2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries

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October 1991 URBAN TRANSPORTATION SECURITY By Robert W. Dart Commander Gang Crimes Section Chicago Police Department Urban transit systems are the very lifeblood of metropolitan areas. They preserve our cities as vital commercial centers. Their lines carry citizens to and from their places of work, as well as to educational, recreational, and cultural facilities. Unfortunately, however, many citizens perceive that their personal safety is endangered on urban transit systems because they believe that dangerous levels of crime exist in subways. For many riders, descending into the noisy, disorienting subterranean world of rapid transit increases their fear of crime. Also contributing to the false perception of danger is the reaction of the media to incidents that occur on subways. Even though only about 5 percent of Chicago's total crime occurs on the Chicago Transit System, the media tend to publicize these crimes, while seeming to ignore these same types of crime when they occur on the streets. This action only serves to reinforce the belief that subway transit is unsafe. Because citizens believe this to be true, and because citizen perception of security affects volume and revenue, (1) officers who police these systems must now incorporate into their normal duties the critical task of changing citizen apprehension about using a subway transit system. Riders must not only be safe; they must also feel safe. Using the Chicago Transit System as a case study, this article discusses possible strategies that departments can use to reduce crime on urban transportation systems, thereby changing citizen perception. THE PROBLEM The Chicago Transit System (CTA) operates over 1,000 cars that transport approximately one-half million persons daily. It has over 140 stations and over 200 miles of track that are policed by the Public Transportation Section of the Chicago Police Department. Future plans for the CTA call for an additional 9.2-mile stretch of line to connect the existing loop to Midway Airport. However, since local citizens and tourists arriving at the airport will not use a system they believe to be unsafe, the City of Chicago was confronted with the dilemma of how to police the city's public transportation system more effectively. THE PROGRAM To begin, officials reviewed the nature and scope of crimes committed on the transportation system. Their goals were to find possible solutions to these crime problems, and at the same time, change the public's belief that subways were unsafe. However, reducing the rate of crime required an organized effort--a bandaid approach would not be effective. It was necessary to reorganize totally in order to establish a program with new goals and direction. Officials wanted to make a clear commitment to the safety of the ridership. Areas Addressed Personnel A primary consideration in the reorganization was how to deploy personnel efficiently. Based on studied needs, transit personnel are divided among three watches. The first shift (midnights) receives 23 percent of the personnel, the second shift (days) receives 34 percent of the personnel, and the third shift (afternoons) receives 43 percent of the personnel. In addition to patrol personnel, each 8-hour shift includes a canine unit, a tactical unit, and a crime assault team (CAT). These special units are deployed to any problem areas that need their specific skills. Patrol squads Because it was not effective to assign police officers to a designated stretch of track during periods of low crime or low ridership, the squad concept was born. This concept is designed around first-line supervisors (sergeants), who deploy all or part of their teams to high-crime platforms during certain times and then to other platforms during peak ridership. This enhances the citizen perception of safety by increasing the presence of uniformed police officers. At any given time, the transportation section has as many as 10 squads assigned to different areas of the transit system. A typical squad consists of four to six uniformed officers, two plainclothes officers, and two canine officers, who are separate from the canine units. Although users of transit systems commonly believe that plainclothes officers combat crime most effectively, riders are not at ease unless they also see uniformed officers. And, because both plainclothes and uniformed officers can make arrests, officials are able to achieve a balance of visibility and productivity. Canine units Canine units are also used to police the transit system. The dogs, which are donated by citizens, are given 8 weeks of intensive training in aggression, protection of their handlers, and moving safely among crowds. Canine units not only give transit users a greater sense of safety but they also reinforce positive public relations. Riders look forward to seeing their dogs and seem to take a personal interest in them. Tactical units Tactical units, which have the flexibility to be deployed to any situation or crime pattern, play an integral part in the effort to reduce the crime rate. These plainclothes officers can move freely through the system without arousing the suspicions of potential offenders. They observe all transit criminal activity for patterns, such as time of day, day of week, and modus operandi. Personnel in the unit then devise a plan to address specific crime problems. For example, thieves and pickpockets are a major problem on transit systems. Most of them ply their trade during rush-hours and during lunch times, when the subways are crowded. However, because CTA tactical units target these thieves, the problem has been greatly reduced. Crime assault teams The crime assault teams consist of experienced police officers who exhibit a high degree of self-discipline and are team players. They pose as ordinary transit users and wait for criminals to take advantage of their apparent vulnerability. In order to avoid a charge of entrapment, these officers react only when they have been victimized. During the trials of these criminals, the victim/officer testifies as the complainant, and a crime assault team member testifies as the arresting officer. These two factors contribute to an extrodinarily high conviction rate in these cases. Ordinance enforcement team Another major problem the CTA experienced was unlicensed vendors. Prior to the new program, these illegal vendors were issued ordinance complaint forms or citations similar to traffic citations. However, because this method of enforcement provided no assurance that offenders would appear in court to answer the charge, it failed to serve as a deterrent. For this reason, illegal vendors are now arrested by members of ordinance enforcement teams, whose primary role is to ensure that vendors comply with city ordinances. This approach has reduced the number of vendors on the platforms, allowing passengers to move freely and safely in the subway areas. Assigning Personnel Watch commanders use three methods to assign personnel, including Operation Impact, Operation Vacuum, and Operation Saturation. Commanders who use Operation Impact assign their officers based on ridership traffic patterns. Officers are assigned to stations that handle large numbers of riders, while those stations with fewer riders are monitored by moving police patrols. Criminals tend to explore transit systems for areas where there is no police presence. Operation Vacuum enables watch commanders to withdraw uniformed officers from a specific station and deploy them to another area. The ostensibly vacant station can then become the focal point of a tactical team. When officials want to convey the impression that police are everywhere, such as during rush-hour at busy stations, they use Operation Saturation. This operation, which may last either all or part of a shift, involves saturating particular lines with uniformed officers. It is an effective way to both deter criminals and build citizen confidence in the CTA's policing methods by conveying the impression that officers are everywhere. CONCLUSION Mass transit systems are an integral part of large cities, and as these cities expand in both population and size, the importance of this mode of transportation will also increase. However, if citizens refuse to use subways because they believe that they are unsafe, the full potential of the systems will never be realized. For this reason, officials must begin to look at ways to reduce crime on rapid transit systems, which will also help to change citizen perception. The initiatives put into operation by the Chicago Mass Transit System are examples of how a concerted effort to reduce crime can work. During the first year of the program, there was a 40-percent reduction in reported serious crime, and the crime rate continues to decline. The plan has been a resounding success, with ridership on the rise again. The Chicago subway is finally becoming a safe--and popular--mode of transportation. FOOTNOTE (1) "Policing Urban Mass Transit Systems," U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, 1977.