Metro - File #: 2024-0228

• File #: 2024-0228
• Type: Informational Report
• Status: Agenda Ready
• File created: 4/2/2024
• In control: Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee
• On agenda: 6/20/2024
• Title: RECEIVE AND FILE the Public Safety Report.
• Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• Indexes: 7th Street/Metro Center Station, Assembly Bill 468, Avalon Station, Barriers (Roads), Call For Projects, City of Los Angeles, Cleaning, Cleanliness (Graffiti Abatement), De-escalation, Elevators, Gateway Cities (Southeast LA County) Service Sector, Gateway Cities subregion, Graffiti, Harbor Freeway Station, Hawthorne/Lennox Station, Homeless Outreach, Informational Report, It's Off Limits, 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, Metro Busway G Line, Metro Rail A Line, Metro Rail B Line, Metro Rail C Line, Metro Rail D Line, Metro Rail E Line, Metro Transit Ambassadors, Motion / Motion Response, Non-destination travelers, North Hollywood, North Hollywood Station, Norwalk, Norwalk Station, Operation LA Metro Homeless Outreach, Outreach, Plan, Property crimes, Public Safety Advisory Committee, Rail Operations Control Center, Ridership, Safety, Safety and security, Santa Monica, Security, Station 1101, Statistics, System safety, System Safety Management, System Safety Program, Theft, Transit buses, Transit Homeless Action Plan, Transit safety, Transit System, Uniform Crime Reporting, Universal City/Studio City Station, Vermont/Santa Monica Station, Violent crimes, Volume, Westlake/Macarthur Park Station, Westside Cities subregion, Westside/Central Service Sector, Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station

Meeting_Body

OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE

JUNE 20, 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 comprehensive 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 comprehensive 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 April, the most recent month for which systemwide law enforcement data is available.

DEPLOYMENTS AND TRENDS

Metro continues to incorporate enhancements and find innovative ways for its proactive safety and security model to address evolving societal issues that intersect with the system. The agency’s comprehensive resource approach to safety, with high visible presence on the system, continues to strategically address, minimize, or prevent crime occurrences systemwide. Our activities are reflected within the positive and the areas of improvement, as daily challenges allow for continuous safety/security corrective measures systemwide. This includes:

•                     Systemwide crime numbers (down from last month)

•                     Crimes Against Persons (increases in both rail and bus, after consecutive months of bus system declines)

•                     Crimes Against Property (with four consecutive months of declines systemwide)

• Crimes Against Society (significant decrease systemwide from the previous month)

Ridership in April 2024 was 26,210,300, up 10.8% from April 2023 (23,661,295), marking our 17th consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth. When observing Crimes Against Persons per 1 million boardings, a decline has continued this month in the annual comparison of April 2024 to April 2023, a trend that first began in January 2024.

SSLE’s weekly coordination with its law enforcement partners, security partners, and other multi-layered resources prescribes strategic collaboration related to safety and security on the system. The multi-layered safety partners conduct weekly report-outs and utilize data from various internal and external sources (i.e., Call Center, Transit Watch app, crime reports, etc.) to ensure strategies are maintained, adjusted, or newly incorporated to mitigate crime spikes or arising trends on the system.

Systemwide Crime Stats

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

The overall number of crimes systemwide declined in April 2024 by 18.9% (447 vs 551) compared to March 2024. 

Crimes Against Persons rose 15.6% in April 2024 compared to March 2024 (156 vs. 135). By mode, Crimes Against Persons on the rail system increased by 18.6% (102 vs. 86), specifically due to increases in aggravated assaults (22 vs. 17), robberies (21 vs. 11), and sex offenses (7 vs. 3). The bus system increased by five or 10.2% (54 vs. 49) mainly due to an increase in aggravated assaults (16 vs. 11). Despite the increase in Crimes Against Persons from March to April, Crimes Against Persons in 2024 are trending lower than in 2023. In 2023, Crimes Against Persons averaged 186 per month, while in 2024 (four months of data), they are averaging 153 per month. This represents a 17.7% decrease in average monthly Crimes Against Persons (violent crimes). 

Crimes Against Property systemwide slightly decreased by 3.9% when comparing April 2024 to March 2024. On the rail system, crime increased by one or 3.2% (32 vs. 31).Crimes Against Property on the bus system saw a 15.0% (17 vs. 20) decline from March 2024 to April 2024. 

Crimes Against Society throughout the system saw a significant decrease of 33.7% (242 vs. 365).  By mode, the rail system experienced declines in trespassing (162 vs. 257) and narcotics (55 vs. 84). On the bus system, there was an overall decrease of 7.1% compared to March 2024.

The following chart demonstrates the crime trend over the past six months:

The following three tables compare crime data for Crimes Against Persons, Property, and Society per one million boardings for April 2024, March 2024, and April 2023.

Crimes Against Persons (which include violent crimes) per one million boardings increased by 14.1% when compared to March 2024 and decreased by 25.1% when compared to April 2023:

Crimes Against Property per one million boardings saw a decrease of 5.1% compared to March 2024 and decreased by 34.0% compared to April 2023:

Crimes Against Society per one million boardings decreased by 34.5% compared to March 2024 and decreased by 53.0% compared to April 2023:

Deployment Results

The following reflects the results of the deployment for April 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 table below represents the law enforcement efforts to enforce the penal code on the system for April.

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 in July 2024.

End of Line

Contract security (CS) officers offload trains at the end-of-line (EOL) stations. This operation functions to deter patrons from riding our system without valid fare while allowing cleaning to promote a clean and safe environment. Offloading operations also simultaneously provide security support for Metro employees performing their duties. For the month of April, CS cleared 12,272 trains.

CS shares their observations during weekly comprehensive 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 April, Metro Homeless Outreach efforts continue to target 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 comprehensive 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 1,621 (65%) of 2,497 total engagements during the month of April. The table below reflects the outreach efforts at EOL stations.

Transit Security

The primary role of Metro Transit Security (MTS) in the Comprehensive Planned Deployment is Code of Conduct enforcement. In April, MTS officers issued 131 citations and 39 written warnings for Code of Conduct violations. Of those, 153 (90%) were due to individuals failing to provide proof of fare. A breakdown of the remaining citations is shown in the table below. 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.

Operator Safety

In April, operator assaults increased by two assaults when compared to March 2024 (12 vs. 10). Brandishing a knife, using hands (punch, slap), and using a knife were the top three methods of assault. Of the 12 assaults, eight reported a bus barrier in use, two occurred outside the bus, and the remaining two did not provide details of bus barrier use. Of the reported assaults, four victims required medical transport. All 12 assaults occurred on various bus lines, and the occurrences of operator assaults are scattered throughout Metro’s service area. Six of the assaults occurred between 12 noon and 5:59 p.m., three assaults occurred between 6:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m., two assaults occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 11:59 a.m., and one assault occurred between 12:00 a.m. and 5:59 a.m.   

Figures A and B provide context on how operator assaults this month compare to prior months and to prior years, respectively. Figure C shows the methods of assault that were used in April.

Figure A: Bus/Rail Operator Assaults

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

Figure C: Methods of Assault

Figure D: Geographic Locations of April Operator Assaults

Bus Safety Teams

Transit Security Bus Safety 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 April, an end-of-line operation was conducted during Owl Service at the North Hollywood G Line Station to address bus operator concerns about non-destination travelers refusing to alight buses at the end of the line. This Bus Safety Team operation resulted in 144 removals for non-compliance between April 1 and April 12. Staff received positive feedback from bus operators and Division 8 management on this operation. As such, a similar operation will take place in May in Santa Monica.

Two remaining Transit Security Bus Safety Teams are tentatively scheduled to be deployed by late Summer 2024. The MTS teams are augmented with law enforcement support. Law enforcement Bus Teams conduct bus boardings, which is when an officer momentarily boards a bus during its stop, asks the operator if everything is okay, and ensures there are no safety issues on board. In April, there were 9,571 and 10,321 bus boardings by LAPD officers and LASD deputies, respectively.

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 Safety 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 10 bus divisions at monthly RAP sessions to obtain feedback on lines and geographical areas where bus operators have safety concerns.

ACTIVITIES

Public Safety Surge Update

The Metro system has experienced acts of significant violence on the system in recent months. While Metro and its security partners have taken many steps to improve safety, the Board agreed more must be done to protect riders and employees. As a result, the Board approved Motion 31 by Directors Bass, Barger, Hahn, Solis, Najarian, and Yaroslavsky (Attachment A) at its May 2024 Meeting, directing staff to increase the daily planned deployment of public safety personnel to be physically present on buses and trains, establish a unified command led by SSLE, ensure working cellular service throughout the rail system, and bolster education of the Transit Watch app. The following is a snapshot of activities for the first two weeks of the Public Safety Surge (May 20-May 28).

Staff will continue to provide updates on the surge and its activities in future months.

Narcan Deployment

MTS, LASD, and Metro Ambassadors are equipped with Narcan and administer it as needed to individuals experiencing symptoms of an overdose. LAPD and LBPD are not required to carry Narcan, per their agency’s policies. In April, MTS saved two lives, while Metro Ambassadors saved 17 lives through the timely administration of Narcan, a 54% increase from last month. LASD reported one Narcan incident on April 7.

In total, 20 Narcan incidents were reported in April, a 54% increase from the 13 reported incidents in March. The continued observed decline on the B Line can be attributed to the 24/7 coverage of contract security and their efforts to keep the ancillary (non-public) areas clear in addition to actively addressing issues, such as trespassing on the tracks and right of way and assisting the offloading of non-destination travelers at end-of-line stations. Additionally, the use of upgraded intrusion detection at certain station ancillary areas provides for proactive alerting, which allows streamlined communication between the Rail Operations Center and the Security Operations Center and a direct dispatch of contract security officers to trespassing in ancillary areas that are known for being briefly occupied for drug use.  

Public Facing Dashboard Update

Marketing staff continues to update the Safety landing page on Metro.net (metro.net/safety) that provides public awareness of Metro’s public safety mission, offers ‘spotlights’ of what is happening on the system, and describes how we are keeping riders safe and what they can do to be safe. In May, SSLE met with ITS and individuals from Marketing to ensure that the development of the SSLE dashboard is aligned with feedback received from Customer Experience and that the dashboard complements the overall messaging strategy for system safety. Collaborating with Marketing brings insights into user experience and design and ensures that the dashboard’s content and design align with Customer Experience’s guidelines and the overall messaging strategy. Furthermore, by working closely with ITS and Marketing, the team can gather feedback early and make necessary adjustments throughout the development process. Currently under review are the detailed dashboard pages, the integration of the dashboard into metro.net/safety, and the loading of SSLE’s data. Staff will ensure the public’s viewing and knowledge experience of the dashboard aligns with Metro’s branding and best practices as they continue to receive input from Marketing and Customer Experience partners and iterative on deeper integration of the data into the landing page and overall messaging strategy.

Emergency Management Update

On April 3, Metro’s Emergency Management Department’s Interim Senior Director, Moniek Pointer, was a featured speaker at the California Emergency Services Association’s (CESA) Spring Program. The presentation focused on the activities conducted by Metro for preparedness activities, how the agency has planned for and responded to large-scale special events, and how to best coordinate with transit agencies for mutual aid coordination and support for emergency response and recovery.

Emergency Training and Exercises

In April, Emergency Management coordinated Metro’s participation in the LAFD CNG First Responder Seminar. The event took place on April 10 and 11 and was coordinated in response to the nine LAFD Firefighters who were injured in February when responding to a non-Metro CNG vehicle fire. Corporate Safety and Bus Maintenance provided educational material for emergency response to Metro CNG vehicles, participated in a question-and-answer panel discussion, and displayed a vehicle with an instructor to answer any specific questions on Metro’s CNG fueling system. The event hosted over 500 firefighters from around the country each day of the seminar.

On April 25, EMD conducted the fourth of 11 planned exercises for this calendar year.  The full-scale exercise was conducted at the C Line Norwalk Station using an Active Shooter with Hostages scenario. The objectives were to increase engagement with local first responders, improve response time and awareness of response procedures, and enhance coordination and communication with our first responder and jurisdictional partners. Participants included the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the City of Norwalk’s Emergency Management Department, the City of Norwalk Public Safety Department, the City of Norwalk Community Emergency Response Team Volunteers, the Metro Maintenance of Way, Rail Operations, Rail Operations Control Center, C Line Management, and the Emergency Management Department.

CUSTOMER COMMENTS

In April, there was a 19.8% increase in engagements related to Safety and Security on social media accounts compared to March, representing the highest volume in seven months. April also saw 11.4% more posts and comments than the second-highest month, February 2024. The spike in engagement followed the tragic fatal incident at the Universal City/Studio City Station on April 23, which attracted media coverage and increased online discussions about safety on the Metro system. SSLE will continue to ensure visible security presence through comprehensive security resources. 

The Safety Personnel subtopic continues to generate the highest volume of engagement overall, as the issue of Safety and Security has averaged an overall negative sentiment. Reddit’s volume of posts and comments increased by nearly 50%, and sentiment was more negative overall. When discussing safety and security at specific Metro stations, Union Station is frequently mentioned. Users also expressed security concerns at Harbor Freeway Station, primarily concerning graffiti and cleanliness. In addition, passenger conduct was expressed as an issue at the Avalon Station and 7^th Street/Metro Center Station.

Call Center Comments

From March to April, customer comments related to Passenger Conduct decreased by 6.1% from 49 to 46. 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 increased by 52.4% (21 to 32) and 27.3% (11 to 14), respectively. Examples of these types of incidents range from harassment to assault. 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 Comprehensive 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 activity for April totaled 2,920, a decrease of 11.5% compared to March. The Security Operations Center’s Security Control Specialists’ (SCS) response time for receiving the report to initial contact with the reporting party decreased by 20.7% from March to April (0.46 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 April exceeds the target goal and demonstrates 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, harassment reports increased from March to April. Smoking/alcohol/drugs remained constant. Property crimes-graffiti decreased from March to April; however, this category made up the majority of the incidents, at 63%. 

Graffiti incidents reported in April were 1,839 vs. 2,157 in March (a 14.7% decrease). Of the 1,839 graffiti incidents captured, Ambassadors reported 74.7% (1,373) of these occurrences, a 4.7% decrease compared to 1,441 reported in March. The number of harassment reports submitted in April was 78 vs. 59 in March (a 32.2% increase), while the number of smoking/alcohol/drugs reports submitted in April was 487, the same number reported in March. 

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 Comprehensive 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. Additionally, SSLE will look to identify locations (stations, trains, and buses) and the time of day of harassment reports to determine if any patterns exist and work with multi-layer resources to develop a strategy for visibility to prevent and minimize these types of incidents. 

Stations with the Most Reported Incidents

For graffiti incidents, the top three locations in April were Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station (77), Hawthorne/Lennox Station (64), and Pico Station (47). The top three locations reporting harassment incidents were Little Tokyo/Arts District Station (8), 7^th Street/Metro Center Station (5), and Union Station (4). The top three locations reporting smoking/alcohol/drug incidents were 7^th Street/Metro Center Station (21), North Hollywood Station (15), and Union Station (15).

METRO AMBASSADOR PROGRAM UPDATE

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

Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) Ambassador Ride Along: On April 24, Metro Ambassador Program Senior Director Karen Parks participated in the PSAC Metro Ambassador Ride Along. PSAC members had the opportunity to observe firsthand the work performed by Metro Ambassadors on the system and ask questions.

April 2024 Special Deployments

Ambassadors were sent to special deployments to help with crowd control and wayfinding, assist customers who need special assistance and to keep a watchful eye to report or de-escalate any safety related incidents. 

•                     G Line Detours

•                     Dodger Games

•                     Vaisakhi Celebration Parade

• Bus Lines 106 & 605
• Anime Show at the Convention Center
• Long Beach Grand Prix
• B Line Bus Bridge Deployment

By the numbers

For the month of April 2024, Metro Ambassadors conducted 69,950 customer engagements and reported the following:

•                     1,964 Cleanliness Issues (8.8% decrease from last month)

•                     1,369 Graffiti Incidents (4.4% decrease from last month)

•                     359 Elevator and Escalator Problems (1.4% increase from last month)

•                     290 Safety Issues (0.3% decrease from last month)

Ambassadors in Action

•                     April 6, 2024, Wilshire/Western Bus Stop, 4:40 PM: Metro Ambassadors noticed a shattered glass display and observed an individual at the bus stop wielding a golf club, shouting at passersby, and indecently exposing herself. Ambassadors promptly contacted BOC, who notified LAPD and Supervision. Police officers arrived and apprehended the individual.

•                     April 7, 2024, Union Station, 9:52 AM: A person who appeared to be unhoused approached the Metro Ambassadors seeking medical assistance, indicating that moving was painful. The Ambassadors promptly called 911, and paramedics arrived to transport the individual to a medical facility.

•                     April 10, 2024, Westlake/MacArthur Park Station, 6:21 PM: A customer alerted ambassadors to a person overdosing on the platform. Upon reaching this individual, the Metro Ambassadors administered 5 Narcan doses and contacted ROC and 911. The individual regained consciousness, and Ambassadors assisted him in sitting down until paramedics arrived. The customer declined transportation to a medical facility and boarded the B Line train.

•                     April 21, 2024, Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, 8:10 AM: A group of individuals were loitering on the stairs, blocking the customers’ ability to pass through. It also appeared as though they were participating in drug use. Security and LAPD were notified and had the individuals leave the station.

Positive Customer Feedback - Metro Ambassadors

A report was received by the Metro call center regarding an incident on April 12, 2024. The customer wrote, “I want to praise the Metro Ambassadors. I see them everywhere I go helping riders out. Just having them around has made me feel safer. Today in particular I saw something really kind and wonderful. Someone had fallen asleep near the elevator. They walked over to him and bent down and asked if he was ok. He gave them a thumbs up and they gave him a thumbs up and then continued along the platform."

Report received via CCATS, for incident on April 8, 2024. The customer wrote, "Kudos to the Metro Ambassador who was there to assist with loading my tap card. He was very helpful and informed me of the Ambassador program. I feel safer knowing that this program is in place”.

Equity Platform

EQUITY PLATFORM

Metro continues to take a cross-disciplinary approach to improve ridership, customer experience, and, most importantly, the safety of Metro’s system. The collaboration between SSLE and its partners in the comprehensive public safety model remains strong as they work strategically together to support vulnerable and unhoused riders, respond to customer concerns, and improve cleanliness and security on the system. Each public safety resource is deployed on the system after carefully considering customer comments and crime data and observations shared by law enforcement partners, contract security, multi-disciplinary outreach teams, and Metro Ambassadors to ensure every resource is used efficiently. To address upticks in incidents, such as harassment, SSLE increased overall visible presence on the system. 

Operator safety continues to be a top priority, as seen with another operation of Bus Safety Teams on the G Line, in response to concerns about non-destination travelers not alighting during Owl Service. Bus operators have repeatedly expressed that they need more security presence during Owl Service, so this recent operation shows that their voices are being heard and action is being taken to address their concerns. Through these safety operations and the comprehensive deployment, Metro aims to create a safer environment for employees to perform their duties and riders to enjoy their trip experience. 

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 31

Attachment B - Arrests by Race & Ethnicity April 2024

Attachment C - Total Crime Summary April 2024

Attachment D - Systemwide Law Enforcement Overview April 2024

Attachment E - MTA Supporting Data April 2024

Attachment F - Bus & Rail Operator Assaults April 2024

Attachment G - Sexual Harassment Crimes April 2024

Prepared by

Prepared by: Robert Gummer, Interim Deputy Chief, System Security & Law

Enforcement Officer, (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