The patrons of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority system will benefit from a substantially increased presence of law enforcement personnel beginning July 1 due to a new five-year, multi-agency approach led by Metro’s Security Team that includes the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department and Long Beach Police Department.
“The Metro system is safe today, but we want to make it even safer and more secure as we continue to expand our transit system throughout the county,” said John Fasana, Metro Board Chair and Mayor Pro Tem of the city of Duarte. “This new multi-agency approach strategically places law enforcement resources where they can provide the best service to our customers.”
Law enforcement will be able to respond to incidents more quickly from within their own local jurisdictions, improving response times to approximately five to six minutes from an average of 16 minutes. Increases in personnel throughout the system will result in a consistent 314 personnel over each 24-hour period.
“Improving public transportation means making sure that all of our transit lines are safe to ride, so that Angelenos can move around our city, and connect with one another,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “This new approach puts more LAPD officers on patrol keeping our communities safe, and makes Metro a better transit system for all of our customers.”
Metro's plan is consistent with best practices within the transit industry. Other transit agencies like Denver, Portland, Sacramento and Oakland work with multiple law enforcement agencies to patrol their systems. A multi-layered transit security strategy positions Metro to accommodate its growing transit system. With the implementation of Measure M, Metro must continue to elevate safety and security initiatives as well as partnerships to keep safety as the number one priority.
“We have a unique opportunity to continue the policing services that we’ve provided to Metro patrons since 1987,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Captain Jennifer Bateman. “I’m confident that working together with our law enforcement partners, as well as Metro security, we will continue to provide the level of service that Metro employees and patrons have come to expect.”
“This law enforcement partnership with Metro will not only bolster the LAPD’s ability to respond and react to crime while protecting the commuting residents of Los Angeles, but it will also strengthen our commitment to relationship-based policing,” said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. “The geographical expanse of our city makes a traditional ‘foot beat’ very difficult, but with our officers riding the buses and trains of our Metro transit system, the men and women of the department will be able to have more interaction with Angelenos, which will hopefully continue to build bridges between the department and the public.”
“We are looking forward to our Long Beach Police Department taking over policing along the Blue Line,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. “We plan to improve safety and increase police presence on our trains.”
“We are excited about our new partnership with Metro and appreciate the ongoing support we have received from our city and community leaders,” said Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna. “Our employees have been working tirelessly to create a staffing and operational plan that will focus on reducing response time to calls for service, increasing law enforcement visibility, and deterring crime in and around this important transportation corridor.”
Total reported bus and rail crimes are down systemwide since January 2016. Metro continues to seek more improvements while also implementing a range of new safety and security measures that will protect the public while riding Metro.
“Our overriding goal here is to ensure our transit riders can ride safely – without fear – 100 percent of the time” said Phillip A. Washington, Metro’s CEO. “Increasing our partnership with local law enforcement agencies is one important part of a multi-layered approach that also includes integrating technology and coordinating closely with our federal agency partners to help keep the Metro System safe.”
