Tucson’s Safe City Plan shows impact on transit arrests

The council is scheduled to discuss and potentially adopt the final Safe City Action Plan at Wednesday’s study session. The Safe City Initiative encompasses several efforts that were developed almost a year ago in response to a series of violent incidents in and around the city’s transit system and along the Chuck Huckelberry Loop.

Part of the city’s strategy is to increase police presence and improve the cleanliness of bus stops, city officials told reporters at an Aug. 24 briefing.

Special deployments from the Tucson Police Department on selected transit corridors and bus stops have resulted in 305 arrests and over 2,000 warnings as of Aug. 13, City Manager Tim Thomure’s memo reads. Officers have also conducted 161 referrals to service.

The city is also currently training six full-time Transit Ambassadors, part of the city’s strategy to increase visibility onboard transit vehicles themselves.

The job description lists responsibilities similar to social work, including connecting individuals in the transit system to shelter and treatment for mental health and substance abuse.

“The goal of the transit ambassadors is to be a presence and a welcoming resource to anyone,” said Assistant City Manager Liz Morales at the Aug. 24 briefing.

Tucson’s program is based on a similar program in Albuquerque. City officials will be traveling there later this month and bringing back knowledge to apply at home, the memo reads.

Most community concerns involve drug use, loitering and behavioral-health-related incidents, according to notes from four in-person feedback sessions the city held throughout the month of August.

Wednesday’s update also lays out how the city is going to track safety data going forward, mostly by tracking reports through contracted security and complaints from Sun Tran Customer Service. The city is also tracking data from TPD and incorporating surveys through the Transit App, which was revamped in the fall of 2025.