CHICAGO — The rate of violent crime on CTA trains began to drop this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic emptied public transit of many riders, but it remains near the highest levels seen in the past decade — and more than twice as high as the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, the arrest rate for violent crimes on the el fell to its lowest level in at least a decade, a Tribune analysis of Chicago police data shows.
Chicago police and CTA officials have repeatedly announced they were adding extra officers, unarmed security guards or K-9 teams to the public transit system this year. But concerns about crime that have persisted through much of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the low arrest rate, pose continued challenges for a public transit system still looking to draw back riders and city residents who rely on it.
