Overview
- The Cook County Sheriff’s Office began daily patrols on CTA trains on March 27 and has deployed about 50 deputies per 12-hour shift to collect on-the-ground data and enforce rules.
- Officials report measurable enforcement results: roughly 225 arrests, 1,500 warnings, 23 weapons recovered, 10 missing people located, and multiple sex-offender arrests tied to the patrols.
- CTA data cited by Sheriff Tom Dart show large drops where deputies have worked, including a reported 77 percent fall in violent crime on the Red Line and steep declines in fare evasion on targeted segments.
- The patrols pair law enforcement with social-service outreach, connecting more than 115 people with behavioral-health help and assisting over 100 unhoused riders while testing responses to mental-health and substance-use incidents.
- Costs and long-term structure remain unresolved: the sheriff’s office spent about $3.1 million through June 22, the FTA pressed for a stronger CTA safety plan, and the NITA task force has six months to recommend whether to create a unified transit police force or other models such as unarmed transit ambassadors.