Lack of data on transit violence amounts to 'blanket of ignorance': Researcher
Lack of data on transit violence amounts to 'blanket of ignorance': Researcher
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
Prof. Murtaza Haider, director of research at the Urban Analytics Institute of Toronto Metropolitan University, said the public should have easy access to such information.
Haider collected data on all violent incidents from the Toronto Police Service between January 2014 and June 2022 and said his recent analysis showed 7,306 incidents were reported on the city's transit system during that time.
He noted a sharp spike in violent crime, mostly at stations, which are operated by the Toronto Transit Commission.
In February 2021, nearly 12 violent incidents were reported per one million riders, compared with two incidents for the same number of riders in 2019, Haider said.
"My concern is that I don't even see transit authorities reporting such data regularly," he said, extending that concern to public transit agencies across the country.
Data is one way that transit agencies and experts are trying to come up with solutions to violence that has reached "crisis levels," according to comments by the head of the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada in January.
The TTC has recently been forwarding its data to the City of Toronto, a spokesman said.
Some transit agencies report crime data in ways that are not understandable to the public so they should be available in a standardized format, Haider said, noting the Edmonton Transit System has also experienced violent crime.
In January, the head of the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada called for a national task force that should consider whether increased mental health funding, better housing supports and greater police presence could help prevent violence on transit systems across the country. John Di Nino said it must include transit agencies and all levels of government.
For example, police in Edmonton have reported 35 violent occurrences on transit property as well as nine weapon-related reports since the beginning of 2023.
"In our case, in Toronto, (it's a murder case), which is quite shocking," Haider said of a teenager's death on the TTC last weekend. A 22-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder.
"If this trust in the transit system erodes, we remain under a blanket of ignorance as to what is happening, how quickly the transit systems are responding to such catastrophic events and what have they done to (prevent) them," Haider said.
He questioned the TTC's strategy of sending its inspectors aboard streetcars to check for fare evaders when he sees a greater need for more police and security personnel.
Inspectors were reassigned to customer service for part of the pandemic and resumed fare checking on streetcars a year ago, the TTC said.
Josipa Petrunic is president of the non-profit Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), which aims to reduce emissions on transit and violence against women who use those systems. She said standardized data about incidents on transit could help predict where assaults are likely to happen.
"Once we start seeing some trend lines and clusters of what's happening in our cities, where it's happening, at what time of day, we can start to identify some of the correlations. And we can turn all of that tech mapping into real-time predictions to help our police officers and our safety officers and our social workers figure out where an attack might happen," Petrunic said.
Predictions could be made from data on Twitter and other social media feeds used by transit agencies as well as information from text messaging services offered to riders to report safety issues, and artificial intelligence, she said.
"Heading into the pandemic, a lot of our transit systems already had safety issues, so now we're layering all of these social ills on top of systems that were underinvested in."
The consortium's membership includes 30 universities and colleges, including the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia, as well as transit agencies across the country such as the TTC in Toronto and others in Halifax, Metro Vancouver and Brampton.
Petrunic said it's time to stop seeing violent incidents on transit as entirely unavoidable and start taking social health and wellness more seriously.
TransLink, the transit agency in 22 jurisdictions in Metro Vancouver, said its safety measures include silent alarms and intercoms on trains as well as emergency phones on platforms. A text messaging system connects passengers with Transit Police, the only such dedicated service in the country.
Const. Amanda Steed, who speaks for the transit police agency, said 24 "safety officers" trained in mental health will be hired by next year as part of a new program that will provide an extra layer of public safety on trains and at stations. Half of the employees are expected to be working by this fall.
"They're going to be another uniform that passengers should expect to see on the system," Steed said.
The TTC said it also offers a text messaging service and the SafeTTC app for passengers to report problems to its control centre.
However, TTC subway commuters do not have consistent cellphone, internet or 911 service throughout the system. The agency says the best way to send an alert in case of emergency is to activate a yellow strip on a subway car. It says free ad-supported Wi-Fi is available at stations.
The City of Toronto is also hiring more outreach workers by May to offer shelter beds and mental health supports to unhoused people who may be sleeping at TTC stations.
Jon MacMull of the Canadian Urban Transit Association said a task force of representatives from transit agencies across the country has been established to come up with recommendations within the next few months to address safety concerns.
Part of the process will involve an effort to understand some social issues that have resulted in violence on transit.
"There is a strong sense of urgency," MacMull said. "That is an issue that Canadians across the country are facing, from major cities to smaller communities."
----------
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association.
Texas' Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes.
An attorney for an 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help said Thursday there was 'no way' the boy could have been mistaken for an adult.
Killer whales severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of southern Spain, the local maritime rescue service said on Thursday, adding to dozens of orca attacks on vessels recorded so far this year on Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
It is a world wrapped in mystery - the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, seen up close just once nearly four decades ago by a passing NASA probe and still warily guarding its secrets.
Mexican authorities say they've made an arrest in the killing of a Quebec man earlier this month in the Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido. The Oaxaca state attorney general says in a statement issued Friday that an arrest warrant was executed for a man in Puerto Escondido identified only by his initials in connection with the homicide of Victor Masson.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars.
W5 Producer Shelley Ayres explains how she was in awe to meet what the Guinness Book of World Record's has named the World's Tallest Teenager, a 17-year-old from Quebec who plays for Team Canada.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
Gordie Sampson has written hit songs for some of the biggest names in country music, including Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. CTV W5 speaks with the Grammy winner from small-town Nova Scotia about his creative process.
A CTV W5 investigation reveals that a critical shortage of volunteer firefighters in this country is having a potentially deadly impact, especially in rural Canada.
Sandie Rinaldo tells the story of the largest Black military unit in Canadian history, whose members had to fight to serve for Canada in the First World War as they faced rampant racism at home.
CTV W5 examines the toxic culture of Canadian gymnastics, and speaks with former gymnasts who are part of a growing number of voices denouncing the treatment of gymnasts by coaches, trainers and administrators.
Advocates are hoping the Ontario government will consider alternatives to the use of wild animals in off-leash dog areas for the purpose of tracking as officials push forward with a proposal to expand training areas in the province.
The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association says hotels in the area are near capacity this weekend, as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, the Ottawa Redblacks exhibition game, the Great Glebe Garage Sale and other events attract people to Ottawa.
Health Canada has issued a warning about unauthorized amoxicillin capsules seized from a Vanier grocery store, saying the product may pose serious health risks to users.
Ontario Provincial Police arrested a fourth suspect in connection to the alleged kidnapping of Elnaz Hajtamiri, the Ontario woman who disappeared in January 2022.
Several people have been hospitalized with smoke inhalation after trying to save multiple animals from a fire at a cat shelter on Shanty Bay Road in Oro-Medonte.
A devastating collision end the lives of three young adults, a Windsor dad said he’s frustrated his 12-year-old son has been charged with assault, and a teenager was arrested for allegedly bringing a gun to school.
The family of a 10-year-old girl who was hit by a car almost two weeks ago is appealing drivers and pedestrians to be more careful on Montreal’s roads. Kyaa Guinto is still in a coma at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. “She’s slowly come out of the induced coma, she’s moving her hands, she was able to squeeze our hands, and we’re waiting patiently,” said her mother, Stephanie Ledesma.
Quebecers are used to congestion headaches on Highway 40, but Saturday’s hold-up was nothing if not out of the ordinary: a horse broke free from its transport container and ran free in the fast lane. Marco Lelievre, a trucker, stopped his vehicle while driving through Repentigny, Que. after he saw the runaway horse.
Who is Diandra D'Alessio? She's a Montrealer, a technical writer, a history lover -- and she's last night's Jeopardy winner. The self-proclaimed trivia buff made it out on top with $3,299 under her belt.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
The rookie quarterback recorded a pair of touchdown runs, including a late game-winning 46-yard sprint into the end zone, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers survived a comeback bid to open up CFL pre-season play with a 25-23 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday afternoon.
The owner of a cake shop in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood braced for the worst when she found her store had been broken into Friday morning. But what she found captured by a security camera was a break-in beyond her wildest imagination.
Deborah Stefanek's doctor recommended she take a new medication called Kisempta to treat her relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. She was shocked to learn every province in Canada covers Kisempta under their Pharmacare plans except B.C.
As more people are heading out to enjoy the city’s wilderness areas, North Vancouver RCMP issued water safety tips for those spending time at the North Shore’s rivers and lakes.
Almost a year before the closure of 24 Sussex Drive due to disrepair and an infestation of rodents, the chairman of the National Capital Commission's board of directors warned that further delaying a cabinet decision on the fate of the residence would put the whole structure at risk.
With just four weeks left until the House of Commons breaks for the summer, the weekly panel of political strategists on CTV's Question Period says it's likely time for the prime minister to shuffle his cabinet.
MPs have reissued an invitation for special rapporteur David Johnston to testify before a parliamentary committee studying foreign interference, by June 6.
Allergies in both children and adults have definitely been on the rise over the last several years, much of the rise in allergies and asthma 'can be directly linked to climate change,' experts say.
It is a world wrapped in mystery - the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, seen up close just once nearly four decades ago by a passing NASA probe and still warily guarding its secrets.
Egypt unearthed human and animal mummification workshops as well as two tombs in the ancient burial ground of Saqqara, officials said on Saturday, marking the latest in a string of discoveries that the country hopes can help revive its vital tourism industry.
France confirmed its aim to launch a vaccination program against bird flu in the autumn after results from a series of tests on the vaccination of ducks showed 'satisfactory effectiveness,' the farm ministry said.
Justine Triet's 'Anatomy of a Fall' won the Palme d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in a ceremony Saturday that handed the festival's prestigious top prize to a twisty French Alps courtroom drama.
Jurors have deliberated for more than a week without reaching a verdict in the rape retrial of "That '70s Show" star Danny Masterson, and will have to return and resume talks after the long holiday weekend.
Who is Diandra D'Alessio? She's a Montrealer, a technical writer, a history lover -- and she's last night's Jeopardy winner. The self-proclaimed trivia buff made it out on top with $3,299 under her belt.
Mortgage delinquencies are expected to rise by more than one-third of current levels over the next year, according to some economists. If you anticipate being unable to make your payments and decide to sell your home, here's what an expert says you should consider.
A new report is casting doubt on the idea that Canada is facing a widespread labour shortage and bolsters the arguments by some labour economists that high job vacancies aren't due to a shortage of workers.
As Elizabeth Holmes prepares to report to prison next week, the criminal case that laid bare the blood-testing scam at the heart of her Theranos startup is entering its final phase.
Bill Mayo isn’t letting age keep him from doing what he loves. This weekend the 90-year-old is taking on a 42-kilometre walk as part of the Moncton Outdoor Enthusiasts' 40th anniversary.
TikTok cleaning influencer Melissa Pateras says few people know how to clean their dishwasher filter, which could be the culprit to musty smelling plastic.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's most famous endurance race, will be open to hydrogen-powered cars starting in 2026, Pierre Fillon, the president of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, said Saturday.
A Tennessee company is refusing demands from U.S. regulators to recall millions of vehicles due to airbag inflators that can explode and shoot shrapnel into drivers. While cases are rare, there has been at least one death in Canada, where officials lack the authority to demand a similarly sweeping recall.
Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen produced a superb final lap to take pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday and deny Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso his first pole in 11 years.
