DENVER Calls to the Regional Transportation Department's (RTD) Transit Police dropped 34% in January a promising start to 2025 after the agency's 2024 figure marked a small improvement year over year.According to a new report, Transit Police received 2,774 calls for service in January 2025, compared to 4,206 in January 2024, 4,150 in January 2023 and 3,775 in January 2022. In total, the department saw 43,106 calls for service in 2024, with February 2024 seeing the highest call total at 4,460. The total number of calls for service in 2024 was down nearly 6% from the 2023 total of 45,847. In 2022, there were 41,327 calls. This data does not include calls made to 911. The report also breaks down the number of incidents reported through RTD's Transit Watch app, which allows riders to communicate with Transit Police. In 2024, Transit Watch saw 4,604 incident reports, with May seeing the highest number at 590. According to RTD, 46.1% (2,124) of the reports were for drug activity. The next largest category was safety hazards at 7.4% (341). View more breakdowns beginning on page 47 of the report belowWhile the numbers show some improvement, riders told Denver7 that more needs to be done to improve RTD's image of safety. When asked about some of the things he's seen while riding on the RTD E Line, Scott Rovner said, "Cursing, drinking, smoking marijuana, trash, urinating."Kim Johnson has also noticed issues. "Theres definitely just intermittent drug use," Johnson said. Riders aren't the only ones fed up with crime on the light rail and buses. "Unfortunately, I'm really not surprised [by the report]," said Ron Short with ATU Local 1001, the union that represents 2,300 RTD workers throughout the Denver metro area. However, Short said RTD's greater police presence is a start to solve some of the issues.RTD leadership is looking to beef up its Transit Police. On Wednesday, RTD and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #72 signed a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA). As part of the CBA, the salary for RTD police officers will increase. RTD officials said the starting salary for an academy recruit will go from $68,213 to roughly $71,000.Debra Johnson, general manager and CEO for RTD, said the agency has an estimated 100 Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified officers. Their goal is to have 150 RTD police officers by the end of 2025."It basically ensures that we have competitive market wages for our police officers," Johnson said Wednesday. RTD covers 2,342 square miles that span across eight counties. As RTD beefs up its police department, RTD Officer and K9 Handler Corey Averill, who represented the police union during negotiations with RTD, is asking the community to be patient. "I just ask to be patient as we grow. Obviously, [there's] going to be some growing pains, but we are trending in the right direction," said Averill.Riders like Johnson are looking forward to more officers on board. "Obviously, presence is a deterrent," said Johnson.Short hopes RTD will incorporate other solutions, as well, in order to fully address safety issues. "It's bigger than just RTD. It has to be addressed in a community-type atmosphere," he said. ...read more read less