Photo: LA-Metro

LA Metro to hire more transit security officers as crime rises

30 March 2023

by Christopher Carey

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Board of Directors has approved the hiring of 48 new transit security officers to improve staff and passenger safety on its network.

The announcement comes just weeks after the deployment of nearly 300 metro ambassadors aboard the operator’s trains and buses, who will “help riders navigate the transit system, and provide extra eyes and ears and support riders who need assistance”.

It also comes amid a growing wave of crime and drug use on the network.

Twenty-two people have died of suspected drug overdoses on LA Metro services so far this year – more people than all of 2022, according to the LA Times.

There were also 158 assaults on bus operators in 2022 – an increase from 115 in 2021.

The Board has authorised the agency to re-negotiate and potentially extend its contracts with law enforcement partners, for up to three years, to ensure more visual presence on the system while it evaluates the feasibility of creating its own in-house public safety department.

“The Metro system is certainly not immune from the broader societal challenges we see throughout our county, but we are steadfast in our commitment to taking all steps necessary to promote a safe and pleasant transit experience for every one of our riders,” said Glendale City Council Member and Metro Board Chair Ara J. Najarian.

“Safety is our number one priority.”

Avoiding bias

The agency’s public safety plan, which calls for a layered, human-centred approach, involves working with the City and County to add homeless outreach, drug addiction and crisis intervention teams.

It is also improving its use of security cameras and lighting, as well as more frequent cleaning of stations and vehicles.

“All of these initiatives build upon work we have been doing over the last year to put our public safety plan into action,” said LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins.

“This plan utilises proactive response, strategic enforcement and equitable rule compliance, and is key to maintaining public safety for our customers. We know we have a lot of work to do, but we are clearly making progress in the right direction.”

The Board also approved Metro’s new Bias-Free Policing and Public Safety Analytics policies.

These policies are meant to set expectations and standards to help Metro eliminate potential bias in the way the transit system is patrolled.

“These policies establish clear expectations and standards for fair and unbiased policing and reinforce the importance of treating all individuals with respect and dignity,” said Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, Metro’s first vice chair of the board.

In a move that has drawn some criticism, the agency has also started playing loud classical music at the Westlake/MacArthur Park station train station in a bid to discourage homeless people and drug users from loitering.

The station has been called a “hot spot” of illegal activity by LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins, and has seen a high number of drug overdoses.

“The idea is to create an atmosphere that is comfortable for spending short amounts of time transiting through our station, but not conducive to hours-long loitering,” Metro said in a statement last month.

Female passengers

A report by LA Metro last November revealed a drop in the number of female passengers using its buses and trains – with almost 50 percent of those surveyed citing crime, sexual harassment and safety as their main concerns.

The survey of over 12,000 LA Metro customers – taken between March and May of 2022 – found female bus ridership fell from 53 percent to 49 percent and rail ridership dropped from 46 percent to 44 percent, when compared with pre-pandemic figures.

Speaking at the time, LA Metro’s Chief Customer Experience Officer, Jennifer Vides, said: “We are concerned about it because we are very focused on delivering a good customer experience for all our riders.

“We have work to do in order to improve the experience for women.”

Image: LA Metro

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