Safety & Security

CTA crime continues downward trend in September

Oct. 12, 2023

Overall transit crime is down 12 percent year to date, as well as a 12 percent drop compared to September 2022 and violent crime is down nine percent year to date.

Related To: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)

Crime in September on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) continued a downward trend in 2023.

According to statistics released last week by the Chicago Police Department (CPD), which provides law enforcement across the CTA system, crimes decreased across the board during the month of September:

Overall transit crime is down 12 percent year to date, as well as a 12 percent drop compared to September 2022.
Violent crime on the CTA, while up 11 percent month to date (September 2023 vs September 2022), is down nine percent year to date.

“Ensuring CTA employees’ and our riders’ safety is my top priority. When a crime occurs on the system, we work closely to assist police in their investigation, including reviewing and providing any relevant security footage,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “Whenever a CTA employee is assaulted while discharging his or her duties, the CTA works closely with law enforcement to ensure that felony upgrades are aggressively pursued against the offender.”

CTA supplements CPD’s efforts with its extensive network of more than 33,000 security-cameras and with hundreds of personnel deployed across the system each day, around the clock, and who are trained and acutely focused on customer comfort and safety.

CTA also augments CPD efforts with contracted security guards and K-9 units, who focus on addressing issues like customer behavior and fare evasion, to prevent them from leading to other potentially illicit activities.