CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Chicago Transit Authority is taking a new approach to fighting crime.
The goal is to have about 300 unarmed security guards on trains, buses and platforms, with training in de-escalation and conflict resolution. Some are already on the job.
Tio Hardiman and his Violence Interrupters, are going to be riding trains, attempting to prevent incidents. But, police have some concerns about private citizens taking matters into their own hands. They don't want to see people acting as vigilantes.
Police Superintendent David Brown said earlier this week, there's more of a police presence, too.
"We did it in a way that's strategic…we scaled resources to the hot spots where data shows us crime is more prevalent on the CTA," Brown said.
These efforts come as crime on the transit system, according to an analysis by CBS 2, is up 40% this year over the same period last year.
Some people are afraid.
"Whatever they're doing, the CTA, is not working. The "L", until they have police down there or some semblance, I'm not going to go down there," one woman told CBS 2.
The number of crimes on the system was at about 300 at this point last year, according to CBS 2. This year there have been more than 400, which includes homicides, sexual assaults, robbery, and theft.
