Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
MAY 19, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: MONTHLY UPDATE ON TRANSIT SAFETY AND SECURITY PERFORMANCE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE Transit Safety and Security Report.
Issue
ISSUE
As of June 2021, Metro System Security & Law Enforcement (SSLE) has revised and updated the performance data to improve accuracy and details related to KPIs for its multi-agency law enforcement deployment strategies provided by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), and Long Beach Police Department (LBPD). To avoid discrepancies related to crime reclassifications and maintain consistency with contract terms and conditions, SSLE will have all data submitted by the 15th of every month. This will provide ample time for staff to review, thereby providing the Board with complete and accurate data.
Background
BACKGROUND
SSLE’s mission is to provide high quality, courteous security across all Metro rails, buses, and facilities so that every rider feels safe while using the Metro system. SSLE has implemented several initiatives aimed at educating people of all ages on how to safely ride public transportation, as well as provided riders with the tools to report crime and foster an environment where they are empowered to look out for themselves and each other. Additionally, SSLE has partnered with contracted law enforcement agencies to ensure that there are community outreach events across all law enforcement jurisdictions. This is so that the riding public may familiarize themselves with the individuals that keep the Metro system safe. Finally, SSLE continues to incorporate several data-driven processes to analyze a wide array of safety related issues, such as crime committed on the system, Officer/Deputy presence on the system, ridership demographics, and quality assurance surveys. Using this data, SSLE formulates solutions to problems, anticipates future issues, and develops programs and initiatives to areas of improvement. The following sections provide an overview of notable initiatives, events, and data that SSLE utilizes to achieve the goal of creating an environment for all riders to feel safe and secure while on the Metro system.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRACT COMPLIANCE
Technical Review
The SSLE Administration and Compliance Unit continues to verify that all field Officers/Deputies on duty are tapping their Metro-issued badges at all TAP machines when patrolling Metro buses, trains, and rail stations/corridors. This ensures high visibility for riders utilizing Metro’s services, while also establishing a method of accountability for our contracted law enforcement personnel.
The Compliance Unit reviewed TAP reports provided by Metro’s TAP Department against law enforcement deployment documents to verify that Officers/Deputies are tapping at turnstiles and/or readers. The data reviewed encompassed late February to early March 2022. Upon reviewing the TAP reports and daily deployment information, it was determined that LAPD and LBPD law enforcement partners are tapping their Metro badges throughout their shifts. However, LASD could not get their data to the Compliance Group within time to get their numbers reflected on this report. LASD’s data will be available on next month’s Board Report.
Community Policing Updates
As part of Metro’s Community Safety Partnerships, each contracted agency hosts its own community policing events. Below is a list of events for April 2022:
METRO TRANSIT SECURITY (MTS)
Quality Service Audits
For March, MTS completed sixteen (16) Quality Service Audits. MTS Supervisors randomly contacted eight (8) internal partners, one (1) external partner, and seven (7) patrons to gain feedback on the performance of our officers. Of the sixteen (16) surveyed, all gave ratings of "meets," "exceeded," or “greatly exceeded” expectations for the services rendered by Transit Security Officers (TSOs).
Calls for Service
For the month of March, Transit Security received 569 calls for service, compared to 470 calls for service in February 2022. The following is a breakdown of the call categories and response times.
• Routine: Transit Security received 417 calls and responded to 337 of them with an average response time of thirteen (13) minutes. The remaining calls were assigned to law enforcement, contract security, or other entities such as maintenance, Rail Operations Control, Bus Operations Control, local fire department, or elevator tech. (Routine: Assignments that are distributed to Metro Security Officers that require their presence to resolve, correct or assist a situation.)
• Priority: Transit Security received 151 calls and responded to 113 of them with an average response time of six (6) minutes. The remaining calls were assigned to law enforcement, contract security, or other entities such as maintenance, Rail Operations Control, Bus Operations Control, local fire department, or elevator tech. (Priority: Calls endangering property are dispatched as soon as possible if units are available, except for bomb threats calls, which are dispatched immediately to law enforcement. Vandalism and burglary calls may be delayed until officers are available.)
• High Priority: Transit Security received one (1) call which was assigned and handled by law enforcement. Metro Transit Security responded from downtown Los Angeles to the City of El Segundo to assist Law Enforcement. The extended response time was due to the availability of the unit and distance to the location. (High priority: Calls that are in-progress events where persons or high-value property is in immediate danger. This call requires as many personnel as possible to respond safely but quickly.)
BUS OPERATIONS SECURITY
In March, there were a total of seventeen (17) assaults on bus/rail operators, with nine (9) assaults occurring in LAPD’s jurisdiction and eight (8) assaults occurring in LASD’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, there were 15,084 bus boardings by LAPD officers and 6,362 bus boardings by LASD deputies.
Transit Services Bureau (TSB) continues to utilize officers as Bus Riding Teams (BRT) to board buses on identified lines having chronic violations of transit related statutes. The primary goal is to provide a visible deterrent to transit related crime and to provide a safe environment for Metro bus operators and patrons. The deployment strategy for the BRT's is to assign geographic responsibility based on the LAPD's four bureaus: Valley, Central, West, and South. The teams will remain flexible, capable of being reassigned to newly identified crime trends or events affecting Metro bus service. Current deployment is (4) supervisors and (10) officers daily.
RESPECT THE RIDE CAMPAIGN
Customer experience and safety are major principles for Metro. As Metro prepares to welcome back more riders to our system following the work from home mandates due to the pandemic, we initiated a new public safety pilot program called “Respect Your Ride”. In collaboration with Operations, Customer Experience, and Homeless Outreach and Engagement, the pilot program began on Monday, April 4th at the 7th Street and Metro Center Station. Metro has employed a layered and comprehensive approach to safety which includes Transportation Supervisors, Custodians, Blue Shirts, Street Teams, Path Homeless Outreach Teams, TAP Fare Personnel, Security and Law Enforcement. We plan to incorporate messaging in our stations and vehicle announcements, electronic signage and hand-out materials. The following are examples of the effective changes being made by the campaign:
• Custodians feel safer while conducting their duties. A comprehensive daily cleaning at 7th and Metro has transitioned to general maintenance.
• Security and law enforcement personnel are visible and working together in a collaborative manner.
• PATH Teams have increased their outreach efforts, specifically, to be there before the station opens. During the first month of the program, they have distributed hundreds of Metro “Care Kits” for individuals in need and have reported:
o 486 engagements
o 75 enrollments
o 33 housed
• Street Teams engaged 41,000 customers and distributed 41,000 masks
• From April 1st through April 20th, the Blue Shirt Teams have distributed:
o 1068 LIFE Brochures
o 484 LIFE Applications
o 407 TAP Cards
o 104 Transit Maps
Due to the pilot program’s success, it has expanded to Pershing Square and Union Station, and the bus system. Ten identified bus lines were shared with LASD and LAPD, along with the number of assaults and the time in which they took place so law enforcement can deploy resources at the time and place where bus operators are most vulnerable. We will monitor the effectiveness of this security operation and report back in future months.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Calls related to sexual harassment are routed through Metro Transit Security Operations Center, which then transfers the caller to a free 24/7 hotline - Peace Over Violence, Center for the Pacific Asian Family Inc., and Sister Family Services - that can provide more directed counseling. Between March 1st through March 31st, Metro Transit Security, LAPD, LASD, and LBPD received twenty-two (22) incidents and referred a total of nineteen (19) victims of sexual harassment to the above free hotlines. The remaining three incidents were witnessed and reported by security officers patrolling the system, there were no victims to refer to the hotlines.
PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
On April 18th, in the Community Engagement ad-hoc subcommittee, members received a presentation from our Communications staff regarding Metro’s current community engagement strategies. The presentation was an introductory discussion as PSAC develops their recommendations for Metro community engagement methods.
.Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The random Quality Service Audits (QSA) provide a key assessment tool to help measure and enhance customer’s perception of safety, security, customer service, and public sentiment toward Metro Transit Security. This comes in the form of a survey that asks to rate the service provided by Transit Security Officers. Participants range from external and internal personnel and patrons who ride the system. For the month of March, we had the following representation of QSAs for riders/patrons. On April 18th, we started including Spanish language survey forms to address the underrepresentation of Spanish-speaking survey takers. We will provide an update on survey representation when next month’s data is available.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to monitor our law enforcement partners, private security, and Transit Security performance, monitor crime stats, and adjust deployment as necessary.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Systemwide Law Enforcement Overview March 2022
Attachment B - MTA Supporting Data March 2022
Attachment C - Transit Police Summary March 2022
Attachment D - Monthly, Bi-Annual, Annual Comparison March 2022
Attachment E - Violent, Prop, and Part 1 Crimes March 2022
Attachment F - Demographics Data March 2022
Attachment G - Bus Operator Assaults March 2022
Attachment H - Sexual Harassment Crimes March 2022
Attachment I - April 6, 2022, General PSAC Meeting Minutes
Attachment J - April 20, 2022, General PSAC Meeting Minutes
Prepared by
Prepared by: Aston Greene, Executive Officer, System Security and Law Enforcement, (213)922-2599
Imelda Hernandez, Manager, System Security and Law Enforcement, (213) 922-4848
Reviewed By
Reviewed by: Gina Osborn, Chief Safety Officer, (213) 922-3055
