MARTA Public Relations Problem: Atlanta Train Knife Slashing

Atlanta Train Knife Slashing: The MARTA Public Relations Problem with Crime

A brutal knife slashing incident on the Atlanta MARTA commuter train, points up the common Public Relations issue of crime for transit companies in large cities. The knife attack started with an argument about a shell game on an evening commuter train. Atlanta commuter Brian Critchfield witnessed and wrote about the attack in the Atlanta Journal Constitution of 11/22/05.

"A man in a tank top wanted to play but, apparently, wasn't welcome in the game. Then there was a screaming match ...People on the train began looking a little nervous. Suddenly, the two men were shoving each other and the man running the game pulled a knife and slashed the other's arm. There was substantial blood and it was gruesome.


I tried to speak with the conductor via the intercom. I held the red button down and communicated in a clear voice that there was a knife fight on our car and provided the car number. My fearful wife, myself and several others then made a frantic crossing to the next car through the emergency door. The conductor never acknowledged my plea for help.
It was at least three more minutes until we arrived at Lenox. No police were waiting at the station. The men got off and continued screaming at each other and chasing each other around. All the time, the conductor kept our train there with the doors open. The men, after two or three minutes of display, left the platform. The train doors closed and the train left. No MARTA or Atlanta police came to even take eye-witness statements. The conductor made no announcements.
My wife has taken the train a couple of times since then. But she cannot help but think of that day when she was witness to a violent crime and no one came to her aid.
We now haven't even the slightest confidence in the MARTA police force. "
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/1105/22edmarta.html

Compare MARTA's ongoing violent crime problem to the problem facing Johnson and Johnson's Tylenol pain-reliever in 1982 when an unknown person placed cyanide in the product. Seven people in the Chicago area died from taking the tampered products.

"I don't think they can ever sell another product under that name," advertising guru Jerry Della Femina told the New York Times in the days following the poisonings. "There may be an advertising person who thinks he can solve this and if they find him, I want to hire him, because then I want him to turn our water cooler into a wine cooler."

Johnson & Johnson's PR Response
Atlanta's MARTA leaders could learn much from the way that Johnson and Johnson handled the Tylenol tampering crisis. The most crucial public relations decision made to cope with the Tylenol crisis, was taking responsibility to stop the problem. This allowed the Tylenol products to recover and become one of the leading selling over the counter medications.

Johnson & Johnson's public relations campaign immediately followed the discovery that the deaths in Chicago were caused by Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. Johnson & Johnson's management immediately alerted consumers across the nation, through news media, not to consume any Tylenol products until the extent of the tampering was determined. Johnson & Johnson, along with stopping the production and advertising of Tylenol, recalled over 31 million bottles of Tylenol, with a value of more than 100 million dollars. By taking responsibility, solving the problem, and warning the public, Johnson & Johnson regained public confidence quickly.

MARTA's PR Response to the Crime Problem
Compare this to the Atlanta MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority), which takes little responsibilty and shows little response to customer safety issues. In the knife slashing incident related above, the train operator and the MARTA police did not respond or even acknowledge the violent attack on the train.

The Marta Police Crime Stats for 2005 show 65 robberies, 46 aggravated assaults and 1 rape. The highest number of crimes are related to larceny(332) and auto theft(119).

The MARTA police and MARTA employees are rarely seen on the trains or in the stations along the north-south routes. Instead MARTA places helpful posters on all trains encouraging passengers to "move away from the source of trouble" and call MARTA police, who are practically invisible in the trains or stations.

I have witnessed vagrants soliciting money from MARTA passengers and even stealing hundreds of tokens from subway turnstiles. Reporting these crimes resulted in a casual and indifferent response from the MARTA police. MARTA's indifference to the safety of transit commuters may lead to an increasing boldness among violent criminals. The MARTA crime statistics show a high incidence of assault in 2005 and even 1 murder in the 2004 crime rates.

The MARTA approach to passenger safety has left the riding public feeling fear on MARTA trains. This is a striking example of how not to handle public relations related to a safety issue. MARTA has taken little responsibility for transit crime and the predictable result has been that MARTA now has a huge reputation for violent crime among residents, business travelers and tourists who visit Atlanta.

Have you witnessed or experienced crime on public transit? Post your story in comments.