Crime rates on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) trains have dropped in 2023, yet they're still hovering above the numbers from the pre-pandemic era, according to a detailed analysis by the Chicago Tribune. Violent crimes on the "L" showed a significant drop from 6.2 crimes per million rides in the previous year to about 4.7 through November 2023. Yet it’s worth noting that before the pandemic, this rate never exceeded 2.5 per million rides.
In contrast, CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. highlighted that the agency is progressively getting safer. "I'm encouraged that the downward trends in crime we've seen have continued through the summer, at a time when ridership has reached the highest levels since the start of the pandemic," Carter told the CTA. Nonviolent crimes have followed the trend, dipping to 4.3 crimes per million riders, representing the lowest level since 2015. The statistics come from a scrutiny of police reports, covering serious index crimes like robbery, pickpocketing and sexual assault.
Despite the overall decline, specific stations such as Roosevelt, Grand, Jackson, Sox-35th, and 95th/Dan Ryan, continue to see higher incidences of violence. Police are well-acquainted with these transit hubs, according to Cmdr. Joe Bird of the Chicago Police Department's public transportation section.
The Tribune's investigation also unveiled that with a rise in ridership this year, the actual number of violent incidents decreased. The CTA and Chicago police have ramped up their security efforts, deploying more officers, unarmed security guards, and K-9 teams to the train system, doubling down on a commitment that led the CTA to project over $63.9 million on security services this year alone, as "our officers work across all watches throughout the transit system to strengthen safety for those utilizing the CTA," Bird elucidated. Adding to the complex tapestry of urban transit, 300 unarmed private security guards and 50 K-9 units also patrol the system under CTA contracts.
Both the CTA and community members are seeking innovative ways to sustain this movement towards greater security. Members of the CTA Citizens Advisory Board have expressed a desire for real-time communication channels for reporting crimes or other emergencies.
