Responses to the Problem of Crimes Against Tourists

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible responses to the problem.

The following response strategies are drawn from a variety of research studies and police problem-solving efforts; several of them may apply to your community's problem. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering what police can do; give careful consideration to who else in your community shares responsibility for the problem and can help police better respond to it.

Unfortunately, there are few careful evaluations of tourist crime interventions. Much of what is recommended here is based on informed judgments about what is likely to be effective. More rigorous evaluations are needed.

General Considerations for an Effective Strategy

To deal with crimes against tourists, the New Orleans and Orlando, Fla., police departments have created special units with selected personnel specifically to protect tourists. Both agencies require that officers be highly trained in tourism issues, as well as visible to and gregarious with tourists; work closely with related local associations and bureaus; advise rental property employees regarding crime prevention techniques; and recommend that tourist-industry employees (especially those in the security field) undergo thorough background checks—and be heavily punished if found guilty of committing tourist crimes.22

Specific Responses to Reduce Crimes Against Tourists

• Requiring that guests show identification before reentering the building
• Installing electronic room locks that are changed after each guest checks out
• Providing safety deposit boxes
• Installing surveillance cameras
• Employing full-time security officers.26, †

† See Disorder at Budget Motels in this series, for further information about preventing crime and disorder in motels.

You might also encourage hotels and motels to provide safety tips on their website or in-house cable TV channel.

6. Offering rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who commit serious crimes against tourists. The tourism industry may be willing to help finance reward programs. In Miami, the local government developed such a program, in conjunction with Crime Stoppers and the tourist industry.27

The early 1990s saw a plague of violent crimes against tourists in Dade County, Fla. Several murders of foreign tourists brought worldwide media attention, and both the county and the greater Miami area were portrayed as dangerous places to visit. Miami International Airport was the focal point of such crimes, including "smash and grab," "driveway," and "highway" robberies, in which criminals preyed on people leaving the airport in easily identifiable rental cars. Other rental-car drivers became victims after getting lost once they left the airport. To address the problem, the Metro-Dade Police Department† (1) increased visible uniform patrols, (2) adopted a problem-oriented approach to improve the area and generate support from local businesses and other government agencies, and (3) implemented a tourist safety program, to provide safety information. In addition, the Florida legislature passed a law requiring that regular license plates be issued to replace the easily identifiable ones on rental vehicles, the county required that maps and directions be provided with every rented vehicle, and identifying stickers were removed from rental vehicles. Over 500 directional signs were installed, many in the airport area, and a tourism safety video was shown on many inbound international flights. Officers were trained to contact lost or confused motorists, and give them an escort if necessary. They were also equipped with cell phones, maps, brochures, and other information in a variety of languages, to distribute as necessary. The police devoted four to five times the normal level of resources to the airport area, using several special responses (for example, using decoy parked police cars, conducting undercover operations targeting "hot spots," and deploying motorcycle patrols during peak times). They also established a tourist hotline, started a newsletter, and set up a 24-hour information counter in the airport. In the two years following the initiative, crimes against visitors dropped in the area: robberies decreased by 50 percent, and auto thefts by 79 percent.30

† The police department is now called the Miami-Dade Police Department. 

• Creating a website with a dedicated tourist menu that (1) provides safety tips on such topics as rental and use of cars, and use of automated teller machines (ATMs),† credit cards, and other financial instruments; (2) lists emergency telephone numbers; (3) has regularly updated tourist crime bulletins; and (4) provides information about any specialized tourist police or auxiliary patrols.‡
• Equipping tourism officers with a cellular phone so they can quickly access information, translation services, or other assistance for tourists
• Establishing a 24-hour police information counter, installing "tourist telephones" (those specifically designated for tourists needing information and providing safety tips) and broadcasting precautionary messages at airports
• Establishing a tourist hotline for reporting crimes and related problems
• Encouraging positive media contacts regarding the tourist police program and tourist safety, including having tourist officers take journalists on "ride-alongs"
• Producing a video that provides information about the tourist area, the tourist police program, travel safety tips, and how to get around the area, for showing on inbound aircraft and in airports
• Providing information to foreign consulates and embassies, so they can educate their citizens about travel to your area
• Developing a means to inform travelers of the safest places to stay (for example, some cities have a crime-free hotel/motel certification program that allows hotels/motels to qualify for special advertising based on their safety record).

† See Robbery at Automated Teller Machines, Guide No. 8 in this series, for information about crime prevention at ATMs.

‡ See the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's website, at www.lvmpd.com, for an example of tourist safety information. 

The following are some common safety tips that particularly pertain to tourists:

• Use maps to plan routes before venturing out in a rental car.
• Avoid traveling in vehicles that are obviously rented.
• Avoid appearing to be a tourist.
• Be aware of surroundings and avoid suspicious characters.
• Travel with companions.
• Remove valuables from cars.
• Lock windows and doors in rooms when leaving.29

All tourist information should be available in the languages most commonly spoken by visitors to the area.

8. Increasing uniform patrols in tourist areas. Highly visible police patrols can discourage offenders who target tourists and increase tourists' sense of safety, but obviously, they are labor-intensive and therefore costly.

† The city of Wellington, New Zealand, runs a program called Walkwise that deploys trained civilian safety officers at all times in the citys central business district. The officers act as ambassadors and work closely with police, intervening in low-level disorder problems and reporting more-serious offending.

10. Conducting surveillance at high-risk locations. Surveillance should be based on local intelligence about problem areas and times. In general, surveillance is time-consuming and costly, and is effective at reducing crime only if it results in the apprehension of especially prolific offenders.

† For an excellent discussion of various ways to safely move and handle large crowds of visitors through environmental design, see Shearing and Stenning (1997). [Full text]