Frustrated by its lack of control and the skyrocketing cost of three law enforcement agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has taken the first step to create its own transit police to patrol a sprawling system in which riders have grown weary of crime.
The executive board’s 10-0 vote on Thursday came after a rare appearance by the chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department, Long Beach police and Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, who defended their tactics and asked for a seat at the table as the agency sought to get rid of their contracts.
“It’s a big leap. It’s a big change for Metro,” said incoming Metro Chair Janice Hahn, who is also a Los Angeles County supervisor.
The newly approved Transit Community Public Safety Department is being billed as one that will be more visible, accountable and sensitive to riders, a counterpoint to complaints that the LAPD and Sheriff‘s Department — big-city law enforcement agencies with histories of racial profiling — did not patrol the system consistently.
Under a plan costing $193 million a year, Metro would have a daily deployment of 386 sworn officers and 34 transit officers who would work with 673 ambassadors, and with crisis intervention and homeless outreach teams. The agency estimates that it will take two to six years to fully implement the plan and terminate the contracts with outside law enforcement.
Since the pandemic, Metro has been struggling with a rise of riders with severe mental illnesses and homeless people taking shelter on trains. Their visible, sometimes erratic presence has exacerbated a sense of insecurity for other riders. At the same time, criticism has grown that uniformed law enforcement were often nowhere to be seen. The board hopes its new approach will be more customer friendly and keep costs under control, while still collaborating with outside law enforcement.
“It’s kind of like a divorce where you still love each other but certain things have gotten in the way,” board member Ara J. Najarian said. “Sometimes things just don’t work out. I don’t think we are ever going to envision a system where we don’t have any contact with our law enforcement partners.”
While the move is a repudiation of those partners, it’s also an acknowledgement of deep-seated challenges the system faces. The agency expects to add several rail lines over the coming years and sees passenger boardings increasing from pre-pandemic levels, but a rebound in ridership has been slow as passengers worry about their safety.
Within the last week, two people were killed on the system. Juan Garcia, 38, reportedly a father of four who frequently traveled the E Line, was shot in the head Friday night. Another man was fatally stabbed Tuesday after exiting a Metro bus in South Los Angeles.
“Metro employees who are spit on, punched, have urine thrown on them, and stabbed deserve justice,” Gina Osborn, a former FBI agent who was Metro’s first chief safety officer, told the board. She said last year just 30% of reports on operator assaults were filed with the district attorney or city attorney.
“The lack of relentless follow-up by law enforcement is one of many reasons Metro needs its own public safety department,” she said.
One of the biggest complaints was that contracts were rising at a rate of 10% to 15% annually. This fiscal year, the agency paid $194 million; by 2029, Metro projects, the same contract would have been $345 million.
Complicating matters, Metro can’t discipline officers or decide how they are deployed. Their three agencies operate under three sets of rules and different command structures. So when Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered a surge of police on the system in May, Long Beach declined to participate because their data showed that it wasn’t warranted.