Rogers Park rider April Sepulveda used to feel comfortable taking the “L” home at night, even during early-morning hours. Sepulveda, 22, moved to Chicago from California two years ago and said she was relieved to live in a city where cars or cab rides weren’t her main transportation options after a night out with friends.
An incident on a Red Line train changed Sepulveda’s attitude about traveling alone or even in small groups at night on the CTA.
On May 15 at about 1:30 a.m., Sepulveda said, she was approached by the only other occupant of her “L” car, a “professional-looking, normal guy” who exposed himself and stood directly in front of her. Sepulveda said she screamed at him to get away and safely exited at the next stop.
“I really thought he was going to attack me and maybe assault me,” Sepulveda told RedEye during a recent interview also attended by her older sister Emilie, 23.
The Sepulveda sisters are two of several riders who have contacted RedEye over the last three weeks regarding personal safety concerns on CTA buses and trains, and at “L” stations and bus stops. Of that number, a handful of riders said their concerns spiked after a recent South Side bus shooting that killed Julian high schooler Blair Holt and wounded four others.
While most agree little could be done by riders to avoid the bus shooting, incidents like Sepulveda’s raise an important question: How can riders stay safe while using public transportation, and what obligation does the CTA have to protect them?
CTA crime, including thefts and robberies, has dropped between last year and 2005, according to the most recent report compiled by the Chicago Police Department, which transit agency spokeswoman Wanda Taylor said patrols the CTA and is best equipped to provide pertinent information about criminal activity levels.
Both criminal sexual assaults and aggravated assaults — during which a weapon was used — remained flat, with two sexual assaults and 21 aggravated assaults reported in 2006 and 2005.
In an effort to keep riders safe, the CTA leverages outsourced security personnel, plainclothes and uniformed CPD officers, camera surveillance and crime-reporting technology, including silent alarms on buses, Taylor said. She added that the agency’s security budget has grown by approximately 56 percent since 2001.
But when a crime is being committed, key CTA employees are not trained to physically intervene, Taylor said. Instead, bus and train operators as well as customer assistants are instructed to contact the CTA Control Center, which in turn can directly contact the city’s 911 Center.
Riders who spoke with RedEye said that while they bear some of the responsibility for their own safety, they feel the CTA should increase the number of surveillance cameras on trains and in stations. Echoing that sentiment are union representatives for rail operators, bus drivers and customer assistants, who said the system could benefit from a more visible and effective security presence.
“If you are a thief and you see a blue shirt, you’re not likely to snatch a purse,” said Rick Harris, head of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, which represents customer assistants and rail operators. “If you are a rider and you see a blue shirt, you’re likely to feel safer. What’s the point of having an officer in regular clothes ride the trains, and how — if they’re so undercover — would you even know they are doing the job they are being paid to do?”
Undercover officers are able to observe criminal acts that may not occur in front of a more visible police presence and will act to apprehend offenders, Taylor said.
But if there isn’t a uniformed or undercover officer around, what should a rider do during a crime aboard the “L”?
Press the passenger intercom unit found in each rail car, said Taylor, which summons a rail operator who can contact the CTA’s Control Center for further instructions. The operator may be instructed to stop immediately or travel to a point designated by emergency personnel.
Easier said than done, Harris said.
“Sometimes it’s hard for our rail operators to hear the passenger intercom unit when they are operating on noisy tracks,” Harris said. “And it’s hard to just stop a train immediately and have an operator abandon his or her motorcar and walk all the way back to see what’s going on, especially if something happened in the eighth car and they’re in the first.”
Sometimes crimes occur too quickly to call. Blue Line rider John Roberts was robbed of his Sony PSP a few weeks ago.
“I was playing a game with earphones in and didn’t hear anything or see anything because I was very involved,” Roberts, 35, said of his ride to O’Hare. “The train was quite full and it was during the day, so I was shocked when I got punched in the side of the head.”
The incident taught him to be more alert, Roberts said.
Bus passengers, too, must be aware of their surroundings, as it is not drivers’ responsibility to protect them, according to the head of the bus drivers’ union.
“Many of my drivers fear for their own safety,” said Darrell Jefferson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241.
Though drivers can use silent alarms and radios to reach the CTA Control Center, those devices can be faulty, Jefferson said.
Taylor countered that there are regularly scheduled preventative maintenance checks for the alarms. Additionally, all 2,212 buses have cameras, both in the interior and, on some buses, the exterior, Taylor said.
Said Jefferson: “The day a camera makes an arrest, that’s the day I’ll think a camera is really helping with security.”
April Sepulveda said increased cameras on “L” trains and in stations likely could have stopped the man who harassed her.
“Maybe that would scare people like that who now think nobody can see them,” Sepulveda said.
Rail cars set to arrive in 2009 will be equipped with cameras, Taylor said, and currently there are 838 cameras at 50 stations, with 474 cameras in the subway. More station cameras will be added as funding becomes available, she said. Until that happens, Sepulveda said she will dig into her own pockets — for cab fare.
“I have never been that scared before,” Sepulveda said. “I’d do anything to avoid having something like that happen again.”
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kkyles@tribune.com
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Who protects you on the CTA?
Ever wonder who is charged with what in terms of upholding CTA safety?
RedEye asked CTA spokeswoman Wanda Taylor about its transit agency employees and outsourced security force to determine what role these workers play in trying to keep trains, buses and stations crime-free:
Customer assistants
Equipped with radios with direct contact to CTA’s Control Center, which has direct connection to city’s 911 Center.
Bus drivers
Not trained to get physically involved in an altercation, but can ask a rider to exit. Also have radio devices and silent alarms that connect to the CTA’s Control Center.
Rail operators
Not trained to get physically involved in a confrontation. If they receive a call from the passenger intercom units, they are expected to ask what’s wrong and contact CTA Control Center for further instructions.
Securitas
Outsourced security force that patrols the transit agency with both guards and canine units. The CTA declined to provide the number of Securitas staffers or discuss their locations for security reasons, Taylor said.
Police
Officers associated with the department’s public transportation section ride trains and buses. Officers may be in uniform or in plainclothes during these patrols, Taylor said. The Evanston and Oak Park police departments also have an agreement with the CTA to aid in security efforts.
— k.k.
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Take the defensive
GETTING defensive
Crime should be a concern for anyone taking public transportation, said Marie O’Brien, a local self-defense expert who said she is particularly guarded when traveling with the CTA or Metra. O’Brien, director of the violence prevention program at martial arts and self-defense school Thousand Waves in Lakeview, said young professionals can be better bodyguards for themselves by using a technique she calls the Five Fingers, a system of self-defense and higher alertness.
Think “We want to keep our valuables close to ourselves,” O’Brien said. “Turn a diamond ring around to the inside of your hand or hide a fancy watch. You should also make sure all your valuables aren’t in one spot, so if you lose something — say, a purse with all your money, cell phone and credit cards — you aren’t losing everything.” O’Brien said to pay attention to surroundings and project an air of confidence and willingness to react, if needed.
Yell “That could be a big loud noise, such as yelling ‘back off’ ” O’Brien said. “It could also be something that’s just speaking directly, like if someone places their arm around the back of [your] seat, just look at the person and say: ‘Please remove your arm.’ “
Run O’Brien said running may cause an inconvenience, but it can keep you safer. “If I’m uncomfortable waiting alone at a bus stop, I’ll get on a bus and it may not be my bus,” O’Brien said. “If I’m at a station and I’m nervous, I go from that private space to a more public space.”
Fight The decision to fight is a personal choice, said O’Brien, adding that she instructs her students to choose their battles. If you feel you must fight back, O’Brien advises to target soft spots that will disable the attacker so you can run away. “Stomp on the top of a foot or kick their knee with a strong heel,” O’Brien said. “Use the base of the palm and go up, striking underneath the nose.”
Tell Calling police is a personal choice, too, not a requirement. It can be helpful if a victim lets law enforcement know what happened, O’Brien said. Though O’Brien acknowledged the existence of the CTA code of silence — a tendency for riders to mind their own business — she said it is “wonderful” if someone chooses to speak up. “Sometimes we freeze up and we shouldn’t be blamed for that, but if we can be loud and public about something we are witnessing that is wrong, we can teach offenders that they will not be ignored and that they may have to pay the consequences,” O’Brien said.
— k.k.
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CTA CRIME: by the numbers
Here are the most recent statistics on the number of reported crimes on the CTA between Jan. 1 and June 30 of both 2005 and 2006, based on an annual report compiled by the Chicago Police Department. With respect to the two criminal sexual assaults in 2006, police officials told the Tribune that neither incident occurred on CTA property but involved victims who encountered the assailants while riding the train or waiting for the bus.
— k.k.
Source: CTA/Chicago Police Department
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
2005: 212006: 21
AGGRAVATED BATTERY
2005: 382006: 37
CRIMINAL SEXUAL ASSAULT
2005: 22006: 2
ROBBERY
2005: 962006: 63
THEFT
2005: 5832006: 544
