TTC transit enforcement officers could have their “special constable” status, which includes power to make arrests, reinstated by 2014.

The Toronto Police Services Board agreed Monday to restore the special authority, as long as the police and the TTC consent to implement an independent complaints process and public awareness campaign.

That agreement could be approved as early as next month.

Transit cops, who catch turnstile jumpers and discourage panhandling in the subway, were stripped of the special constable designation in 2010 following allegations they were exceeding their authority.

Without it, TTC officers can’t arrest anyone unless they personally witness an offence. They must try to hold a suspect until a police officer arrives to make the arrest.

Special constables, however, can immediately make an arrest themselves if they have reasonable suspicion the law has been broken.

“A lot has changed at the TTC,” CEO Andy Byford told the police board. He called it a “point of personal credibility” that the earlier concerns with the TTC’s force won’t resurface.

“These officers aren’t private detectives. They won’t be going off property or (outside) the immediate confines of a station or a bus route. They’re not going to be using blue lights (on their cars) or violating traffic regulations,” Byford told the Star last week.

“We’ve been working very closely with Mr. Byford and his team,” said Police Chief Bill Blair. “We’ve worked out, I think, a very thoughtful proposal whereby they will be given the authorities required to do their job.”

In a report to the police board, the TTC argued that policing the transit system without special constable powers is inefficient.

“(TTC officers) have been doing the job with their hands tied behind their back,” said Byford.

“I’ve made the case — and the police chief accepts this — that one of the best ways we can supplement the service the police already give us is to have fully empowered transit officers in the stations.”

Byford stressed that the TTC has cleaned house and put stricter checks in place since January, when it fired eight transit officers for allegedly writing fake tickets to homeless people to make it look like they were on the job when they weren’t actually working. Five of those officers were charged criminally.

The TTC has 32 officers, but Byford said he wants to restore the transit force to its full complement of 42. Transit officers carry batons, handcuffs and pepper foam, “but there is no question of guns,” he said.

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In April a York Region special constable was reassigned after a video came to light showing a customer being pinned to the ground crying out for help.

The Toronto Community Housing Corp., the University of Toronto and some court officers also hold special constable authority.