Calgary Transit use up, crime down in 2008

City officials say new crime figures show that taking Calgary Transit is a safe way to travel.

Statistics released by the city Thursday show that ridership was up 5.6 per cent from 2007 to 2008.

Transit security officers were dispatched to 17 per cent more calls, but the rate of crimes per rider dropped from a peak of 2.95 crimes per million riders in 2007 to 2.02 crimes per million in 2008.

Crimes involving violence, such as assaults, were down from 266 offences to 193 offences.

City officials are attributing the drop to new safety and security measures across the transit system, including improved surveillance technology, a closer relationship with police, and the hiring of 44 transit security officers.

"I certainly do think that the visible presence of Calgary Transit employees, particularly peace officers, has played a contributory role," Brian Whitelaw, the head of public safety and enforcement for Calgary Transit, said on Thursday.

Better security measures, such as those included in a new downtown platform at the 7th Street S.W. station scheduled to open on Friday morning, are also helping, said Whitelaw.

"So for example, [at] that location, the lighting has been increased, there's a … more open feeling to it [and] natural lines of surveillance exists," he said.

But Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart said statistics don't always tell the real story.

"I am not convinced that all the crime that happens on the Calgary Transit system gets reported," she said.

A recent audit of Calgary's transit system concluded that it's a very safe system, but recommended tripling the number of transit security officers. The 130-page report, which was written by a consulting company, canvassed passengers, looked at crime statistics and examined spending on transit safety.

Ninety-three per cent of respondents said they felt safe using Calgary Transit during the day, but that confidence plummeted to 38 per cent among users at night, according to the study.

City council approved the audit about a week after Arcelie Laogan, 41, was found slain in January 2008 near the Franklin LRT station. She had left work and was heading home. A 22-year-old man is awaiting trial for first-degree murder.