Struggling with a lack of control and skyrocketing costs for its three law enforcement agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday took the first step toward creating its own transit police to patrol a sprawling system where riders are tired of crime.
The executive committee’s 10-0 vote followed a rare appearance by the chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who defended their strategies and asked for seats as the agency seeks to gain seats. seats.
“It’s a big leap. It’s a big change for Metro,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, the incoming Metro chairwoman. She said the move was prompted by the board’s frustration that the liability and costs would be higher than expected.
The newly authorized Transportation Community Public Safety Department is being promoted as a department that is more visible, accountable and responsive to riders, in contrast to complaints from the Los Angeles Police Department and Sheriff’s Department, big city law enforcement agencies with a history of racial profiling. system.
Under the $193 million annual plan, Metro will deploy 386 sworn officers and 34 transit officers daily, who will work with a team of 673 ambassadors, crisis intervention workers and homeless outreach workers. The agency estimates it will take two to six years to fully implement the program and end contracts with outside law enforcement.
“We have a lot to go through before we get there,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a board member.
She doesn’t expect the plan to be implemented before the 2028 Olympics; but Bass, who has been concerned about the city’s homeless population, said a strong social services department in the plan could create a new model across the country.
Like transit agencies across the country, Metro has been grappling with an increase in riders with serious mental illness and homeless people taking refuge on trains since the pandemic began. Their visible, sometimes unstable presence exacerbates the insecurities of the other knights.
Meanwhile, there is growing criticism that uniformed law enforcement officers are often missing. The board hopes the new unit will be more customer-friendly and control costs while still working with outside law enforcement.
“It’s kind of like a divorce, you still love each other, but something gets in the way,” said board member Ara J. Najarian. “Sometimes things just don’t work out. I don’t think we would ever envision a system that doesn’t have any connection to our law enforcement partners.
While the move is a repudiation of these partnerships, it is also an acknowledgment of the deep challenges facing the system. The agency faces financial constraints in the coming years as it prepares to add several rail lines. Passenger boardings are up from pre-pandemic levels, but the rebound has been slow as passengers worry about their safety.
Two people were killed in the system last week. Juan Garcia, 38, a father of four and a frequent E train rider, was reportedly shot in the head Friday night. Another man was fatally stabbed Tuesday after getting off a Metro bus in South Los Angeles.
Gina Osborn, a former FBI agent and Metro’s first chief security officer, told the board that “Metro employees who have been spat on, punched, kicked, pissed on and stabbed deserve justice.”
Only 30 percent of operator assault reports last year were filed with the district attorney or city attorney, she said.
“The lack of relentless follow-up by law enforcement is one of the many reasons why Metro needs its own public safety department,” she said.
One of the biggest complaints is that contracts grow at 10% to 15% per year. This fiscal year, the agency paid $194 million, and Metro expects the same contract to reach $345 million by 2029.
Complicating matters further, Metro cannot discipline officers or determine how they are deployed. Their three agencies operate under three sets of rules and different command structures. When Bass ordered additional police officers to the system in May, Long Beach declined to participate because their data showed it wasn’t necessary.
“The only way to do that is to bring resources, valuable resources, from neighboring communities,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Herbesh.
When asked why the commission should stick with three law enforcement agencies, Sheriff Robert Luna said no one is better at analyzing crimes and developing overall strategies.
“No one is better at doing this than us,” he said. “No one can go out, engage in our communities, look at the data, respond to crime, improve quality of life, reduce crime and see a broader perspective.”
Although violence on the subway is lower on average than in Los Angeles as a whole, that perception has dogged the board in the months since several high-profile killings, including bus hijackings and attacks on drivers. In April, the agency declared a state of emergency to expedite the construction of protective barriers for drivers.
“We need operational control of the public safety system,” John Ellis, who represents six local union members including 5,000 bus and rail operators who work at Metro, told the board. He said Metro needs to expand enforcement and hire officers who are familiar with the system and trained to treat those involved with substance abuse, mental health and homelessness issues.
But others believe it’s just more police numbers and that some of the toughest problems are social ones.
“The plan still puts policing at the forefront. Instead, we need to invest in care-based safety programs that work to make passengers safer. .
In some ways, this effort is a step backwards.
About 30 years ago, Metro had its own police force that focused on quality of life and other crimes common on public transportation. But in 1997, the department was disbanded as its patrol duties were split between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department.
The change was backed by then-Mayor Richard Riordan, who campaigned on a promise to bolster the force with 3,000 new officers. Neither the Sheriff nor the LAPD has money, but the Department of Transportation does. The politically charged plan ultimately separated the two’s responsibilities and provided millions of dollars to the troops.
Five years later, Metro found the arrangement unmanageable and costly. It put it out for bid and awarded the sheriff an exclusive contract in 2003 to cut a bloated command structure and beef up on-the-ground policing. But it didn’t work. In 2017, Metro moved to a multi-agency model.
Thereafter, Metro’s Office of Inspector General conducts annual evaluations. These assessments consistently found that law enforcement officers were not highly visible in the system and there were gaps in ensuring uniform presence on platforms and buses.
Sharon’s dad, The former chief of the recently disbanded Metropolitan Transportation Police Department said she believed at the time that giving up control would only harm the agency.
“The LAPD and Sheriff’s Department don’t go to the academy for police trains and buses,” she said. “This is not a priority for them. This is not a customer service culture.
Papa, who rose through the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department and served as chief of police in Hermosa Beach and Palos Verdes Estates, said this is not a knock on either department but the reality of policing.
