Meeting_Body
AD HOC TRANSIT POLICING OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
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 September 2015, staff continues to be proactive in working with Operations and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in addressing perception of safety, criminal activity, fare enforcement, response time, and deployment. Further, the CEO has directed the initiation of a special campaign that involves Metro Security Forces, Bus & Rail Operations, Communications, and Information Technology. This proactive campaign is designed to double down on our efforts to protect the riding public and our operators. Staff will present the elements of our multi-pronged approach in the coming days and weeks. Below are other key highlights:
Perception of Safety:
• The ridership survey was developed to allow staff and law enforcement to receive feedback from the public to their perceptions of safety. The feedback from the public will help staff in deployment of resources to appropriate areas and enhancing customer interface, such as increase presence in areas identified to be of concern by the public. The new survey for rail only was completed in May 2015 and the survey for bus was completed in June 2015.
§ 85% of survey respondents stated they felt safe waiting for this bus/train and 88% of respondents stated they felt safe riding this bus/train.
§ For greater detail on survey results on perception of safety from the Metro System-Wide Customer Satisfaction Survey, please see Attachment A.
Bus Operator Assaults:
• In California, an assault crime takes place when there is an act of force upon another person. “Aggravated Assault” is a commonly used term for the crime of “Assault with a Deadly Weapon” (ADW). The California Penal Code 245 defines this crime as one that is committed with any type of deadly weapon or by means of force that is likely to cause great bodily injury to another. As such, a non-aggravated would be an assault which would not cause GBI (great bodily injury).
• Comparing January-July 2014 to January-July 2015, there has been a 23% increase of operator assaults. Of the 95 total operator assaults for January-July 2015, 75% of the Aggravated Assaults, 35.1% of the Non-Aggravated Assaults, 66.7% of the Robberies, and 33.3% of the sex crimes have had a suspect taken into custody. The majority of bus operator assaults are fare related followed by no reason.
• Attachment C contains the matrix for the suspects who have assaulted Bus Operators that LASD has been tracking.
• Of the 95 total operator assaults from January-July 2015, there were 12 Aggravated Assaults, 77 Non-Aggravated Assaults, 3 Robberies, and 3 Sex Crimes. Of the 95 assaults, 40 suspects used their hands/feet for the method of assault, followed by 26 suspects spitting, 10 throwing food or liquid, 11 using a weapon, 4 throwing other objects, 1 pepper spray and 3 sexual harassment incidents.
• From January-July 2015, there have been 283,941,389 bus boardings and 95 total operator assaults, equating to 1 bus operator assault per 2,988,856 million boardings.
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Action:
o Increased ILP (Intelligent Led Policing) plain clothes bus riding operations on lines known to have frequent bus operator assaults.
o Increased uniformed bus boarding’s to serve as a crime deterrent and in an effort to increase LASD visibility
o Motor units increased traffic enforcement along problem lines and bus stops, again, to serve as a deterrent and to increase LASD visibility
o At Division RAP sessions, team leaders discussed verbal de-escalation techniques and ways in which bus operators can effectively avoid becoming involved in a violent confrontation with violent and/or mentally ill patrons.
Operator Safety:
• Los Angeles Metro Protective Services (LAMPS) is working with Metro Information and Technology Services Department to develop a proof-of-concept for live on-bus video streaming. The live on-bus video capabilities will allow security and law enforcement the ability to gain situational awareness and deploy accordingly to the incident as reported by our operators. This exploratory approach will continue for the next four to five months
• As of August 8, 2015, Metro has taken delivery of 310 New Flyer buses equipped with live on-board video display monitors and currently has 286 buses in service.
• As of August 8, 2015, Metro has taken delivery of 165 New Flyer buses equipped with operator barrier and currently has 141 buses in service. Metro staff anticipates taking delivery of 280 New Flyer buses equipped with operator barriers by the end of December 2015.
• Operations is presenting a September 2015 board report requesting approval to retrofit existing new buses with operator barriers and live on-board video display monitors. This retrofit will increase the number of new buses with operator barriers when executed. The number of buses to be retrofitted weekly will depend on New Flyer's retrofit capacity and how many buses Metro can spare without adversely impacting bus rollout.
• Every bus that has an operator barrier (141 buses currently) also has two live on-board video display monitors.
• 150 surveys and several communication pieces were sent to bus operators at our divisions from April 2015 - August 2015 as a part of the Bus Policing Pilot Program. The purpose of the surveys was to have operator involvement and feedback regarding barriers and video monitors on our buses in an effort to assist with future bus barrier and monitor purchases. In August 2015, the CEO directed the procurement of 350 New Flyer barrier buses and to expedite plans to retrofit the existing bus fleet with barriers. As a result, the survey portion of the bus policing pilot program has come to a conclusion. Please see the overall survey findings below:
• 62% of operators surveyed expressed that they would use the barriers in the future
• 58% of operators surveyed felt that the barriers made their job easier or did not affect their job in a negative way
• 59% of operators surveyed reported that they felt safe or somewhat safe when operating a bus with a barrier
• 63% of operators surveyed felt safe or somewhat safe when operating a bus with the on-board video monitor
• In 2015, staff started a Transit Ambassador Pilot Program with the Canadian Urban Transit Association. This spring, the Canadian Urban Transit Association was on-site to perform the train-the-trainer sessions for Transit Ambassador, customer service training for frontline employees.
• The launch for the Transit Ambassador Pilot Program at Division 18 is slated to begin in September 15, 2015. Recurring Wednesday Transit Ambassador sessions are being conducted at OCI.
• The CEO has authorized staff to begin an awareness campaign to inform customers about video monitors and barriers that are on the buses. Operations is continuing to work with Marketing and Safety to ensure that the customer awareness campaign for video monitors and barriers is robust and clearly communicates that safety of our patrons and employees is Metro’s top priority.
• Operations is moving forward with plans for procuring and installing barriers and monitors in the remaining serviceable fleet. See the priority order list below:
1. Remaining New Flyer base order buses - 427
2. NABI Compo buses - 642
3. NABI Articulated buses - 390
4. Remaining serviceable NABI & NF 40 foot buses - Approximately 400
• The SOW and solicitation process has begun and Operations is targeting submitting recommendations for Board approval in January 2016.
• Equipment Fabrication and installations will begin in February - May 2016 time frame
• Estimated cost for the Barriers is $9.8M
Transit Security Officer (TSO) Bus Boarding Activity:
• Transit Security Officers (TSO’s) have been deployed since January 9, 2015 at high boarding locations on the Metro bus system to perform fare checks. Locations to-date include: El Monte station, Downtown L.A., Wilshire Blvd at Western and also Vermont, Universal City/Studio City Red Line Station Bus Terminal, North Hollywood Orange Line Bus Terminal, Hollywood Blvd. at Highland (in front of Red Line station), Universal City and as of August 10, 2015 at Van Nuys.
• Analyses of farebox data indicates that TSO fare checks are improving fare collection on the lines where they are working at high boarding stops. Three different one-week comparisons showed cash fare collections up by 8.2% (Chavez/Vignes), 10.5% (7th Street) and 6.5% (Universal City Station).
• The total number of TSO Bus Boardings as of August 10, 2015 is 12,079. The total number of fare checks is 123,972.
Criminal Activity:
• Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) analyzes data to identify trends and spikes in crimes. This method predicts where crimes are likely to occur which enables law enforcement officers to take proactive action to prevent and reduce criminal activity.
• Below is a list of the ILP top priorities.
ILP (Intelligence Led Policing) Top 3 Priorities 6/9/15-8/5/15
1. Red Line: Pershing Square-Wilshire/Vermont
• Trending: Since January 2015, there have been 51 crimes at the listed stations above. Westlake/MacArthur has had the most with 16 crimes.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for the Red Line, the best days and times to target these stations would be Tuesday-Friday between 5:00am-2:00pm.
• Action Taken: LASD has redeployed resources including the addition of 1 uniformed deputy assigned roving patrol (targeted enforcement) between Pershing Square and Westlake/MacArthur Stations on a daily basis. Daily fare enforcement/crime suppression operations utilizing uniformed deputy personnel as well as security assistants. An excess of 50 citations issued for various transit related crimes, with multiple warrant and open charge arrests which has resulted in a reduction in crimes at Westlake/MacArthur Station as well as Pershing Square.
2. North/South Bus Line: 720 Wilshire, 204 Vermont, 210 Crenshaw, 40 MLK
• Trending: The above lines have been the highest lines for crimes, calls, and fare evasion since January 2015.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the crimes, calls for service, and fare evasion data, the best days/times to target these bus lines are:
o 720 Wilshire: Tuesday-Saturday 12:00pm-7:00pm
o 204 Vermont: Sunday-Tuesday 2:00pm-6:00pm
o 210 Crenshaw: Sunday-Wednesday 2:00pm-11:00pm
o 40 MLK: Tuesday and Wednesday 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Action Taken: LASD Personnel have conducted plain clothes and uniformed operations based on ILP data which include high visibility boardings, bus rides and fare checks. These efforts were appreciated by all operators who were contacted during the rides.
3. Green Line: Lakewood-Hawthorne
• Trending: Since June 1, 2015, there have been 12 unsolved robberies and grand theft persons, which is the crime of taking or stealing personal property of another who is in lawful possession of the property. Cell phones are the most targeted item.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for the Green Line, the best days and times to target these stations would be Monday-Thursday between 2:00pm-6:00pm.
• Action Taken: On June 2nd, 10th, 16th, and 25th, 2015, a team of reserve deputies in LASD bicycle uniform rode marked Sheriff’s bicycles from Norwalk station to Aviation station. The deputies rode the trains and conducted patrol checks at each of the station parking lots. The deputies issued several citations for vehicle code violations. The operation was conducted between the hours of 1000 to 1800 hours.
LASD Success Stories
• 07/29/2015 - A Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) case worker, contacted the LASD Transit Policing Department and stated that a missing juvenile was reported by the Santa Monica Police Department. The case worker stated the juvenile, a 13 year old, female, Hispanic, was seen at the Metro Blue Line Compton Station. It is believed that the juvenile is the victim of Human Trafficking. TPD Deputies responded to the Compton Station, found, and detained the juvenile. The newly created Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) First Responder Protocol was initiated and a Multi-Agency Response Team (MART) was activated. The Juvenile was interviewed by case workers from DCFS and detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau Vice Detail. The investigation is currently on going.
• 07/24/2015 - TPD units responded to the Wilmington Metro Green Line Station at approximately 6:50 PM, on a report of a man with a gun on the platform level. Based on the descriptions given by the informant, deputies detained a male and female, both appearing to be in their 30’s at the location. Reports stated the male passed a gun to the female. The gun was found to be a pellet gun. There was insufficient evidence to link the male to a crime, however the female was arrested after a cursory records check revealed an outstanding warrant for her arrest. There was no impact to train service.
• 06/30/2015 - On 6/05/2015, a Strong Arm Robbery (Cell Phone) occurred onboard a Metro Green Line Train at the Hawthorne passenger station. The victim, a female with her arm in a sling, was seated in the train in front of the suspect. When the train arrived at Hawthorne station the suspect reached over and forcibly ripped the victim’s iPhone and ear phones from out of her hand. The suspect exited the train and fled on foot. Over the next several weeks, TPD Crime Impact Team members conducted an exhaustive investigation, and were able to determine the suspect’s identity. They were also able to determine that the suspect was already on formal probation for a previous robbery and theft conviction. The team members conducted a Probation Compliance Search at the last known residence of the suspect in the City of Hawthorne. The suspect was detained at the location without incident and admitted to committing this Robbery.
Fare Enforcement:
• In July 2015, law enforcement performed 565,249 fare checks on the rails and Orange Line. In comparison, law enforcement performed 633,574 fare checks on the rails and Orange Line in June 2015, resulting in a decrease of 68,325 from June 2015 to July 2015.
Response Time:
• In July 2015, the average response time for “Calls for Service” (Emergency, Priority and Routine) for all rail lines and buses was 17.8 minutes. LASD currently complies with Metro’s Performance Metrics requirement of average of 30 minutes for calls for service. Specifically, the response time for emergency calls was 9.7 minutes.
Deployment:
• Transit Policing Division deploys sworn and professional staff in geographical regions throughout the Metro transit system to suppress crime and disorder on all modes of Metro transportation in the region. Region sizes are determined based on crime and disorder trends, as well as deployment strategies. A service area lieutenant is accountable for suppressing crime and disorder issues in their respective region using the principals of Community Policing. Supplemental Crime Impact Teams, Bus Riding Teams, and the Threat Interdiction Unit are system wide law enforcement assets deployed to suppress crime hotspots and emerging crime trends. The Intelligence-Led Policing Process is used as the primary tool in determining deployment of law enforcement services.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Metro System-Wide Customer Satisfaction Survey
Attachment B - Transit Policing Division Report June 2015
Attachment C - Transit Policing Division Report July 2015
Attachment D - Matrix of Bus Operator Assault Suspects
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Duane Martin, DEO Project Management, (213) 922-7460
Alex Wiggins, EO System Security and Law Enforcement, (213) 922-4433
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Stephanie Wiggins, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, (213) 922-1023
