Transit Enforcement Unit

Special constabulary in Ontario, Canada

Starting in July 1987, the TTC employed staff designated as provincial offences officers, responsible for the enforcement of TTC by laws, responding to calls for service and protecting TTC employees, customers, and assets. Prior to the creation of the Transit Enforcement Unit, policing on the TTC was limited to patrols by these by law officers and periodic patrols by the Metropolitan Toronto Police. The Transit Enforcement Unit was created in June 1997, after the Toronto Police Services Board, with the approval of the Solicitor General, designated the employees responsible for safety and security as special constables under Section 53 of the Police Services Act. The designation was governed by a contractual relationship between the TTC and the Toronto Police Services Board, and empowered the previous by law officers to make arrests and enjoy the full powers of a police officer while on TTC property. During subsequent implementation discussions with the Police Services Board, several incidents came to light where individual TTC special constables had overstepped their authority and exercised police powers outside of TTC property, and the board ultimately terminated the TTC's special constabulary. In 2013, the Police Services Board approved then CEO Andy Byford's plan to restore the agency's special constabulary with slightly fewer powers and an independent complaints process. In 2014, a former Phoenix Police Department commander, Mark Cousins, was appointed chief special constable of the Transit Enforcement Unit. In 2015, fare enforcement officers were equipped with stab vests and updated uniforms but gave up their batons and handcuffs as part of an effort to make the inspectors more customer friendly. The next year, the TTC board approved a unit proposal for plainclothes fare enforcement officers in addition to uniformed officers and special constables. TTC special constables were among the first responders to the 2018 Toronto van attack, working alongside police and members of the public to secure the scene and provide first aid to victims. On February 7, 2020, two special constables and a fare inspector arrested a 34 year old after he refused to provide proof of payment while riding a streetcar, provoking a brief fight that resulted in the transit user pleading guilty to two counts of assaulting a peace officer and the two special constables being fired for using "unnecessary" and "unauthorized" force. In the wake of the incident, the City of Toronto ombudsman called for the TTC to reform the unit's "paramilitary" culture. In 2021, three members of the unit were placed on administrative leave after the TTC ordered an external investigation into allegations of favouritism, harassment, and improper use of the overtime system based on complaints made to the TTC's whistleblower hotline. The investigation turned up no evidence of wrongdoing, and the commission was subsequently sued by the suspended officers, who alleged that they were targeted regarding personal disagreements with TTC CEO Rick Leary, who had wanted to disband the unit.

TFIs are designated as provincial offences officers for the purpose of enforcing TTC By law No. 1 and the Trespass to Property Act.

The Mobile Patrol Division members were the visible presence on TTC surface vehicles while the Subway Patrol Division members were the visible presence in the subway system. They wore uniforms distinct from the standard TTC or Toronto Police uniforms, consisting of a black jacket and powder blue shirt with a special constables crest on both shoulders and black cargo pants. They were armed with batons and OC foam (pepper spray in a less aerosolized form to avoid contamination in confined places), body armour and carried portable radios. Some officers patrolled the subway system on foot, while others drove in marked or unmarked vehicles, responding to calls on surface routes and in the subway.

The Transit Enforcement Unit employs approximately 63 transit fare inspectors, who conduct fare inspections and enforce fares on designated proof of payment routes (either on board the vehicles, or at terminal or interchange stations). The inspectors are dressed in white uniforms, with a "Fare Inspector" banner on the back. This unit was launched in August 2014, when the new Flexity low floor streetcars entered service on streetcar lines. All streetcar lines use an honour system where passengers pay their fare using electronic fare machines or by using the Presto fare system. Transit fare inspectors will then inspect passengers' fare media while on a vehicle, exiting a vehicle, or at subway stations.