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Crime prevention series

Public telephones

Published in:
Preventing graffiti and vandalism
Susan Geason and Paul Wilson
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990
ISBN 0 642 14936 4 ; ISSN 1031-5330
(Crime prevention series)

Abstract

Three different approaches to vandalism and theft from public telephones are reported in this chapter. The Australian Government worked through its national telephone carrier, Telecom (now Telstra), to develop a coordinated national approach which included public awareness campaigns, proactive surveillance in high risk areas and target hardening. An educational campaign aimed at schoolchildren was undertaken in Liverpool, England. Also in Liverpool, British Telecom installed public payphones inside police stations. Vandalism decreased sharply.