Reported crimes aboard Metro Transit trains and buses increased 32% in 2023 over the previous year, the agency announced Monday. But officials say that a beefed-up presence of police, community service officers, security guards and others throughout the transit system is starting to pay off.

"Metro Transit has a lot to be happy about, especially in the year 2023," said Metro Transit Police Chief Ernest Morales III in a news conference Monday. But, he added, "We need people to return; we're safer in numbers. We're now showing more of a human presence there."

Crime in the system peaked in January 2023 and declined through most of the year, Morales said, a trend that indicates the gains made are stabilizing the system.

At the same time, ridership over the past year has increased about 15%, and is now nearly 60% of pre-pandemic levels. "I want to emphasize that we are recovering and coming out of COVID so ridership is also up," Morales said.

The news conference was already scheduled before a 27-year-old man was shot in the stomach Saturday during a robbery attempt on the Green Line train in downtown St. Paul. No arrests have been made.

While the victim's injuries were not considered life-threatening, the incident, which occurred around 7:30 p.m., highlights the challenge Metro Transit faces as it tries to tamp down crime and lure passengers back to the fold.

Serious crimes like Saturday's shooting on the entire system in 2023 increased nearly 20% over the previous year, according to Metro Transit statistics.

Noting that Metro Transit is still struggling to hire more police and community service officers, Morales called the weekend assault "a tragic incident; there's no excuse for it." The system is down 112 full- and part-time officers and 57 community service officers — students enrolled in law enforcement programs.

Metro Transit launched a safety plan in 2022 that calls for police and community service officers to spend more time on trains and buses while focusing on decriminalizing fare evasion, hiring nonprofit social service organizations for passengers in need, contracting with private security firms and partnering with regional police departments.

"Having more resources permits Metro Transit to proactively address the most-frequent and common crimes," Morales said.

Last year, the Metropolitan Council, which oversees Metro Transit, hired 10 community-based organizations to work on both the Green and Blue lines and their stations. Using $2 million in state funds, staff from these nonprofit groups are connecting light-rail passengers with mental health resources, emergency shelters and other services.

In addition, a change in state law last year now permits community service officers to check fares, freeing up Metro Transit police to concentrate on more-serious crimes. The new focus on tamping down fare evasion began in early December.

The Met Council last year also signed contracts totaling $11 million with global security giant Allied Universal to patrol troubled transit stations, and adding fare checks to the list of responsibilities covered by its guards.