Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 21, 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 humane 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 homeless outreach staff, 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, performance, and outcome-related data for September, the most recent month for which systemwide law enforcement data is available.
OVERVIEW
Metro reached a milestone in September, averaging more than one million weekday riders for the first time since before the pandemic. This represents an 8.52% increase from September 2023 (26,774,520 vs. 24,671,730), marking the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth. Per 1 million boardings, Crimes Against Persons (violent crimes) have decreased compared to the previous month (7.10 vs. 7.3).
The surge of public safety personnel continued its fourth full month, successfully counteracting the typical summer peaks of violent crime. The decrease in violent crimes from August to September was 5.5% in 2024 compared to a 4.0% decrease in 2023. Removing trespassers and focusing on narcotics, weapons, and outstanding warrants drove the effort that resulted in year-over-year reductions in September for Crimes Against Persons.
Since late August, staff have been testing different weapons detection systems with some notable preliminary findings detailed below. The Station Experience unit continues to make improvements to Metro stations through various upgrades and programs. Metro also remains on track to become the first transit agency in the U.S. to install new, fully enclosed bus barriers on its entire fleet by the end of the year.
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 these strategies are maintained, adjusted, or newly incorporated to mitigate crime spikes or arising trends on the system.
ACTIVITIES AND INITIATIVES
Weapons Detection Pilots Update
Metro began cost-free pilots with multiple vendors in late August that will continue through November 2024. The piloted technologies can be broadly categorized as video analytics-based brandished weapon detection and concealed weapon screening. A summary of the activity and preliminary findings are outlined in Attachment B.
Station Experience Updates
As part of Metro’s commitment to safety and its continued efforts to ensure the system is used for its intended use, the agency is partnering with city officials and community groups, including neighborhood councils and local businesses, to find bespoke solutions to address the differing challenges at various stations. Attachment C provides brief descriptions of the most recent initiatives Metro’s Station Experience team has implemented.
Public Safety Surge Update
In May 2024, the Board directed staff to surge the daily planned deployment of public safety personnel to be physically present on buses and trains and at stations (Motion 31; Attachment D). These efforts, along with Metro initiatives such as the TAP to Exit program, demonstrate the holistic approach to safety that will continue into the fall months. Moreover, tactics like increased coordination with law enforcement and data-centric deployment that were employed during the surge are now part of standard operating procedures for safety operations.
The following is a snapshot of the Public Safety Surge from May 20 to September 29 by the numbers. It should be noted that in the following data, LAPD did not report on Surge-specific figures between September 20 and September 30. However, LAPD did report on other activities, as noted later in this report.
After analyzing 19 weeks of surge data, staff observed the following:
• There were 2,388 crimes reported by surge law enforcement personnel and 3,312 surge-related arrests between May 20, 2024, and September 29, 2024.
• There was a significant decrease (21%) in reported trespassing incidents (514 vs. 640) in September.
• There was a 23% decrease in arrests in September compared to August, due largely to decreases in arrests related to trespassing (640 vs. 430) and warrants (144 vs. 105).
• Arrests related to warrants decreased in September compared to August (65 vs. 144).
Ancillary Areas Motion 30 Response - Industrial Hygiene Audit Report
The following is the result of the industrial hygiene audit as required by Motion 30 by Directors Bass, Horvath, Krekorian, Najarian, Solis, and Hahn. To evaluate the efficacy of Metro’s efforts in the ancillary areas, a follow-up audit was conducted in August by our industrial hygienist consultant. Source samples were taken for illicit drug residues, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, from the ancillary corridors at the Wilshire/Vermont station on August 15, 2024, and the Westlake/MacArthur Park station on August 21, 2024. The results of the samples were compared with previous baseline samples taken at these same stations on May 10, 2023, and March 12, 2024, respectively. Attachment E shows photo comparisons between the two stations from 2023 to 2024.
While the baseline samples indicated high levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine residues above the State thresholds, the most recent samples indicated that the levels of methamphetamine residues were now well below the State threshold. Also, the results indicated that the levels of fentanyl residues were mostly below the State threshold. Based on this evidence, the conditions in the ancillary areas have been significantly improved for employees who work in these areas. As a result, employees are not required to wear PPE in the ancillary areas unless evidence of drug paraphernalia is encountered or identified.
The improvement in the conditions in the ancillary areas can be attributed to diligent and focused attention by an ad-hoc team that meets weekly to evaluate the conditions of the ancillary spaces. The team developed multiple strategies to mitigate the risk for our employees and customers, including:
• Enhancing enforcement and inspection of the corridors by SSLE to keep unauthorized individuals out of the ancillary spaces.
• Implementing engineering improvements such as audible intrusion alarms at the emergency exit doors and additional cameras to detect trespassers in ancillary spaces.
• Developing cleaning protocols for the corridors using effective cleaning and neutralizing products.
These actions and strategies collectively have resulted in a significant improvement in the safety and condition of the ancillary corridors and fewer trespassing and vandalism instances. The ad-hoc task force, which continues to meet weekly, will evaluate the weekly data and determine additional measures that may be warranted to continue to maintain the safe and healthy conditions of the ancillary corridors.
SYSTEMWIDE CRIME STATS
Crimes Against Persons decreased by 5.5% in September 2024 compared to August 2024 (190 vs. 201). By mode, Crimes Against Persons on the rail system decreased by 13.5% (109 vs. 126), mainly due to decreases in aggravated assaults (28 vs. 31), batteries (53 vs. 66), and robberies (16 vs. 19). In comparison, Crimes Against Persons on the bus system increased in September compared to August by 8.0% (81 vs. 75). This was due to increases in aggravated assaults (21 vs. 17) and batteries (51 vs. 46). In contrast, there was a decrease in robberies (8 vs. 11).
On a monthly average, Crimes Against Persons from January to September 2024 decreased 5.8% from the same period in 2023. From January to September 2023, Crimes Against Persons averaged 186 per month, while in 2024, they averaged 175 per month. When the number of boardings is considered, Crimes Against Persons in 2024 have decreased by 13.8% compared to 2023 (6.82 vs. 7.91 Crimes Against Persons per 1 million boardings).
Crimes Against Property systemwide increased by 47.1% when comparing September 2024 to August 2024 (100 vs. 68). On the rail system, these crimes increased by 6.7% (48 vs. 45), mainly due to an increase in thefts (36 vs. 34). Crimes Against Property on the bus system saw an increase of 29 incidents (52 vs. 23), driven by increases in vandalism (22 vs. 10) and thefts (30 vs. 12). The increases occurred largely in the LAPD’s Central and West Bureaus. Analysis done by LAPD Detectives did not detect a clear trend.
Crimes Against Society systemwide saw a decrease of 9.9% in September compared to August (874 vs. 970). By mode, the rail system experienced decreases in trespassing (726 vs. 768), narcotics (96 vs. 119), and weapons (23 vs. 25). On the bus system, Crimes Against Society decreased by 50.0% (29 vs. 58), which was a result of decreases in narcotics (15 vs. 20) and trespassing (10 vs. 35). More information can be found in Attachments F, G, H, and I.
The following chart compares Crimes Against Persons, Property, and Society crime data per one million boardings.
In September 2024, Crimes Against Persons per one million boardings decreased by 4.4% compared to August 2024 and 8.3% compared to September 2023. Crimes Against Property per one million boardings increased by 48.7% compared to August 2024 and 44.0% when compared to September 2023. Crimes Against Society per one million boardings decreased by 8.9% compared to August 2024 and increased by 413.0% compared to September 2023.
FRONTLINE SAFETY
For the month of September, there were 29 assaults on Metro personnel.Staffcontinues to analyze these assaults and collaborate with stakeholders within the weekly SSLE Public Safety Operations meeting to assist in developing preventive strategies, improving response protocols, and properly deploying resources to improve safety on the system for staff.
Operator Safety
While the number of operator assaults was less than the previous month, the relative rankings of the top 10 lines experiencing the most assaults were unchanged except for the J Line, which moved up (was ranked worse) by two positions. This line coincidentally experienced two incidents within a short span of time. Both involved the suspect spitting on the operator, and after each incident, the suspect was quickly taken into custody. The J Line is on the priority list for barrier installation by Bus Maintenance. Buses on this line are assigned to Divisions 9 and 18. Not all buses at these Divisions have been retrofitted yet, but they are on track for completion by the end of the calendar year, as per the original goal.
Using hands (punching, slapping) and spitting were the top methods of assault on operators in September. Of the 13 assaults, eight reported a non-retrofitted bus barrier in use, two reported no barrier in use, two occurred outside the barrier, and one did not provide details of bus barrier use. Of the reported assaults, two victims required medical transport. Two assaults occurred on the J Line, two assaults occurred on Line 45, and all other assaults occurred on various bus lines scattered throughout Metro’s service area. These assaults occurred at various times of the day, and therefore, no trends were identified.
Figures A and B provide context on operator assaults for the month of September compared to prior months and years, respectively. Methods of assaults for the month are illustrated in Figure C. Details of the assaults can be found in Attachment J.
Other Frontline Staff Safety
There were 16 assaults on frontline staff, excluding bus and rail operators. The methods of assault on these frontline staff vary from suspects using their hands to shove or punch staff to spitting, biting, throwing objects or liquid, and using pepper spray. Assaults on Security Officers tend to involve physical altercations because they usually approach individuals asking them to change their behavior to adhere to the Code of Conduct, which often results in a confrontational or resistive reaction from the suspect. For other frontline staff like Ambassadors, Blue Shirts, and Custodians, assaults tend to be more unpredictable and involve random shows of aggression such as spitting, verbal threats, and/or throwing objects and liquid, although they may also be physically assaulted. Methods of assaults and reasons for assaults are illustrated in Figures E and F, respectively.
Bus Safety Teams
Transit Security Bus Safety Teams rotate across the top ten 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 September, end-of-line operations were conducted during Owl Service at the eastern terminus points of Line 2 (Exposition Park) and Line 4 (Downtown Los Angeles) to address bus operator concerns about non-destination individuals who are refusing to alight buses at the end of the line. These operations resulted in 215 removals for non-compliance at the eastern terminus point of Line 2 (Exposition Park) and 247 removals for non-compliance at the eastern terminus point of Line 4 (Downtown Los Angeles). MTS provides the dates and times of upcoming offloading operations to HOME, and their participation is dependent on their schedule.
The MTS teams are augmented with law enforcement support. In September, there were 3,394 and 5,800 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.
DEPLOYMENT RESULTS
The following reflects the results of the deployment for September 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 September.
In September, the three law enforcement agencies made 1,146 arrests and issued 1,591 citations. Law enforcement citations and warnings are not related to fare but are given for trespassing, loitering, and moving violations. Details on the demographics of individuals arrested can be found in Attachment K.
End of Line
Contract Security (CS) officers offload trains at the end-of-line (EOL) stations. This operation functions to deter patrons from riding the system without valid fare while allowing train cleaning to promote a clean and safe environment. Offloading operations also simultaneously provide security support for Metro employees performing their duties.
As CS officers maintain their efforts at these stations, they establish a consistent process and expectations for Metro riders when the train reaches its last stop. Consequently, staff is observing fewer complaints from both riders and front-line staff. Metro service attendants and schedule checkers have been able to perform their duties with relative ease as the CS officers are present to ensure each train car is empty and step in if staff need security assistance.
Transit Security
The primary role of Metro Transit Security in the Comprehensive Planned Deployment is Code of Conduct enforcement. In September, MTS officers issued 555 citations and 350 written warnings for Code of Conduct violations. Of those, 905 (96.0%) were due to individuals failing to provide proof of fare. A breakdown of the remaining citations and warnings is shown in the table below. This month's increase in citations and warnings can be attributed to the introduction of the TAP-to-Exit program at Downtown Santa Monica Station, where citations are being issued to patrons who do not have a TAP card with valid fare. As such, the citations and warnings in September are noticeably higher than the 12-month average, 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.
Transit Security Fare Compliance Teams are assigned to conduct fare compliance at station turnstiles, mezzanines, and platforms. The table below provides a recap of September’s monthly activity.
Transit Security Train Safety Teams provide a uniformed presence and enforce fare and Code of Conduct aboard trains. The table below provides a recap of September’s monthly activity.
Metro Ambassadors
Metro Ambassadors 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, and provided crowd control and wayfinding support for special events. Since May 25, 2024, Metro has been deploying additional Ambassadors during peak times across two 4-hour shifts to increase visibility at key locations and provide more support for riders. As part of the surge, Metro continues to aim to deploy 52 additional Ambassadors daily.
Additionally, we continued with the special deployment at USC General Hospital through the month of September - four Metro Ambassadors were deployed daily to remain fixed at the Marengo/State bus stop, which serves Line 106/605.
For the month of September 2024, Metro Ambassadors conducted 65,071 customer engagements and reported the following:
• 2299 Cleanliness Issues (23% increase compared to last month)
• 1985 Graffiti Incidents (25.08% increase compared to last month)
• 475 Elevator and Escalator Problems (30.85% increase compared to last month)
• 7 lives were saved through the timely administration of Narcan, compared to 14 saved in August.
Narcan Deployment
MTS, LASD, LAPD, and Metro Ambassadors are equipped with Narcan and administer it as needed to individuals experiencing symptoms of an overdose. LBPD is not required to carry Narcan, per its agency’s policies. Contract Security (Inter-Con Security and Allied Universal Security) was recently trained to use Narcan. Inter-Con started carrying Narcan on August 19, while Allied Universal Security began on September 2.
In total, 26 Narcan incidents were reported in September. Ambassadors and Contract Security both reported seven incidents, while MTS and LAPD reported three and nine, respectively. LASD did not report any incidents for the reporting month.
CUSTOMER COMMENTS
Using various sources, including Metro social media accounts, the Transit Watch app, and the Call Center, staff assessed the public sentiment of the Metro system. In September, engagements related to safety and security increased by 5.8% (more posts) compared to August. The most significant increases were seen on Transit Watch, which received 25.8% more reports in September than in August. Similar to last month, the most discussed topic was related to Metro facilities and infrastructure, which had 4,479 mentions (19.56% more than in August). This increase is mainly due to the large number of graffiti reports submitted by the Ambassadors and contract security officers.
When discussing safety and security at specific Metro stations, Union Station experienced the largest decrease in mentions this month, from 243 mentions in August to 119 in September (a 51% decrease). Despite the decrease, Union Station is still the most mentioned station. Mentions of Union Station most frequently discuss cleanliness, broken equipment, and drug use at the station. Hollywood/Highland Station experienced the largest increase in mentions between August and September. Based on Ambassador feedback and other tactical information, Metro Contract Security adjusted their train riding team coverage to include platform checks at Hollywood/Highland. SSLE Data Analytics reported information on the weekly calls with security and maintenance task forces for stakeholder awareness and strategy development. They will continue tracking the monthly data for changes and customer comments.
Call Center Comments
From August to September, passenger comments on Passenger Conduct increased by 14.0% from 50 to 57. 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. SSLE Metro Transit Security and Contract Security train riding teams were informed to continue to enforce and provide education on the Metro Code of Conduct. Customer comments related to Rail General Security Concern and General Security Concern decreased by 43.3% (30 to 17) and increased by 7.1% (14 to 15), 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. The table below shows call center comments by type and month from April 2024 to September 2024.
Staff review all safety- and security-related customer comments regarding trends and patterns to inform possible shifts of uniformed personnel deployments to where the 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 Reports
Transit Watch App reports related to safety and criminal activity for September totaled 3,609, an increase of 18.1% compared to August. The Security Operations Center’s Security Control Specialists (SCS) continue to meet the FY25 SSLE target response time of 120 seconds, with a response time of 43 seconds for September. By comparison, in FY24, the average response time was 99 seconds, also falling within the fiscal year’s target. This target response time ensures a faster process for determining the proper response and dispatch of resources, improving calls for service response times on the system.
Types of Reported Incidents
Of the incident types reported through the Transit Watch application, property crimes - graffiti reports, fights or disturbances, and smoking/alcohol/drugs reports increased from August to September. Property crimes - graffiti made up most of the incidents, at 71%. Graffiti incidents reported in September were 2,544 vs 2,074 in August (a 22.7% increase). Of the 2,544 graffiti incidents captured, Ambassadors reported 79.7% (2,028) of these occurrences, a 26.4% increase compared to 1,604 reported in August. The number of fight or disturbance reports submitted in September was 313 vs 324 in August (a 3.4% decrease), while the number of smoking/alcohol/drugs reports submitted in September was 466, a 19.5% increase versus August (390).
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. Staff will continue to explore best practices such as messaging and 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.
In September, the top three locations for graffiti incidents were Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station (96), Pico Station (83), and Hawthorne/Lennox Station (74). The top three locations reporting fight or disturbance incidents were Union Station (37), 7th St/Metro Center Station (34), and Wilshire/Vermont Station (23). The top three locations reporting Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs were 7th Street/Metro Center Station (58), Union Station (43), and Westlake/MacArthur Park Station (29) Station.
Equity Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Metro continues to take a cross-disciplinary approach to grow ridership, improve the customer experience, and, most importantly, ensure the safety of Metro’s system. The collaboration between SSLE and its partners in the comprehensive public safety model remains strong as they work together strategically 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, 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.
Operator safety remains a top priority as the new retrofit barriers continue to be installed on Metro fleets and Bus Safety Teams assist with offloading during Owl Service. Additionally, as the weapons detection pilots continue, Metro aims to reduce and deter the presence of weapons on the system while adhering to the Bias-Free Policing and Public Safety Analytics Policies to avert racial profiling and bias. Before vendors of the no-cost pilots came on board, they were required to develop and implement clear guidelines to explicitly mitigate biased policing. There also have been reports of malfunctioning elevators across the J Line as well as concerns about elevator safety and cleanliness, which impacts people with disabilities who rely on them. The recent completion of the Elevator Open Door Program at all capable elevators aims to address those concerns, and custodians have reported significant improvements. Through these initiatives, safety operations, and comprehensive deployment, Metro is creating 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 30
Attachment B - Weapons Detection Pilots Updates
Attachment C - Station Experience Updates
Attachment D - Board Motion 31
Attachment E - Ancillary Areas Photo Comparisons (Wilshire/Vermont and Westlake/MacArthur Park)
Attachment F - Total Crime Summary September 2024
Attachment G - Systemwide Law Enforcement Overview September 2024
Attachment H - MTA Supporting Data September 2024
Attachment I - Sexual Harassment Crimes September 2024
Attachment J - Bus & Rail Operator Assaults September 2024
Attachment K - Arrests by Race & Ethnicity September 2024
Prepared by
Prepared by: Robert Gummer, Deputy Chief, System Security & Law Enforcement
Officer
Vanessa Smith, Executive Officer, Customer Experience
Stephen Tu, Deputy Executive Officer, Operations
Imelda Hernandez, Senior Manager, Transportation Planning
Reviewed By
Reviewed by: Kenneth Hernandez, Chief Transit Safety Officer (Interim)
Jennifer Vides, Chief Customer Experience Officer
Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer
