Washington D.C. - WMATA

History
Almost simultaneous to the construction of the first lines in São Paulo emerged a metro system whose construction would set a whole new standard for the crime prevention planning and design of metro systems; the Washington D.C. Metro. The system had to be built in what used to be the murder capital of the United States. Furthermore, the negative crime experiences of New York - as well as ot­her American metro systems - held a clear warning of the risks which come with a subway system designed without including the concept of crime prevention in its planning. Thus, top priority was given to a crime prevention planning and design of the Washington D.C. Metro. This resulted in a construction in which the latest knowledge on situational crime prevention techniques was fully incorporated. The metro system of Washington D.C. opened its doors in 1976. It became the first of a new generation of metro systems (soon to be followed by Hong Kong and Singapore) which had crime prevention "built in" to its construction.

Source: López, M.J.J., Crime Prevention Guidelines for the Construction & Management of Metro Systems, Den Haag: RCM-advies 1996, pg. 28-30.

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