Professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, interim dean of UCLA Luskin, commented in a Chicago Tribune story on crime and violence on Chicago’s public transit system and efforts by the city and transit officials to stem crime rates that are higher than before the pandemic. While the odds of being a victim of violent crime on the Chicago Transit Authority’s “L” train system were lower in the first half of 2024, the Tribune reported that transit crime has remained “stubbornly above” pre-COVID-19 levels. “Transit is such an open environment that it is much more difficult to protect it like you protect, let’s say, airports,” Loukaitou-Sideris said. She said that visible police presence is a deterrent, but costly, and noted that police and security can’t protect every train and station. Measures such as cameras are helpful only after a crime has been committed, she said, while suggesting that improved lighting can be a deterrent to robberies and assaults.