'Acts of aggression' increase on Saskatoon Transit, violence against drivers drops
Saskatoon Transit is reporting an increase in passenger aggression.
Mike Moellenbeck, director of Saskatoon Transit, said "acts of aggression" can be classified as an intent to do harm, but physical violence hasn't happened.
"Types of incidents where windows are being banged by an individual, or a barrier is being hit," Moellenbeck said.
While passenger-on-passenger incidents have increased, Moellenbeck said violence against bus drivers has dropped.
"Largely due to the barriers that are installed," he said.
The information about bus violence was revealed during budget deliberations, when the mayor asked for an update on the new support officers, hired by the fire department, to focus on Saskatoon Transit safety.
The support officers were hired in July. Their goal is to keep the peace and connect vulnerable people with social services they may need.
The support workers are trained in de-escalation and can call police if needed.
Since the program began, they have ridden city buses 220 times and patrolled transit terminals 350 times.
According to city data, the officers have had to call for police assistance about 12 per cent of the time.
"What we'd say in a nutshell is that we think that the fire support officers have been extremely effective, as far as the people that have been hired are doing what we expected them to do, and they're doing a great job," City Manager Jeff Jorgensen said, during Monday's budget deliberations.
City administration said more data on transit safety will be available at the end of the summer, once the program has been operational for a full year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE UPDATES Luigi Mangione, 26, arrested in connection with CEO shooting
Luigi Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Penn., after he was spotted at a McDonald’s, authorities say. The suspect was born and raised in Maryland and graduated from Ivy League University of Pennsylvania.
BREAKING Union reportedly drops wage demands in Canada Post negotiations
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has reportedly dopped its wage demand to 19 per cent over four years, CTV News has learned.
Liberal government survives third Conservative non-confidence vote
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's latest attempt to topple the minority Liberal government in a non-confidence vote failed on Monday, thanks to the New Democrats.
Trudeau says dealing with Trump will be 'a little more challenging' than last time
Justin Trudeau says dealing with incoming president Donald Trump and his thundering on trade will be 'a little more challenging' than the last time he was in the White House.
Montreal man retiring early after winning half of the $80 million Lotto-Max jackpot
Factor worker Jean Lamontagne, 63, will retire earlier than planned after he won $40 million on Dec. 3 in the Lotto-Max draw.
Rupert Murdoch fails in bid to change family trust, New York Times reports
A Nevada commissioner has ruled against Rupert Murdoch's bid to change his family trust to consolidate control of his media empire in the hands of his son Lachlan, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Katie Holmes refutes story about daughter Suri Cruise’s fortune
Katie Holmes has posted a screen grab of a Daily Mail article, which reported that her 18-year old daughter, whose father is Tom Cruise, is now a "millionaire."
Family spokesman says slain Edmonton security guard had only been working 3 days
A spokesman for the family of a security guard who police say was murdered while patrolling an Edmonton apartment building last week says the man had only been on the job for three days.
Sask. hockey player recovering after near fatal skate accident during game
The Sask East Hockey League (SEHL) has released details of a near fatal accident at one of its games over the weekend – which saw a Churchbridge Imperials player suffer serious injuries after being struck with a skate.