|
Group leaders recently announced the launch of a joint-safety
task force that will see members riding the system in hopes of
preventing crime before it happens.
“I assembled a group of faith-based leaders and community
members to join forces with Violence Interrupters so that we can
begin to design more strategies on helping keep passengers
safe,” Hardiman told TSC. “You have a lot of homeless people on
the trains, a lot of people that are suffering from slight
mental illness and then you have people that are high on drugs
and a few that are a little bit more disorderly. The task force
was assembled like a one-stop shop type strategy to get the
people the help they need.”
Hardiman said members will ride trains at least twice a week
during so-called hot-spot hours where crime and trouble are
known to be high. Interrupters will also provide outreach
services, while faith-based leaders will promote peace,
distribute public safety tips and public health materials.
“We're not in competition with the police or the K9 unit,” he
said. “We would like to complement their work by providing
community outreach services to work in areas with high-risk
individuals.”
The movement comes together as overall violent crime on the
system hit its second-highest level since 2014 last year as
arrest rates dropped, prompting federal officials to threaten
cuts to city funding short of improvements.
Among the more high-profile CTA crimes over the last year, a
woman was set on fire while riding a Loop train, a man was
stabbed to death while sleeping on the Blue Line and a woman in
a wheelchair was sexually assaulted on CTA property.
With all of his Interrupters being volunteers, Hardiman said he
plans to submit a formal proposal for the agency’s Safe Ride
Specialist pilot program by its Monday deadline. Requiring
partnerships with other organizations, the program will train
people to support and engage unhoused riders experiencing a
mental health crisis across the system.
|
|
