Achi news desk-
Violent assaults on the Calgary thoroughfare came to light last year but recently there seems to be a promising change in the trend.
Overall last year, violent crime while in transit was up 15 percent compared to the previous year, according to Calgary Police Service data obtained by CTV News.
The start of 2023 was particularly violent, including a shooting on a city bus and a stabbing on CTrain platforms, but the start of 2024 saw a 38 percent drop in violent transit crime compared to the same period last year.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” said Scott Boyd, south region patrol superintendent with the Calgary Police Service.
Between January and March 2024, there were 55 attacks on Calgary transit, including a random attack on a young person from Calgary.
Jacob Giraldo Mejia’s facial swelling has almost disappeared a month after he was punched by a stranger while getting off a city bus in the city, but the 17-year-old still remembers those first days after the March attack 16.
“Pretty, pretty bad. At first I could only drink soup from a straw,” he said.
He needed surgery on his jaw and has had to miss school since then.
The man accused of attacking Giraldo Mejia was “known to the police”.
Along with violent crime, Calgary police say calls for service, property crimes, theft and drug-related crimes in transit are also down significantly compared to this time last year.
Tends down
The number of attacks on city transport is down from last year when there were 71 between January and March 2023.
“Violent crime is the part that often hits people the hardest, right? It’s a big violation of their personal space, and at times it seems so random,” said Supt. Boyd.
The latest drop may be related to security changes.
“We’ve spread the officers throughout the city, to the northeast area, and the downtown area and the southwest area,” said Marcia Gonder, deputy chief of security with Calgary Transit.
In January, Calgary Transit went from one to three district hubs and 65 more transit officers patrolling the system.
“We are seeing a 21 percent reduction in social disorder and a 64 percent reduction in the number of people sheltering at stations,” Gondek said.
“I think Calgarians are seeing more of our officers out there and seeing the collaboration with our law enforcement officers.”
“They have increased security on the train so for me, I feel safer now,” said transport user Syed Rasul.
There are also 25 more police officers with an eye on traffic.
“We’ve asked them to take a proactive approach to targeting what we call high system users,” Boyd said.
New groups called SMART (Social Mental Health and Addiction Referral Team) and the “Action Table” are partnering with other agencies to provide rapid access to services and support for those at risk of crisis.
Giraldo Mejia is optimistic about the new measures meant to stop violence.
“For me, it’s been a drastic change so I hope it doesn’t happen to so many people,” Giraldo Mejia said.
He is preparing to return to school and go back to eating solid food.
He was worried that missing an entire month of his senior year might put his education on hold, but he now thinks he could graduate this spring as planned.
