RTD's new detective unit helps drives down crime, chief says

For some riders across the Denver metro area, the Regional Transportation District isn't just convenient it's essential.

"I also don't drive," said rider Makayla'Rae Caldwell.

For rider Miles Bush,public transit is a lifeline, too.

"RTD and the train and the bus is kind of what we can use," Bush said.

Denver7 Jefferson County reporter Allie Jennerjahn has more on this story in the video below:

RTD routes cross eight counties and 40 cities, each with their own law enforcement. That patchwork of jurisdictions made investigating crimes on the system difficult, said RTD's Chief of Police and Emergency Management Steve Martingano.

"So what we kind of found was trying to work these different cases within different counties and cities," he said. "We really saw that, you know a lot of that wasn't they weren't collaborating and not in a negative sense. It was just, you know, was happening within their jurisdiction."

In response, RTD created a detective unit, which has now been operating for just over a year. Martingano said crime on RTD property is down.

"The vast majority of what we're facing are very minor type situations. So that's something where, if we would have to send that to say, like the city and county of Denver, have the Denver police, that might stay on a queue for a very very long time because it's not a high priority," Martingano said. "But for us, it is a high priority."

But the future of that work faces questions. RTD's 2027 budget proposal calls for reducing staff by 5%.

So how will that affect RTD policing? Martingano said the agency has some vacant positions it isn't going to fill. And while RTD is in the process of adding a few more officers from 104 to 112 the chief said hiring may slow down in the future.

The agency is working to address rider concerns in the meantime.

"Sometimes like the bus doesn't have a security guard or someone on there to assist the operator, so that's where it makes it a little bit hard because if you have a bus driver that isn't comfortable being like, 'Hey, man, you gotta get off the bus. You're causing an issue,' that that's when it becomes an issue," Bush said.

Part of RTD's strategy is leaning on its own operators to be extra eyes and ears.

"One RTD approach where we've talked to our operators, you know, understanding to tell suspicious activity they see," Martingano said. "All that together has really worked in regards to having more eyes and ears out there."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.