Reducing workplace violence through place-based private security deployments: a randomized controlled trial in UK train stations

Abstract

Assaults on rail staff in the UK are common, and little experimental evidence exists on how to prevent them. This paper reports a two-arm, pre-test post-test randomized controlled trial across 42 high-risk stations on the Northern Trains network. Treatment stations received additional high-visibility patrols of at least 20 minutes by private security officers (Travel Safe Officers) during the hours in which assaults peak. Control stations kept their routine patrols. The primary outcome was the number of assaults on staff recorded by the operator. The secondary outcome was the number of railway byelaw reports officers made, taken as a marker of guardianship activity. GPS records show that patrol time at treatment stations rose more than six-fold. Recorded assaults on staff fell by 44.3 per cent at treatment stations, against 4.7 per cent at control stations, but with 21 stations per arm the difference did not reach statistical significance (d = 0.40, 95 per cent CI [−0.21, 1.01]). Byelaw reporting rose sharply at treatment stations (d = 1.15, P < .001). Directed private security patrols can be delivered at high fidelity in station hotspots and may reduce assaults on staff. A larger trial is needed to confirm the effect.