Metro - File #: 2024-0168

• File #: 2024-0168
• Type: Informational Report
• Status: Agenda Ready
• File created: 3/6/2024
• In control: Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee
• On agenda: 4/18/2024
• Title: RECEIVE AND FILE the Public Safety Report.
• Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• Indexes: 7th Street/Metro Center Station, APU/Citrus College Station, Arroyo Verdugo subregion, Assembly Bill 468, Barriers (Roads), Call For Projects, City of Los Angeles, Cleaning, Cleanliness (Graffiti Abatement), Contracts, De-escalation, Design build, Emergency Operations Center, Gateway Cities (Southeast LA County) Service Sector, Gateway Cities subregion, Graffiti, Homeless Outreach, Informational Report, Law enforcement, Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, Long Beach, Long Beach Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriffs Department, Los Angeles Union Station, Maintenance, Maintenance practices, Metro Rail A Line, Metro Rail B Line, Metro Rail D Line, Metro Rail E Line, Metro Rail K Line, Metro Transit Ambassadors, Motion / Motion Response, North Hollywood Station, Operation LA Metro Homeless Outreach, Outreach, Pasadena, Pico Station, Plan, Property crimes, Ridership, Safety, Safety and security, Santa Monica, Security, Statistics, System safety, Theft, Train Number, Transit buses, Transit Homeless Action Plan, Uniform Crime Reporting, Vermont/Santa Monica Station, Volume, Weapons, Westlake/Macarthur Park Station, Westside Cities subregion, Westside/Central Service Sector, Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station

Meeting_Body

OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE

APRIL 18, 2024

Subject

SUBJECT:                     MONTHLY UPDATE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Action

ACTION:                     RECEIVE AND FILE

Heading

RECOMMENDATION

Title

RECEIVE AND FILE the Public Safety Report.

Issue
ISSUE

Metro is committed to providing outstanding trip experiences for all transportation system users. In furtherance of the Vision 2028 Plan, Metro implemented a multi-faceted plan to improve safety and safety perceptions for riders and employees. The following summarizes current initiatives to accomplish this objective and recent public safety trends.

Background

BACKGROUND

Within Metro’s Public Safety Mission statement, the agency recognizes that each individual is entitled to a safe, dignified, and human experience. In March 2023, the Board adopted a revised Code of Conduct, a Bias-Free Policing Policy, and a Public Safety Analytics Policy to avert racial profiling and bias in the deployment of Metro security and law enforcement services. Furthermore, since July 2023, Metro has been using a multi-layered deployment model to utilize all resources from the public safety ecosystem.

These actions align with numerous initiatives to improve safety and the perception of safety on the system, including the increased, strategic, and layered deployment of personnel (comprised of customer-centered ambassadors and community intervention specialists, as well as transit security, private security, and law enforcement officers) and the piloting of safety and security interventions to address specific concerns (e.g., drug use and crime) on the system.

Discussion
DISCUSSION

System Security & Law Enforcement (SSLE) is responsible for overseeing safety initiatives on the Metro system, working in coordination with other departments, including Operations and Customer Experience. SSLE forms the foundation of Metro’s multi-layered approach to safety and security, focused specifically on protecting our customers and employees by preventing and addressing crime on our system, enforcing Metro’s Code of Conduct, ensuring the safety of our facilities, directing the deployment of law enforcement and private security presence throughout the system, and proactively identifying and addressing areas of possible concern.

The following is a snapshot of activities and performance and outcome-related data for February, the most recent month for which systemwide law enforcement data is available.

DEPLOYMENTS AND TRENDS

Metro continues to incorporate enhancements and find proactive ways for its safety and security model to address evolving societal issues that intersect with the system. The agency’s multi-layered approach with high visibility presence continues to strategically address challenges, as reflected in the recent systemwide declines in Crimes Against Society and Crimes Against Property. 

Ridership in February 2024 was 23,031,303, up 9.43% from February 2023 (21,047,072).  Although Crimes Against Persons increased from January to February 2024, the implementation of the Multi-Layered Planned Deployment in mid-2023 is demonstrated in the annual comparison of February 2023 with February 2024 and the declines in the number of crimes and Crimes Against Persons per 1 million boardings. SSLE’s steady coordination with its law enforcement partners, contract security, transit security, and other multi-layered partners allowed for strategic safety and security operations to be incorporated, enhanced, and continued. This includes utilizing data such as call center comments, Transit Watch app reports, weekly coordination meetings, and trend reports to develop and implement strategic efforts to target crime spikes, adjustments at Focus Stations, End of Line stations, Bus Riding Teams, or Code of Conduct enforcement. 

Systemwide Crime Stats

The following represents crime statistics and data analysis for February 2024.

The overall system rate of Crimes Against Persons rose 7.8% in February 2024 compared to January 2024 (166 vs. 154). By mode, Crimes Against Persons on the rail system increased by 16%, specifically due to increases in aggravated assaults (28 vs. 16) and sex offenses (6 vs. 2). The bus system dropped by 1.4% from January 2024 due to a decline in batteries (41 vs. 46). 

Crimes Against Property systemwide slightly decreased by 3.4% when comparing February 2024 to January 2024. On the rail system, crime decreased by 11.1%, attributed mainly to a 10.7% decrease in larcenies in February 2024 compared to the previous month (25 vs. 28). Crimes Against Property on the bus system saw a slight increase in February 2024 from January 2024 (24 vs. 22). Systemwide, Crimes Against Society decreased significantly by 40.4% (274 vs. 460), as this was a result of enforcement-related arrests for trespassing, narcotics, and weapons, attributing to a decline of these types of activities on the system. By mode, the rail system experienced declines in trespassing of 43.9% (208 vs. 371), narcotics arrests of 25.4% (47 vs. 63), and weapons of 26.7% (11 vs. 15). On the bus system, there was an overall decrease of 27.3% compared to January 2024.  

In February, our law enforcement partners observed increased cell phone thefts on buses. Most of these incidents occurred on the Western Avenue corridor in LAPD’s South Bureau. In response, LAPD implemented a focused bus riding team on this corridor, which led to a 78.6% reduction in cell phone thefts the following week.

The following chart and tables demonstrate six-month and annual comparisons.

The three tables below compare Crimes Against Persons, Property, and Society comparing February 2024 to January 2024, as well as February 2023:

Crimes Against Property per 1 million boardings saw a slight increase of 0.7% compared to January 2024 and decreased by 17.5% compared to February 2023:

Crimes Against Society per 1 million boardings decreased by 37.9% compared to January 2024 and increased by 217% compared to February 2023:

Deployment Results

The following reflects the results of the deployment for February and the effects of preventing and reducing crime on the system.                      

Law Enforcement

LAPD, LASD, and LBPD enforce the penal code on the system, including conducting trespass investigations. The chart below represents the law enforcement efforts to enforce the penal code on the system for February.

*Law enforcement citations and warnings are not related to fare but for trespassing, loitering, and moving violations.

Law enforcement homeless outreach data has been omitted from this report as staff works to align how homeless outreach data is defined and reported. Currently, each law enforcement partner defines their outreach efforts differently, making it challenging to demonstrate the impact of their work across the system. Staff will coordinate with the Homeless Outreach team to define particular data sets and provide law enforcement partners with a standardized template to provide their data.  This allows for a streamlined approach to understanding the outreach efforts systemwide and reporting information and trends. Once the data has been aligned, staff will resume reporting by May 2024.

End of Line

Contract security (CS) officers offload trains at the end-of-line (EOL) stations and provide security support for maintenance employees while performing their duties. CS cleared 16,888 trains.  The following six EOL stations were added for February: Downtown Long Beach, Downtown Santa Monica, Expo/Crenshaw, Norwalk, Redondo Beach, and Westchester/Veterans. There is a decrease in the number of “Trains Cleared” because this metric was redefined to count the number of trains instead of train cars per train.

CS shares their observations during weekly multi-layered planned deployment meetings with Metro Homeless Outreach and law enforcement partners. CS observations are compared with feedback from Metro Blue Shirts and Transit Ambassadors to understand where unhoused riders require the most resources. In February, Metro Homeless Outreach efforts, were targeted at the following stations: Westlake/MacArthur Park, Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, Vermont/Santa Monica, and Lake. The table below reflects these efforts.

Metro Homeless Outreach has fixed posts at key EOL stations within the multi-layered planned deployment. Staff currently support six EOL stations (Union Station, Downtown Santa Monica, Downtown Long Beach, Atlantic, North Hollywood, and APU/Citrus). The efforts at EOL account for 1,636 (72%) of 2,269 total engagements during the month of February. The table below reflects the outreach efforts at EOL stations.

 

Transit Security

The primary role of Metro Transit Security (MTS) in the Multi-Layered Planned Deployment is Code of Conduct enforcement. Since the onset of the Multi-Layered Planned Deployment in July 2023 and the revised Code of Conduct incorporated in June 2023, SSLE has noted that 96% of the Code of Conduct violations cited on the system have been for fare evasion. In February, MTS officers issued 98 citations and 80 written warnings for Code of Conduct violations. Of those,165 (93%) were due to individuals failing to provide proof of fare. The remaining citations and written warnings were for disruptive activities (2), blocking access/exits with a bicycle (2), smoking/vaping (4), loitering (2), urinating/defecating (1), treating others with respect (1) and littering (1). The numbers reflect MTS's continued efforts to deter those attempting to access the system for non-transit purposes in violation of the Code of Conduct. Code of Conduct enforcement is critical to maintaining order on the system and deterring non-destination travelers.

Operator Safety

In February, operator assaults decreased by four assaults when compared to January 2024 (12 vs. 16). Using hands (punch, slap), brandishing a gun (paint gun), and throwing an object were the top three methods of assault. Of the 12 assaults, five reported a bus barrier in use, one occurred outside the bus, and the remaining six did not provide details of bus barrier use. Of the reported assaults, two victims required medical transport, one victim was transported to see the company doctor, and one victim received medical treatment on scene. Two of the assaults occurred on Line 207 on Western Avenue, while the remaining ten assaults all occurred on various bus lines.  This follows the usual monthly pattern where operator assaults tend to be scattered throughout various bus lines.  Five of the assaults occurred between 12:00 p.m. and 5:59 p.m., three assaults occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 11:59 a.m., two assaults occurred between 6:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m., and the remaining two assaults occurred between 12:00 a.m. and 5:59 a.m.  Assaults in February were higher than historical averages over the past six years, as shown in Figure A. The methods of assaults that occurred in February are summarized in Figure B.

Figure A: Bus/Rail Operator Assaults Year-to-Year Comparison

Figure B: Methods of Assault

Bus Riding Teams

Transit Security Bus Riding Teams rotate across the top 10 bus lines with reported incidents of operator assaults and lines with newly reported incidents of operator assaults and other significant security incidents to enforce Metro’s Code of Conduct. In February, a fixed deployment was added to Line 111 to address increased crime, significant incidents, and operator assaults.

Two remaining Transit Security Bus Riding Teams are tentatively scheduled to be deployed by Summer 2024. The MTS teams are augmented with the support of law enforcement.

In addition to Code of Conduct enforcement, TSOs provide riders with safety tips, such as being aware of their surroundings while using their mobile phones and informing them of the Transit Watch application to report incidents. Several TSOs are bilingual and can assist patrons in Spanish, Korean, and Thai, among other languages. TSOs also engage with bus operators to obtain information regarding safety issues or areas of concern that the Bus Riding Teams can address. Additionally, when possible, TSOs provide operators with verbal tips related to safety and de-escalation tactics to ensure they can respond appropriately to incidents that may threaten their safety.

Staff will continue to review crime statistics and physical assault data to identify potential trends and patterns that will inform deployment strategies to reduce crime on the bus system and help decrease and prevent bus operator assaults. In addition, staff engage with bus operators from all ten bus divisions at monthly RAP sessions to obtain feedback on lines and geographical areas where bus operators have safety concerns.

ACTIVITIES

Narcan Deployment

For February 2024, MTS reported 2 Narcan incidents, with no drug-related fatalities. Both incidents occurred at the North Hollywood Station on the same day (February 1).

Metro Ambassadors reported 22 Narcan incidents, with one drug-related fatality:

In total, MTS and Ambassadors reported 24 incidents in February, which is a 33% increase compared to the 18 reported incidents in January.

Public Facing Dashboard Update

SSLE and ITS continue to make headway with the Public Facing Dashboard. Currently being developed are the detailed dashboard pages, the landing page, programming for integration of charts and graphs, and the loading of SSLE’s data. During the week of April 5, the consultant will provide a link for the Metro team to start reviewing and providing feedback in preparation for an initial draft preview by the Office of the CEO in mid-April.

Emergency Management Update

Emergency Training and Exercises

From February 2 to 6, the Emergency Management Department (EMD) activated Metro’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to a Level 3, coordinating Metro’s planning and response to the multiple-day storm event. EMD facilitated daily meetings for Metro departments to provide updates on the evolving weather forecasts and impacts on streets and transit routes, facilitate coordination of resource needs and requests, and collaborate on our patrons' and employees' safety and security. EMD participated in the City and County of Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center briefings to maintain situational awareness of all storm-related activities throughout the jurisdiction.  

On February 24, EMD conducted the second of 11 planned exercises for this calendar year. The full-scale exercise was conducted at the A Line Glenarm Crossing in Pasadena using a train vs. pedestrian scenario. The objectives were to increase engagement with local first responders, improve awareness of response procedures, and enhance intra-agency coordination. Participants included the Pasadena Fire Department, Pasadena Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Metro Maintenance of Way, Rail Operations, Rail Operations Control Center, A Line North and South Management, and the Emergency Management Department.

Ancillary Areas Motion 30 Response - Quarterly Update

The following is a quarterly update on Motion 30 (Attachment A) by Directors Bass, Horvath, Krekorian, Najarian, Solis, and Hahn outlining progress on securing and cleaning ancillary areas.

Maintenance

•                     All ancillary areas along the B, D, and E lines are cleaned weekly by Custodial Services. The ancillary areas on the K line are cleaned as needed.

•                     The feedback received from Metro employees is that the ancillary areas have maintained desirable results.

•                     This is a direct result of the increased frequency of corridor inspections by security officers, increased frequency of station corridor cleaning, new cleaning products, updated Standard Operating Procedures for chemical and staff safety, and equipment that protects staff from potential exposure to untreated corridors.

Security

•                     As of February 1, 2024, 87 contract security officers were deployed to the system to support the ancillary efforts.

•                     Contract security is deployed 24/7 at all 24 subway stations throughout the B, D, E, and K lines, inspects every ancillary area nine times per day, and work with law enforcement to conduct arrests on any trespassers they encounter.

•                     Contract security, MTS, and LAPD efforts resulted in 25 trespassing arrests in ancillary areas in February.

•                     Contract security continues to respond to ancillary door alarms set off by intruders. Contract security is instrumental in keeping the ancillary areas clean by providing security escorts to custodial services while the ancillaries are cleaned.

•                     Contract security reports damage, repair requests, and clean-up requests via the Metro Transit Watch app between the regularly scheduled clean-ups.  

Alarms

•                     All audible alarms at the B/D Line ancillary doors have been programmed to activate for up to two hours if the door was entered or exited without first tapping a valid employee ID card on the adjacent badge reader.

•                     The alarms are reset by contract security officers at the station only via the badge readers, and any observed activities are reported to the Security Operations Center.

Staff will continue to provide quarterly updates to the Board on the above activities and their progress.

CUSTOMER COMMENTS

In February, there was an 18.8% increase in engagements related to Safety and Security on social media accounts compared to January, garnering the highest volume of engagements over the last seven months on this topic. These comments mention or request increased security to assist with passenger conduct, including the use of drugs on the system, continuing a trend from October to the present. SSLE will continue to ensure visible security presence through the multi-layer security resources. 

The Safety Personnel subtopic continues to generate the highest volume of engagement overall, with Safety and Security having average positive and negative comments. Examples on Reddit included positive discussions around increased security at stations such as Downtown Santa Monica and LA Trade Tech College, and on X, users credited Metro’s “safety upgrades” while discussing increased ridership.

Call Center Comments

From January to February, customer comments related to Passenger Conduct increased by 34.1% from 41 to 55. Examples of some of the most common comments received are riders complaining about individuals smoking on the train, drinking alcoholic beverages, and playing loud music.

Customer comments related to Rail General Security Concern and General Security Concern decreased by 46.7% (30 to 16) and 30.8% (13 to 9), respectively.   Examples of these types of incidents range from harassment to assault, so a reduction in these types of comments is welcomed. SSLE will continue highlighting top themes from comments submitted to the Call Center and collaborate with its public safety partners to address them as part of the Multi-Layered Planned Deployment.

Staff reviews all safety and security-related customer comments for trends and patterns to inform possible shifts of uniformed personnel deployments to where ongoing Code of Conduct and crime issues are identified. Moreover, any customer comment referencing criminal activity is forwarded to law enforcement for a follow-up with the customer to investigate the incident and file a crime report.

Transit Watch (TW) App

Transit Watch App reports related to safety and criminal elements for February totaled 3,041, an increase of 11.3% compared to January. The Security Operations Center’s Security Control Specialists (SCS) response time for receiving the report to initial contact with the reporting party increased by 14.0% from January to February (0.65 minutes). By comparison, in FY23, the average response time was 4.9 minutes, exceeding the fiscal year’s target of 4 minutes. For FY24, SSLE established a target response time of 2 minutes to ensure a faster process for determining the proper response and dispatch of resources, improving calls for service response times on the system. The reported number for February exceeded the target goal and demonstrated Metro’s commitment to providing excellent customer service and timely security resources to keep patrons and employees safe.

Types of Reported Incidents

Of the incident types reported through the Transit Watch application, property crimes- graffiti, harassment, and fights or disturbances increased in reporting from January to February.

Graffiti incidents reported in February were 1,872 vs. 1,606 in January (a 16.6% increase). Of the 1,872 graffiti incidents captured, Ambassadors reported 71.4% (1,336) of these occurrences, a 16.6% increase compared to 1,146 reported in January. The number of harassment reports submitted in February was 34 vs. 23 in January (a 47.8% increase), while fight or disturbance reports submitted in February were 352 vs. 334 in January (a 5.4% increase).

Transit Watch reports highlighted increased property crime and cleanliness issues along the A, B, C, and E lines. These observations resulted in increased patrols at stations with the highest observations.

SSLE also utilized the weekly meetings between members of the Multi-Layered Planned Deployment to discuss observed increases in security incidents, which included theft. SSLE will continue to explore best practices such as messaging/awareness campaigns, education, and video analytics to address graffiti, theft, and harassment systemwide.

Stations with the Most Reported Incidents

For graffiti incidents, the top three locations in February were Vermont/Santa Monica Station (64), Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station (64), and Pico Station (63). The top three locations reporting harassment incidents were Westlake/MacArthur Park Station (4), Union Station (3), and 7^th Street/Metro Center Station (3). The top three locations reporting fight or disturbance incidents were Union Station (12), 7^th Street/Metro Center Station (10), and Little Tokyo/Arts District Station (8).

METRO AMBASSADOR PROGRAM UPDATE

A Metro Ambassador’s role is to improve the perception of safety by providing support to riders, connecting riders to resources, and reporting safety incidents or maintenance needs. Metro Ambassadors were deployed on all rail lines, G Line, J Line, and bus lines 210, 40, 20, and 720.

By the numbers

For the month of February 2024, Metro Ambassadors conducted 58,036 customer engagements and reported the following:

•                     2,881 Cleanliness Issues

•                     1,336 Graffiti Incidents

•                     424 Elevator and Escalator Problems

•                     249 Safety Issues

Equity Platform

EQUITY PLATFORM

Metro continues to take a cross-disciplinary approach to improve the safety of Metro’s system and improve ridership and customers’ experience. Using a multi-layered public safety model, SSLE collaborates with law enforcement partners, contract security, multi-disciplinary outreach teams, and Metro Ambassadors to support vulnerable and unhoused riders, respond to customer concerns, and improve cleanliness and security on the system. Contract security officers now provide security support at six additional end-of-line stations to assist maintenance employees with cleaning trains at the end of the line. Additionally, operator safety remains a top priority as SSLE maintains its presence across the system. The recent fixed deployments of Metro Transit Security Bus Riding Teams demonstrate the agency’s commitment to keeping our operators and patrons safe and deterring crime. LAPD’s crime suppression efforts on bus lines 108, 207, and 754 have created a safer environment for riders. Through these combined safety measures, Metro is improving the customer experience by connecting riders to social services, enhancing the protection of secured areas, allowing employees to perform their duties safely, and providing a safe trip experience for riders through the multi-layered deployment. 

Next Steps
NEXT STEPS

SSLE continues to monitor our law enforcement partners, private security, and Transit Security Officer performance, monitor crime stats, and consider information from surveys, customer complaints, and physical security assessments, amongst other sources, to analyze safety-related issues, adjust deployment strategies, and formulate new interventions.

Attachments

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A - Board Motion 30

Attachment B - Arrests by Race & Ethnicity February 2024

Attachment C - Total Crime Summary February 2024

Attachment D - Systemwide Law Enforcement Overview February 2024

Attachment E - MTA Supporting Data February 2024

Attachment F - Bus & Rail Operator Assaults February 2024

Attachment G - Sexual Harassment Crimes February 2024

Prepared by

Prepared by: Robert Gummer, Senior Executive Officer, System Security & Law

Enforcement, (213) 922-4513

Vanessa Smith, Executive Officer, Customer Experience, (213) 922-7009

Imelda Hernandez, Senior Manager, Transportation Planning, (213) 922-4848

Reviewed By

Reviewed by: Kenneth Hernandez, Interim Chief Safety Officer, Chief Safety Office, (213) 922-2990

Jennifer Vides, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Customer Experience Office, (213) 940-4060

Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, Operations, (213) 418-3034