Been down this road before?...

A little bit of research suggests Securitas has had a history of questionable employee work ethics, as CBS2 found out after their undercover investigation just this past February. Workers not performing to the highest standards, dogs not capable of detecting explosives, and yet Securitas are still presumably "more than qualified" for the CTA's standards, what other logic would one rationalize that the CTA has for allowing them to stick around(or in the case of the handlers, stand around!). While Metra retested the dogs the following days after the investigation and they passed, this only reinforces my belief that its not the dogs that are the problem but the handlers. The dogs will only look for the explosives when they are told to, and with Securitas dog handlers that amounts to a very small amount of the time. Shouldn't the CTA have bomb dog handlers that are ALWAYS commanding the dogs to smell for bombs, not just when the dog handler feels like telling them to? To be honest I have never seen them actually command the dogs to sniff, in fact most of the time when the dogs do sniff on their own the Securitas handlers appear agitated as if the dog is inconveniencing them.

So, considering that these dog handlers rarely order the dogs to actively sniff for bombs and we know that the Securitas dogs are only trained to detect bombs on command, that means that the chance of the dog handlers actually detecting a bomb within range of them on a CTA train or station will be rare and 100% pure luck.

The CTA is paying Securitas to play the part of something they are not doing, which is protecting CTA riders.

So why would the CTA keep this RENT A COP company around? The first thought that comes to mind is for the CTA to show a "strong presence of security in this time of heightened terror threats" but on second thought its more accurate to say they are showing... "a strong illusion of security in this time of heightened terror threats"

To whom it may concern...(My letter to anyone...and everyone)

Dear Mr. XXXXXXX.

I'm writing to you today as a worried and concerned CTA customer who feels this issue desperately needs to be addressed; The bomb sniffing dogs that the CTA has outsourced to Securitas. I have encountered these bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers well over 50 times in the past two years I have lived in Chicago, Why do I remember how many times I encountered them? Because everyone of those 50 times I have seen these dogs, they appear overly fatigued. I have been around dogs all my life and even have volunteered in a dog shelter for the past year. All of the sick and unhealthy dogs I have seen in that shelter's clinic do not compare to how physically drained these Securitas dogs look and act. I'm sure many fellow CTA passengers have witnessed these dogs which appear as though they are about ready to collapse (literally), so how is it that these dogs are supposed to be sniffing for bombs when it looks like they are barely able to stand up straight or keep their eyes open!? I have a very high level of suspicion these dogs are continually being overworked, I have seen many NYPD subway bomb sniffing dogs in NYC and none of those dogs showed anywhere near the level of fatigue that the Securitas dogs display, in fact the NYPD dogs actually looked like they knew what they were doing (by that I mean actually sniffing around). This is not in anyway meant to lay blame on the dogs, actually its just the opposite for the dogs are only doing what their handlers are telling them to do, which appears to be...not much! The Securitas handlers never walk the dogs around to actively sniff for bombs instead they generally stand in one place, which means unless the bomb is within a three foot radius of them, we are all out of luck! This past summer I have witnessed the dog handlers yelling at the dogs in front of CTA customers to drink water and on two occasions actually yelling expletives at them and throwing the water they wouldn't drink in the dogs' faces. I have also witnessed a dog handler at the Washington station actually pull the dogs the leash so hard the dog let out a muted yelp through its muzzle. Not only mistreatment of the dogs has been witnessed but I have overheard numerous raunchy and apalling conversations between the dog handlers about their "bar experiences" the night before clearly audible to me and other CTA passengers. But Today was the boiling point. A couple of Securitas handlers came up behind me at the Jackson Red Line stop (with their pathetically tired looking dogs). I noticed the female dog handler, and was shocked to see she had her Ipod ear buds blasting music into her ears, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So that's wonderful, if the dog actually gets enough strength to detect the smell of a bomb and barks, the handler will not even know it because she is listening to Kayne at max volume, absolutely unbelievable! The level of incomptence and unprofessionalism these Securitas dog handlers consistently display reflects extremely poorly upon the CTA. These dogs always appear overly lethargic and their handlers completely careless. This seems proof enough for the CTA to address these issues and stop using Securitas and their extremely ineffective method of protecting the CTA's riders safety.

These dogs are trying to protect us the least we can do is protect them, from their handlers and this poorly run security company. Some might not have the same level of compassion for the dogs that I have but they surely can have compassion and concern for fellow CTA riders' safety. Entrusting the safety of loyal CTA customers into this joke of a company is not right. Why are we not being protected professionally by CPD canine bomb dogs like NYC transit riders are? It's a shame such well trained animals are being lead around by such poorly trained handlers.

Thank You for your time and consideration Mr. XXXXXXX with this very important and unfortunate mattter.