The number of safety incidents involving passengers along Toronto’s transit system dropped in February, after additional security, including additional police officers were deployed, a new report suggests.
The report, released by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in April, says the number of total offences involving customers dropped from 136 in January to 111 in February.
According to the report, the number of offences against customers was 2.15 per one million boardings for February, marking a decrease from 2.72 per one million boardings recorded in January.
According to the report, the number of assaults and theft incidents also decreased in February.
“Other incidents — which include mischief and harassment, among other items — decreased in February,” the report read. “Further, offences against customers per day decreased from January to February.”
The report also suggests the total number of offences against employees dropped from January to February from 103 to 99, respectively.
According to the report, the number of offences against employees decreased to 8.27 offences per 100 employees in February from 8.69 per 100 employees in January.
The TTC said the number of threats and other incidents also decreased, including mischief, harassment and theft.
“Concurrently, offences against employees per day have decreased by four per cent in February compared to January,” the report read.
The drop in offences occurred the same month an additional 80 Toronto police (TPS) officers were deployed to the system after a series of violent incidents.
In March, the TPS announced it would be modifying its deployment to the TTC, saying it would no longer be utilizing call back officers on overtime.
According to police, the force has returned to “primarily deploying on-duty officers in the transit system and incorporating those proactive patrols within regular operational work.”
In a news release in March, the TPS said officers had provided more than 220 referrals for people needing help accessing assistance including shelter, food or mental health services.
The force said officers also made more than 314 arrests, including an arrest and firearm seizure at Toronto’s Pioneer Village Subway Station. Another person was arrested after an unprovoked attack on a Spadina streetcar, police said.
However, the violent incidents along the TTC have persisted, including the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto subway station last month.
In a statement in the report, TTC CEO Rick Leary said the “safety of customers and employees is paramount to everything we do at the TTC.”
“We remain committed to working with the City of Toronto, the police, our union partners as well as our frontline employees and customers on ways that we can make the TTC as safe as possible,” Leary said.
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