Kevin Ryan, Vice President of Security for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), is being honored in Category 4: Using Innovative Technologies to Deliver Simple, Seamless, and Secure Services for deploying AI-enabled technology to strengthen safety across one of the nation’s largest transit systems. Serving nearly 1 million rides each weekday, CTA needed a way to identify potential firearm threats without relying solely on riders or employees to call 911.

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Kevin led the deployment of an AI-enabled gun detection solution that uses CTA’s existing network of more than 38,000 surveillance cameras to identify visible firearms. Combining AI detection with human verification, the system sends verified alerts, including images and location information, directly to law enforcement dispatch within seconds. Kevin worked closely with the Chicago Police Department and Office of Emergency Management and Communications to integrate the technology into existing emergency response workflows, expanding the initiative from pilot to 146 stations in less than six months.

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Early results demonstrate significant public safety impact, including 27 arrests with weapons recovered and multiple robberies stopped in progress. The technology also reduces the need for continuous manual camera monitoring, provides employees and law enforcement with more precise information, and supports faster responses without adding steps or delays for riders. By transforming existing infrastructure into a real-time safety capability, Kevin is helping create a safer and more secure transit experience for hundreds of thousands of Chicago-area riders each day.