STM boosting security in 10 stations
The STM says it’s boosting security in ten metro stations in response to a sense of insecurity among passengers – but only till the end of April, and no new agents are being hired. Pretty explicitly it’s a matter of public reassurance and not of permanent solutions, because STM chair Éric Alan Caldwell says the STM can’t fix the social crises driving people into the metro to shelter, sleep or take drugs.
Nicholas 18:28 on 2024-04-10 Permalink
So they’re paying for overtime hours for three weeks when they admit it only papers over the problem and can’t solve it. Did I miss the story that their massive budget deficit was somehow solved and they won’t have to layoff all those other staff and cut service?
Chris 19:57 on 2024-04-10 Permalink
It might not be totally useless if it encourages enough people to return to taking transit, thus increasing revenue. It could also serve to shoo away some of the undesirables, who maybe don’t know it’s only for 3 weeks, and may not return.
Kate 20:15 on 2024-04-10 Permalink
By the end of April the weather will be milder and they can rely on spring and summer weather to reduce the numbers taking shelter in the metro – but the same problems will return in six months’ time.
walkerp 07:12 on 2024-04-11 Permalink
Is it actually any less safe in the metro? I wasn’t here in the 70s and 80s but I’m sure it was much less safe then (statistically that was the case for crime in Montreal). A lot of this is perception, with social media attacks on cities as a concept in general and more homeless people and drug addiction freaking out some people while not actuallly being dangerous.
Though did see a foiled purse-snatching at the St-Henri station last week, which was the first time I’d ever seen an actual crime on the STM in Montreal.
Kate 09:28 on 2024-04-11 Permalink
walkerp, a lot of the crime recorded then – as now – was internecine gang stuff. I walked around alone a lot, and took public transit all the time, often at night, and never felt under threat.
I don’t think people exactly feel threatened, even now, but they do feel unnerved. Faced with fucked‑up unpredictable people in public spaces, we don’t know what to do.
maggie rose 10:09 on 2024-04-11 Permalink
Just saw a piece on BBC World News that they’ve temp brought in the National Guard for this same issue. Stats say the subway in NYC is safe, but video of gunshots inside a full subway car and musicians being attacked and robbed are unnerving. Most interviewed said they’re not afraid. Of course truly affordable housing and truly affordable healthcare for the ensuing mental health issues that often come from such suffering would benefit more than sinking millions more into policing. Yay, we’re sort of like NYC now.
Chris 20:54 on 2024-04-11 Permalink
>A lot of this is perception…
Perception matters.