Daily Herald opinion: Dart’s task force will have to define the details, but sheriff lays a foundation for transit security plan

A month ago, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke made a point of declaring law enforcement’s commitment to addressing public concerns about security issues in public transportation. She didn’t offer much in the way of strategies or solutions, but her effort signaled a seriousness of purpose about addressing transit crime.

This week, Sheriff Tom Dart took the process a step further. No, he still didn’t have specific strategies to offer. But he wasn’t supposed to. Not yet. His comments in an interview with our Marni Pyke came as he prepares to lead a task force on a six-month mission to develop a cohesive and effective strategy, one element of an initiative of the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority.

While Dart’s comments were necessarily short on specifics, they did bring some shape to the security discussion.

Among priorities he announced were broad themes of “an expectation of professionalism” and “a defined security structure where there can be accountability.” It remains to be seen what those goals actually mean, but in so far as the security structure is concerned, Dart’s basic philosophy seemed clear and well-reasoned.

“There will be one entity. It’s in charge of the whole thing,” he said. “So if things are going good, fantastic. If they’re going bad, you need to figure it out. You can’t obfuscate and point the finger.”

That feature of the system cannot be overstated. One of the most confusing and paralyzing factors of bureaucratic management is the tendency of special interests to avoid blame and, in Dart’s phrase, “point fingers” elsewhere whenever problems occur.

It was interesting, too, to hear the sheriff’s emphasis on an enforcement policy resonant of the “broken windows” philosophy, which says that consistent attention to relatively minor infractions is associated with consequent reductions of serious crimes. Dart framed the strategy as a message to wrongdoers.

He pointed to initially positive results of policies already enacted by the Chicago Transit Authority. Increased patrols on high-crime CTA lines have brought significant reductions in serious offenses, he said, and a renewed emphasis on targeting fare evasion has had an impact on more serious crimes.

“If you start off by entering the system by breaking the law and not paying — what do you think your mind set is when you get on the train?” Dart asked. “Do you think you’re overly concerned about smoking on the train, drinking on the train, playing loud music on the train? Of course not.”

So, while Dart has not yet defined the security structure his task force will envision, he has laid out the foundation for it. That’s an important first step, and at this stage of the process, it’s a solid one.