, one would think light rail was the transit equivalent of the mean streets in Iraq. However, in actuality, crime levels on light rail lines are miniscule. You’re more likely to be robbed or assaulted in the perfectly pleasant Prairie Village, or just about any other metro Kansas City city or suburb, than you are on a light rail line.

   Let’s take a look at the stats. They come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics and are for 2005, the latest year available. To make the comparisons between light rail and suburbs as apples-to-apples as possible, we’ll compare crime levels by average daily number of light rail riders and daily population (which happens to be total population). Here’s a snapshot:

  • Rapes: Light rail lines in all cities reported a total of 6 rapes in 2005. That works out to 1 for every 173,973 daily riders. By contrast, Prairie Village had 1 rape for every 10,913 daily residents, and Olathe had 1 rape for every 2,350 daily residents. In effect, the threat of rape is about 16 times higher in Prairie Village, one of Kansas City’s safest suburbs, than it is on light rail lines across the country.
  • Robberies: Light rail lines recorded 377 robberies all across the country in 2005, or 1 per every 2,769 daily riders. The entire city of Kansas City by itself had 2,000 robberies, which should offer some perspective about the lack of crime on light rail lines. Lee’s Summit had 1 robbery for every 2,458 residents, and Prairie Village had 1 for every 1,984 residents. So when it comes to robbery, light rail appears safer than living in Kansas City or almost all its suburbs (some burbs have 0 robberies).
  • Aggravated assaults (with a weapon): Light rail lines had 177 such assaults in 2005. That was a lower total than in the entire city of Overland Park (which had 255), considered the Kansas City suburb with the best overall quality of life (at least according to The Star’s ranking a few years ago).

   In the end, then, O’Toole and Flaherty are technically correct when they compare crime on light rail to other forms of transit, but transit just doesn’t have much crime. Riding light rail is safer than just about anywhere you can live, at least around Kansas City.

   In response to this analysis, O’Toole emailed The Star with these thoughts: “The proper comparison is light rail vs. other modes of transportation, and someone is much more likely to be a victim of crime when riding light rail than when riding a bus . . . .”

   He continued: “Should crime be the paramount criteria for whether Kansas City builds light rail? Probably not. But when light rail costs far more than buses or highways, it can only be justified if it produces some other benefits. Not only can I not find any such benefits, in most cases (like) crime and safety, light rail only imposes more costs on people.”