Meeting_Body
REVISED
AD-HOC TRANSIT POLICING OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
SYSTEM SAFETY, SECURITY AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
JULY 16, 2015
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: MONTHLY UPDATE ON TRANSIT POLICING PERFORMANCE
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
...Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE report on monthly update on transit policing performance.
Issue
ISSUE
On September 4, 2014, the board requested that staff provide a monthly update on transit policing performance to Systems Safety and Operations Committee. Specifically, the board requested monthly updates on criminal activity, fare enforcement, response time, deployment and perception of safety.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
In July 2015, staff continues to be proactive in working with Operations and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in addressing perception of safety, criminal activity, fare enforcement, response time, and deployment. Below are key highlights:
Perception of Safety:
• The ridership survey was developed to allow staff and law enforcement to receive feedback from the public to their perceptions of safety. The feedback from the public will help staff in deployment of resources to appropriate areas and enhancing customer interface, such as increase presence in areas identified to be of concern by the public. The new survey for rail only was completed in May 2015. The fieldwork for the bus survey has been completed and results are expected to be compiled by the end of July 2015.
Bus Operator Assaults:
• In California, an assault crime takes place when there is an act of force upon another person. “Aggravated Assault” is a commonly used term for the crime of “Assault with a Deadly Weapon” (ADW). The California Penal Code 245 defines this crime as one that is committed with any type of deadly weapon or by means of force that is likely to cause great bodily injury to another. As such, a non-aggravated would be an assault which would not cause GBI (great bodily injury).
• Comparing January-May 2014 to January-May 2015, there has been an increase of 21 assaults, from 50 total assaults in January-May 2014 and 71 total assaults in January-May 2015. Of the 71 total assaults, 87.5% of the Aggravated Assaults, 31% of the Non-Aggravated Assaults, and 66.7% of the Robberies have had a suspect taken into custody. The majority of bus operator assaults are fare related followed by no reason.
• Attachment B contains the matrix for the Bus Operator assault suspects LASD has been tracking.
• Of the 71 total operator assaults from January-May 2015, there were 8 Aggravated Assaults, 58 Non-Aggravated Assaults, 3 Robberies, and 2 Sex Crime. Of the 71 assaults, 27 suspects used their hands/feet for the method of assault, followed by 19 suspects spitting, 10 throwing food or liquid, 9 using a weapon, 4 throwing other objects, and 2 sexual harassment incidents.
• From January-May 2015, there have been 171,153,812 bus boardings and 71 total operator assaults, equating to 1 bus operator assault per 2,410,617 boardings.
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Action:
o Increased ILP (Intelligent Led Policing) plain clothes bus riding operations on lines known to have frequent bus operator assaults
o Increase uniformed bus boarding’s to serve as a crime deterrent and in an effort to increase LASD visibility
o Motor units increased traffic enforcement along problem lines and bus stops, again, to serve as a deterrent and to increase LASD visibility
o At Division RAP sessions, team leaders discuss verbal de-escalation techniques and ways in which bus operators can effectively avoid becoming involved in a violent confrontation with violent and/or mentally ill patrons.
Operator Safety:
• Los Angeles Metro Protective Services (LAMPS) is working with Metro Information and Technology Services Department to develop a proof-of-concept for live on-bus video streaming. The live on-bus video capabilities will allow security and law enforcement the ability to gain situational awareness and deploy accordingly to the incident as reported by our operators. This exploratory approach will continue for the next four to five months
• The pilot program for Operator barriers and live on-board video display monitors began in March 2015. As of June 18, 2015, Metro has taken delivery of 267 New Flyer buses equipped with live on-board video display monitors and currently has 214 buses in service. As of June 18, 2015 Metro staff anticipates to receive 268 buses equipped with this system no later than the end of June 2015. Of the 267 New Flyer buses, 122 are equipped with Operator barriers and 96 buses with barriers are currently in service.
• Every bus that has an Operator barrier (96 buses) also has a live on-board video display monitor.
• Surveys and communication pieces are being sent to bus operators and divisions in regards to the pilot program for the operator barriers and the live on-board video display monitors. There have been 133 total surveys received from Divisions 1,2,3,5,7,9,15, and 18. The feedback being received is positive.
• 57% of respondents state the feel safe-somewhat safe operating a bus with an Operator Barrier.
• 64% of respondents state the feel safe-somewhat safe operating a bus equipped with live on-board video display monitor.
• Staff has started a Transit Ambassador Program with the Canadian Urban Transit Association. The Canadian Urban Transit Association was on-site in April 2015 to perform the train-the-trainer sessions for Transit Ambassador, customer service training for frontline employees. The partial rollout at our Central Instruction facility started in May 2015. Full implementation at Division 18 is expected this summer.
• Currently there has been one Bus Operator non-aggravated assault (threw liquid) since the implementation of the live on-board video display monitors. There have been no reported Operator assaults since the implementation of the Operator barriers.
• The CEO has authorized staff to begin an awareness campaign for customers to inform them video monitors are on the buses. Operator assaults seem to be on the rise. The CEO has also directed Operations to step up deployment of driver protective barrier equipped buses on the most dangerous routes, though these assault incidents seem to be occurring all over the system. He has also directed that staff provide him with an estimate to install protective barriers on most if not all of our route buses.
Transit Security Officer (TSO) Bus Boarding Activity:
• Transit Security Officers (TSO’s) have been deployed since January 9, 2015 at high boarding locations on the Metro bus system to perform fare checks. Locations to-date include: El Monte station, Downtown L.A., Wilshire Blvd at Western and also Vermont, Universal City/Studio City Red Line Station Bus Terminal, North Hollywood Orange Line Bus Terminal, Hollywood Blvd. at Highland (in front of Red Line station), and as of June 10, 2015 at Universal City.
• Analyses of farebox data indicate that TSO fare checks are improving fare collection on the lines where they are working high boarding stops. Three different one-week comparisons showed cash fare collections up by 8.2% (Chavez/Vignes), 10.5% (7th Street), and 6.5% (Universal City Station).
• The total number of TSO Bus Boardings as of June 8, 2015 is 8,415. The total number of fare checks is 95,627.
Criminal Activity:
ILP (Intelligence Led Policing) Top 3 Priorities 4/30/2015-5/13/2015
1. South Bus
• Trending: South bus has experienced an increase in crimes over the last year. Since January 2015, there have been 74 crimes requiring ILP strategies in which 65 of those were crimes against persons.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for South Bus, the best time for any special operations would be between 10:00am-6:00pm on Vermont between the Green Line and Slauson; and on Crenshaw between the Green Line and Slauson.
• Action Taken: Between May and June, LASD has conducted two plain clothes operations on lines identified through ILP which included bus boardings, bus rides, fare checks, citation issues, felony arrests, and misdemeanor arrests.
2. Red Line: Civic Center-Wilshire/Western
• Trending: The Red Line has had an increase of crimes requiring ILP strategies of 37% since 2014. The area of concentration has had 37 crimes since January 2015. Wilshire/Vermont has had the most with 12 crimes requiring ILP strategies.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for the Red Line, the best time for operations are between 6:00am-11:00am, fare enforcement and volunteers should be focusing their efforts during this peak time.
• Action Taken: LASD personnel including special teams have been conducting crime suppression operations along the Red Line with a focus on the Wilshire corridor including Pershing Square and MacArthur Park Stations. The operations consisted of zero tolerance enforcement for fare related violations and also included sweeps of the upper levels for any unlawful activities.
3. North Bus: Central
• Trending: Since January 2015, there have been 103 crimes requiring ILP strategies in which 114 of those were crimes against persons on North Bus Central, with the highest amount of crimes occurring on the Vermont, Wilshire, and Crenshaw lines.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for North Bus, the best time for operations would be 12:00pm-8:00pm on Vermont, Wilshire, and Crenshaw Lines. A secondary priority should be Line 233 Van Nuys Blvd. since there have been several bus operator assaults over the last two weeks.
• Action Taken: Between May and June, LASD personnel have conducted 12 operations based on ILP data which include high visibility boardings, bus rides and fare checks.
ILP (Intelligence Led Policing) Top 3 Priorities 5/14/2015-5/27/2015
1. Gold Line: Indiana and Heritage Square
• Since January 2015, there have been 20 vehicle burglaries on the Gold Line, 11 of which have been targeting batteries, 3 of which targeted for Catalytic Converters.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for the Gold Line, the best time to target Indiana station would be Wednesday through Friday from 8:00am-1:00pm.
• Action Taken: LASD special teams have been deployed in addition to increased patrols to the affected areas. While there have been no arrests made relative to the vehicle burglaries, there were also no new occurrences.
2. Red Line: Civic Center-Wilshire/Vermont
• Trending: The Red Line has had an increase of crimes requiring ILP strategies of 37% since 2014. The area of concentration has had 37 crimes since January 2015, in which 23 of those were crimes against persons. Wilshire/Vermont has had the most with 12 crimes requiring ILP strategies.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for the Red Line, there the best times for operations are between 10:00am-4:00pm in which extra patrols, fare enforcement, and volunteers should be focusing their efforts during those times
• Action Taken: LASD personnel including special teams have been conducting crime suppression operations along the Red Line with a focus on the Wilshire corridor including Pershing Square and MacArthur Park Stations. The operations consisted of zero tolerance enforcement for fare related violations and also included sweeps of the upper levels for any unlawful activities.
3. Line 204: Vermont and Line 720: Wilshire
• Trending: Since January 2015, there have been 19 crimes requiring ILP strategies on the Wilshire Line (720) and 15 crimes on the Vermont Line (204) requiring ILP strategies.
• Targeted Deployment: Based on the data for the Wilshire Line (720) the best time for deployment is Tuesday-Saturday from 2:00pm-7:00pm. Based on the data for the Vermont Line (204) the best time for deployment would be Friday-Monday from 2:00pm-6:00pm.
• Action Taken: Between May and June, LASD personnel have conducted operations based on ILP data on Silver, Vermont, Western, Crenshaw, and Wilshire lines which include high visibility boardings, bus rides and fare checks.
LASD Success Stories
• 5/06/2015: Detective Eggers was assigned a Red Line case involving a Male Adult Victim that was pushed onto the tracks after being robbed. Detective Eggers worked to identify the Suspects and arrested the Suspect involved in the incident. On May 6, 2015, Detective Thibodeaux testified as a gang expert for this case and was successful in adding the Gang Enhancement. The Suspect was held to answer.
• 5/07/2015: On this date, an elderly male was assaulted on the Metro Blue Line in Long Beach. Interviews and follow up by the Transit Policing Detectives Bureau produced a considerable felony filing against the suspect in Long Beach Court. Charges included Battery with Serious Bodily Injury, 243(d) PC and Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse, 368(b)(1) PC. These are strike able offenses.
• 5/07/2015: On this date, a suspect was convicted during a jury trial on two felony counts of Lewd or Lascivious Acts on a Child, 288(c)(1) PC and two misdemeanor counts of Annoy/Molest Child from an incident that occurred on a bus. This case was investigated by Detective Reyes and the Suspect received a sentence of 5 years 8 months State Prison. Much credit goes to a diligent MTA Supervisor who immediately pulled video for the most recent incident before Deputies could request it. Coupled with the Bus Riding Team’s Field Investigation (FI) of the Suspect, Detective Reyes was able to link the Suspect to multiple incidents and put together “6 packs” of the Suspect leading to identification by victims.
Fare Enforcement:
• In May 2015, law enforcement performed 701,984 fare checks on the rails and Orange Line. In comparison, law enforcement performed 845,429 fare checks on the rails and Orange line in April 2015, resulting in a decrease of 143,445 fare checks from April 2015 to May 2015.
Response Time:
• In May 2015, the average response time for “Calls for Service” (Emergency, Priority and Routine) for all rail lines and buses was 16.6 minutes. LASD currently complies with Metro’s Performance Metrics requirement of average of 30 minutes for calls for service. Specifically, the response time for emergent calls was 5.8 minutes.
Deployment:
• Transit Policing Division deploys sworn and professional staff in geographical regions throughout the Metro transit system to suppress crime and disorder on all modes of Metro transportation in the region. Region sizes are determined based on crime and disorder trends, as well as deployment strategies. A service area lieutenant is accountable for suppressing crime and disorder issues in their respective region using the principals of Community Policing. Supplemental Crime Impact Teams, Bus Riding Teams, and the Threat Interdiction Unit are system wide law enforcement assets deployed to suppress crime hotspots and emerging crime trends. The Intelligence-Led Policing Process is used as the primary tool in determining deployment of law enforcement services.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Transit Policing Division Report May 2015
Attachment B - Matrix of Bus Operator Assault Suspects
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Duane Martin, DEO Project Management, (213) 922-7460
Reviewed_By
Reviewed By: Duane Martin, DEO Project Management, (213) 922-7460
Stephanie Wiggins, Interim Deputy Chief Executive Officer,
(213) 922-1023
