Hoping to end a recent surge in violent and deadly assaults, Metro's board of directors last week formally approved a “surge” of public safety staff on buses and trains. The goal is to prevent crime and keep riders from abandoning trains and buses by flooding the system with more police officers and sheriff's deputies, along with Metro's own security officers and customer service ambassadors.
It's worth a try. Meter can't afford to lose passengers or public support if Los Angeles wants to have a “car-free” Olympic Games in 2028.
But the increase is a temporary strategy to address the rise in violent crime, said Mayor Karen Bass, Metro's current president. Whats Next? Yes, there has been a terrifying series of assaults, stabbings and murders in the last month; However, riders have abandoned public transportation for years because they felt unsafe, even when violent crime was low. The vast majority of safety concerns cited by passengers relate to comfort and cleanliness, as well as code of conduct violations.
Metro needs a long-term plan to make transit safer.
That should start with a close look at current police contracts. Since 2017, Metro has spent nearly $1 billion on law enforcement contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles and Long Beach police departments to patrol the system. But it's unclear whether Metro is getting its money's worth from those contracts.
TO audit 2022 conducted by the Metro Inspector General's Office found that law enforcement agencies had little visibility in the system. For example, sheriff's deputies primarily worked from patrols outside stations and bus stops.
Former Metro security chief Gina Osborn followed law enforcement's performance for two years and told Times reporter Rachel Uranga that she was convinced that The agencies were failing in basic patrols. and not acting proactively to keep the system more secure. Osborn said she was fired from Metro in March after reporting her concerns to the inspector general.
But their complaints were not new. Last year, when Metro's board voted to extend law enforcement contracts for up to three years, leaders said they were frustrated that the agency couldn't monitor or even direct where and how officers were deployed in the system. . And again last week, Bass and other board members complained that Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins had no authority to direct the deployment of officers.
As part of Bass' reinforcement motion, the board ordered the creation of a unified command controlled by Metro's security team that will coordinate the deployment of law enforcement, security and social services. But even with unified command, Metro will have no authority to direct law enforcement deployment. That is a big problem. How can Metro effectively manage security when it cannot assign officers to patrol specific areas to prevent and respond to crimes in the system?
Making sure Metro gets its money's worth will be even more important this summer as law enforcement costs rise. The cost of the contracts will increase 10% in the fiscal year that begins in July, and that was before officer deployment increased. That led Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to call for a cost comparison between law enforcement agencies, security officers and ambassadors “to figure out how we can achieve the most effective and visible presence with the dollars we have to spend.”
In addition to the cost, Metro also has to deal with as to maintain security and order in the system.
In the past, Metro has tasked sworn officers with enforcing fare evasion and code of conduct violations, such as littering and playing loud music. But there were complaints and a federal investigation into racial bias in the application of rates. During a code of conduct crackdown in 2018, an LAPD officer dragged a young woman off a subway train because she refused to lift her foot from her seat. (The city of Los Angeles paid him $50,000 last year to settle the lawsuit against the LAPD, his lawyer told The Times.)
Metro transferred fare and conduct control to civil security in recent years to help address long-standing complaints about racial bias in policing the system. The sworn officers focused on enforcing the criminal code and responding to crime.
Now there is a call from riders and local elected officials to increase fares and enforce the law, including by police officers. Metropolitan leaders must tread carefully when deciding how to build a comprehensive public safety response that may include the creation of an internal transit police force. By making buses and trains safer today and in the future, they do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.
