Ahead of holiday shopping season, police seek to reassure public about safety on CTA
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police and the Chicago Transit Authority hope to reassure passengers about the safety of the system ahead of the holidays.
Officers gathered at the Clark/Lake 'L' station downtown Tuesday morning for a roll call, at which Chicago Police Public Transportation Cmdr. Joe Bird gave the officers credit for crime being down on the CTA.
Police are handing out tips to riders to remind them to keep their purses and backpacks closed and secure. They are also asking people to report anything suspicious immediately, so as to make it easier to catch incidents on camera.
"Stores will open earlier. They'll stay open later. We'll have officers at those stations downtown," Bird said. "But we have city officers assigned all over the city on public transportation."
Bird said Chicago has seen violent crime on the CTA drop for three straight months now. Police and the CTA credit K-9 units that have been added.
About 85 percent of those dogs are already on patrol.
The CTA expects the K9 units to be at full strength by Christmas.