What Canada can learn from the U.S. to tackle transit violence – National | 24CA News
As Canadian cities search for methods to fight violence on public transit, specialists say methods south of the border that mix legislation enforcement, social helps and neighborhood engagement may supply new options.
Violence on transit has captured nationwide consideration in latest weeks _ a 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed on a Vancouver-area bus final week, a person had life-threatening accidents after his throat was slashed on a Surrey, B.C., bus earlier this month, and a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to dying in an unprovoked assault at a Toronto subway station in March.
Those high-profile instances have been amongst many different situations of aggression on transit in a number of cities. Transit businesses and police have been working to grasp what’s driving the violence, with some pointing to the pandemic as an element.
Experts say some American cities have taken a multi-pronged method to violence on transit, addressing points like housing, psychological well being and substance abuse in parallel with safety points as they work to make subways, buses and stations safer.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which serves the town of Philadelphia and surrounding areas has drawn specific curiosity.
Its SCOPE program _ which stands for security, cleansing, possession, partnership and engagement _ connects weak residents with social providers and goals to maintain the transit system protected and clear for many who use it. It includes police and social staff but additionally options partnerships with artwork packages and a pilot undertaking that sees medical college students assist present well being sources.
“The SCOPE program in Philadelphia has been looked upon with great interest in the transit sector right now because the agencies are looking for a bit of a North Star,” stated David Cooper, founding father of Toronto-based transit planning agency Leading Mobility.
“The SEPTA SCOPE program is probably one of the ones where they’ve had the most number of tools deployed.”
SCOPE workers supply a collection of outreach providers to weak folks on transit but when these are refused, the individual just isn’t given the choice to linger within the system, Cooper stated.
“They’re informed they have to leave the station and there’s a lot of complexity with that,” stated Cooper, who has held transit planning and coverage roles in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.
Social points together with housing and psychological well being converged on public transit in recent times as a result of that was one of many few public areas that remained open through the COVID-19 pandemic, stated Cooper.
Transit businesses responded with approaches that pair security officers with outreach staff however the problem is these efforts require constructing belief to essentially be efficient, Cooper stated.
“When it comes to these complexities, transit operators or transit systems are responsible for moving people,” he stated. “They don’t have the skill sets when it comes to mental health, addictions and housing.”
Philadelphia’s transit system additionally runs a program referred to as SAVE _ which stands for saving a weak entity. It sees police and social staff pair up on the transit system however focuses extra on engagement and relationship-building over enforcement, stated Jerry Ratcliffe, a prison justice professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Early observations present weak populations on transit usually tend to settle for help providers if they’ve an present relationship with an authority determine, stated Ratcliffe, who’s finding out this system.
“The combined work of the police officer and the social workers is very good. A lot of the time the social workers are pleased to have the police officer there, not just for their safety but because for the transit authorities the goal continues to be trying to create a safe and welcoming environment for customers,” he stated.
“It’s still useful for the public to see that there are police officers around and they’re engaging with people to try and help them get into treatment and shelter.”
Efforts by the transit system in Los Angeles have additionally drawn consideration.
Toronto-based Cooper, who has been finding out the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, stated the company reimagined one in all its busiest stations to enhance public security after the hub skilled many drug overdoses and calls to police.
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The modifications included working with neighbourhood, metropolis and county companions to rework a plaza outdoors the station right into a neighborhood area that hosts native entrepreneurs and occasions, including lighting and safety cameras, putting in a kiosk to help prospects and having extra security ambassadors and homeless outreach groups on the bottom.
“What they’re doing in L.A. is they identified an inventory of all the different components of what’s happening at the station,” Cooper stated.
What’s lacking from the Canadian response, Cooper stated, is working funding to fill transit finances shortfalls popping out of the pandemic. Those funds may come from federal and provincial governments, he stated.
Service cuts and smaller investments in transit may result in a “death spiral” for the techniques, he stated, making transit much less enticing, which may see ridership drop and alternative for crime rise.
There additionally must be better collaboration and data-sharing between transit businesses, police, metropolis departments and different businesses, he stated.
“How we actually determine a program and effectiveness is very challenging right now because we have all these different data sources at different points,” Cooper stated. “We need to actually get a full picture of what’s going on.”
