Meeting_Body
AD HOC TRANSIT POLICING OVERSIGHT
JANUARY 21, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: MONTHLY UPDATE ON TRANSIT POLICING PERFORMANCE
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE monthly update on transit policing performance.
Issue
ISSUE
On September 4, 2014, the board requested that staff provide a monthly update on transit policing performance to Systems Safety and Operations Committee. Specifically, the board requested monthly updates on criminal activity, fare enforcement, response time, deployment and perception of safety.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
In November 2015, staff continues to be proactive in working with Operations, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), and Communications in addressing perception of safety, criminal activity, fare enforcement, response time, and deployment. Below are the key highlights:
Actions to Improve the Ridership Experience
• Staff is working with Communications to develop a marketing campaign for the Transit Watch Los Angeles app which includes a Facebook promotion. Staff is continuing to increase presence on the system using new technologies and redeployment of personnel.
• High Visibility
• Transit Security Officers (TSO) and Los Angeles County Sheriffs have been engaging and interacting with patrons and operators to increase presence and increase the perception of safety on the Metro system.
o TSO Bus Boarding Activity: The total number of TSO Bus Boardings for the months of October and November 2015 is 4,610. The total number of fare checks is 45,684.
o LASD Bus Riding Team (BRT): The total number of BRT Bus Rides for the months of October and November 2015 is 1,604. The total number of fare checks is 81,326.
Criminal Activity:
OCTOBER 2015
NOVEMBER 2015
Bus Operator Assaults:
• Comparing January-November 2014 to January-November 2015, there has been a 17% increase of operator assaults. Of the 1555 total operator assaults for January-November 2015, 63.2% of the Aggravated Assaults, 33.1% of the Non-Aggravated Assaults, 75% of the Robberies, and 40% of the sex crimes have had a suspect taken into custody. The majority of bus operator assaults are fare related followed by no reason and disorderly conduct.
• Attachment C contains the matrix for the suspects who have assaulted Bus Operators that LASD has been tracking.
• Of the 155 total operator assaults from January-November 2015, there were 19 Aggravated Assaults, 127 Non-Aggravated Assaults, 4 Robberies, and 5 Sex Crimes. Of the155 assaults, 67 suspects used their hands/feet for the method of assault, followed by 43 suspects spitting, 15 throwing food or liquid, 12 using a weapon, 11 throwing other objects, 2 pepper spray and 5 sexual harassment incidents.
• From January-November 2015, there have been 112,638,136 bus boardings and 155 total operator assaults, equating to 1 bus operator assault per 3.2 million boardings.
Operator Safety:
• As of December 15, 2015, New Flyer has installed video monitors on over 400 Metro buses, and operator barriers on 250 Metro buses.
• In September 2015, Metro’s Board of Directors approved a contract modification to have all New Flyer 5600 and 3850 series buses retrofit with both operator barriers and video monitors. When this retrofit is complete in late 2016, all 900 New Flyer buses ordered under contract OP33202869 will have video monitors and operator barriers installed.
LASD Success Stories
• 10/06/2015 - At approximately 8:24am, a female victim was sitting next to the suspect on a Gold Line train when the suspect touched the victim once on her knee. The victim proceeded to get up from her seat and move away from the suspect. It appeared the suspect was going to try and touch the victim again, when another patron on the train restrained him.
Upon receiving the call, the Transit Policing Division Dispatch Center dispatched units to the South Pasadena Station, where the train had come to a stop. The victim did not want to press charges against the suspect; however a report was completed documenting the incident. During the course of the investigation, it appeared that the suspect was suffering from a mental illness and was a danger to himself and others. Deputies requested a Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to respond to assist with a 72 hour mental evaluation hold on the suspect.
• 11/05/2015 - During the early morning hours, LASD Transit Policing Division’s Crime Impact Team #2, detectives, Crime Impact Team #1, K9 detail, and several other LASD county-wide units, served search warrants on 11 locations searching for graffiti vandals who were responsible for thousands of dollars in damage to the Metro system. A particular tagging group or crew was targeted. These members had taken to vandalizing Metro buses, trains, and property.
After thorough searches and follow-up investigations were concluded, nine suspects were arrested for felony Vandalism. One additional male was arrested on an outstanding warrant and one suspect remains at large. Numerous pieces of evidence were also seized, connecting the suspects with their crimes. Protecting Metro property and the transit community remain a top priority to the Transit Policing Division.
• 11/09/2015 - During the morning hours, Transit Policing Division deputies responded to a call of a man down on a Metro bus in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. A homicide investigation was initiated by detectives from the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau. On 11/10/2015, Crime Impact Team #1 deputies conducted extensive searches, followed up on leads, and ultimately located and arrested the suspect who matched the description of the person who was believed to be responsible for the death of the Metro bus patron. Homicide detectives subsequently interviewed and charged the person with Murder.
Fare Enforcement:
• In November 2015, law enforcement performed 639,494 fare checks on the rails and Orange Line. In comparison, law enforcement performed 632,345 fare checks on the rails and Orange Line in October 2015, resulting in an increase of 7,149 fare checks from October 2015 to November 2015.
Response Time:
• In October 2015, the average response time for “Calls for Service” (Emergency, Priority and Routine) for all rail lines and buses was 18.42 minutes. In November 2015, the average response time for “Calls for Service” (Emergency, Priority and Routine) for all rail lines and buses was 18.47 minutes.
• LASD currently complies with Metro’s Performance Metrics requirement of average of 30 minutes for calls for service. The response time for emergency calls was 5.1 minutes for October 2015 and 5.1 minutes for November 2015.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Transit Policing Division Report October 2015
Attachment B - Transit Policing Division Report November 2015
Attachment C - Matrix of Bus Operator Assault Suspects
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Alex Wiggins, EO System Security and Law Enforcement, (213) 922-4433
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Stephanie Wiggins, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, (213) 922-1023
