(The Center Square) – With the number of crimes being committed at Chicago Transit Authority stations now sharply on the rise, Violence Interrupters Executive Director Tio Hardiman is demanding top city officials do more to keep riders safe.
New data show that through September of this year, more than 1,300 offenses were reported, representing the most crimes perpetrated across the system since the onset of the pandemic. With Green Line and Red Line riders being among those most likely to be victimized and battery being the most common offense, statistics show about 1.3 out of every 100,000 rides across the system ended with a crime being committed.
“The majority of crimes that take place on the CTA train system could have been prevented,” Hardiman told The Center Square. “On behalf of Violence Interrupters, I’ve offered my assistance to CTA. My Violence Interrupters have relationships with some of the high-risk young people that ride those trains looking to commit crimes and a few times we were able to talk young guys down from trying to rob and hurt people. We know how to detect potentially violent situations before they become violent. You have other organizations doing good work as well.”
Researchers note the Green Line stop in the heart of Englewood at 63rd and Ashland is home to the highest crime rate between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024, at about 1.9 out of every 100,000 rides. Overall, about 1.3 out of every 100,000 rides across the system ended with a crime being committed, with battery being the most common offense and Green Line riders being among those most likely to be victimized.
Hardiman said that it should come as no great surprise to anyone that some of the most rampant crime is taking place in neighborhoods like Englewood and the West Chatham area.
“It’s the same when it comes to gun violence,” he said. “In Englewood, it comes in like No. 2, so a lot of the crime is taking place in like the Chatham area, Greater Grand Crossing area. Those trains ride through those areas.”
Hardiman further argued that allowing more organizations like Violence Interrupters to figure into what comes to be the solution could easily prove to be a win-win for the city.
“We can implement a pilot program on the Green Line or the Red Line and take a look at the numbers and mediate a lot of the conflicts that take place on those trains,” he said. “We could also have support organizations with us where we can offer help to those young guys. A person may want to join a jobs program, alternative school system or find some type of job training initiative to get them off the trains committing crimes because we’ll work with them on a regular basis, changing the way they think about victimizing people.”
With research from the Manhattan Institute showing that police slow, prevent or uncover more serious crimes by taking all routine precautions, about 45% of all crimes reported ended in arrest, marking the second-highest rate in the past decade.
