Almost 1,000 incidents were reported on Luas trams between January and the end of October.
A study undertaken by Transdev Ireland, the company which operates Luas, has conducted a report on crime and antisocial behaviour aboard the light rail facility.
The company monitored things like pick-pocketing, racial slurs and threats to staff and commuters and compared incident rates to previous years.
While incident rates have largely dropped across all areas in comparison to last year, the report has indicated the most troublesome category of people travelling on the tram, and the results may come as a surprise.
According to The Irish Times, children around age nine are the most disruptive passengers on the Luas. Transdev said:
“Loud and fearless, they don’t understand their behaviour is upsetting others. Security’s role here is to move them on, to be customer focused, friendly and authoritative.”
Indeed preteens and upwards to fifteen years of age can be extremely disrespectful, issuing racial slurs and threats to staff and fellow passengers, but of course, this is not to tar that entire age bracket with the same brush.
Transdev spends €2.5 million on security every year hiring a private company, STT, to maintain order on the lines. There is also mobile response teams ready to respond to security breaches. The transport company says that:
“An area south of Sandyford on the Luas green line can at times be one of the most problematic areas.”
And in relation to the most problematic age group, their approach is “to work with them, their schools and community gardaí.”
The Times also reported that sexual assault cases have also occurred on the Luas, where passengers have been groped on busy carriages, but thanks to CCTV footage, this is helping to eradicate the problem.
