Critics unhappy with Transit Police report on safety, costs

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Critics are not pleased with a report that seems to do a lot of patting-on-the back for Transit Police. Some feel it’s a ploy to legitimize the force at a time of low morale and intense scrutiny.

The report claims Transit Police costs and salaries are below or in-line with other forces, that far less overtime is paid out, and that officers carry fewer cases and solve more crime. Perhaps best of all, it says a vast majority of you feel safe taking transit (74%), even better than three years ago, and that crime overall has declined.

Jordan Bateman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, one of the force’s loudest critics, is still not impressed.

“These numbers aren’t half as good as they think they are,” Bateman tells News1130. “The face of the matter is, crime on transit fell about eight per cent at the same time crime across the region fell 16 per cent.”

“It’s typical Transit Police trying to explain why they should exist when two thirds of their workload is checking fares, and why they all make an average of $98,000 a year.”

Worried about cost and efficiency, some local mayors have been calling for a closer look at what benefits Transit Police brings to the region. Bateman believes that may be, in part, behind this report.  He says he asked for these figures some time ago in a Freedom of Information Request, and believes the report is putting a “spin” on the numbers.

Click here to read the report in its entirety.

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