Police, CTA Officers Supply Riders Security Ideas Forward of Vacation Purchasing Season | Chicago Information

This file photograph reveals a southbound CTA Pink Line prepare in Chicago. (WTTW Information)

With Black Friday coming subsequent week and the vacation purchasing season approaching, Chicago police and transit officers are providing suggestions to assist maintain bus and prepare riders protected whereas they store.

The Chicago Police Division’s public transportation part held a public roll name Tuesday morning on the Clark & Lake CTA station to spotlight an elevated safety presence alongside transit routes throughout town.

“We’re making an attempt to extend our visibility and presence on mass transit,” CPD Public Transportation Part Commander Joe Chicken mentioned. “We wish to let the riders know that through the vacation season because the ridership will increase, that we’re out right here to serve and defend them.”

Security suggestions supplied by the CPD embody: being conscious of your environment, securing wallets and telephones in zipped pockets, retaining purchasing luggage near you and retaining headphone quantity low sufficient to listen to what’s taking place close by.

Riders have expressed increased concern about transit security as violent crime spiked along CTA lines this 12 months, with a number of high-profile shootings and robberies on trains.

In March, police officials began reassigning officers to serve on patrol groups alongside Pink and Blue prepare traces, in addition to different prepare and bus routes, whereas the CTA’s Board of Administrators authorized a $71 million proposal for unarmed safety guards to patrol transit traces.

The CPD made additional efforts to boost security in August, after a 29-year-old man was fatally shot on a Pink Line prepare in Chatham. Since then, the division says it has seen double-digit declines in violent crime, month-to-month, in September, October and thru the primary two weeks of November alongside the CTA, in comparison with the identical occasions final 12 months.

“We wish to have an awesome vacation season, there’s a ton of actions occurring within the metropolis,” Chicken mentioned. “We’re out right here to serve and defend. We’re gonna be on the platforms, we’re gonna be within the stations and we simply wish to be sure it’s an awesome season for everyone.”

Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431