Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MARCH 16, 2017
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: MONTHLY UPDATE ON TRANSIT POLICING PERFORMANCE
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE monthly update on Transit Policing performance.
Issue
ISSUE
On October 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 compliance, response time, deployment and perception of safety.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
This report covers the month of January 2017. Staff continues to be proactive in working with Operations, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), and Communications in addressing perception of safety, criminal activity, fare compliance, response time, and deployment.
In the new law enforcement services contract, staff is including key performance indicators as tools to track performance.
Below are the key highlights for January 2017:
Monthly Update on Transit Policing Performance Report:
Staff is working on redesigning the Systems Safety and Operations Committee monthly transit policing performance report in order to enhance the current reporting system.
Actions to Improve the Ridership Experience
Metro is committed to providing a safe and quality ridership experience for all of its customers. To minimize blight and disorder on the Metro system in part caused by homelessness (encampments, loitering without fare, etc.) and illegal vending, Metro has launched two programs: The Homeless Task Force and the Vendor Pilot Program at Westlake/MacArthur Park.
1) Homeless Task Force
As part of Metro’s broader Transit Homeless Action Plan, in November 2016 Metro launched a Homeless Task Force, a working group of homeless organizations and stakeholders interested in providing transit specific solutions to the LA County homeless crisis. The Task Force conducted a 3 day homeless count the week of 1/23/17. The Transit Homeless Action Plan was finalized in January 2017
2) Westlake/ McArthur Park Vendor Pilot Program
To control the voluminous non-permitted illegal vending at Metro’s Red/Purple Line Westlake/ McArthur Park station, Metro has partnered with Supervisor Solis and Los Angeles City Council Office, Gil Cedillo to launch a controlled Vendor Pilot Program. The result of this pilot program is to minimize blight and disorder at this station by eliminating unpermitted street vending on Metro Property, ensure safe boarding and alighting of bus patrons and to ultimately transform the station plaza into an inviting environment.
Metro’s Public Relations and Special Events are communicating with the City of Los Angeles have an anticipated opening date of March 30, 2017.
High Visibility
• Transit Security Officers (TSO) and Los Angeles County Sheriffs (LASD) have been engaging and interacting with patrons and operators to increase presence and increase the perception of safety on the Metro system. LASD has a 20 deputy train riding team (10 cover the Red and Gold Lines and 10 cover Blue, Expo and Green Lines. The goal of these operations is to combat quality of life issues on the Metro system. TSO’s conduct high visibility both on bus and rail.
§ TSO High Visibility Activity:
Criminal Activity:
JANUARY 2017:
Bus Operator Assaults:
• Starting a new year, in January 2017 there were 15 operator assaults. Of the 15 total operator assaults, 75% of the total assaults have had a suspect taken into custody. The majority of bus operator assaults are caused by fare related followed by closing door on suspect.
• Comparing January 2016 to January 2017, Operator Assaults have increased 150%.
• Of the 15 total operator assaults from January 2017, there were 9 non-aggravated assaults, 4 aggravated assaults, 1 sex crime, and 1 robbery. The method of assault was as follows: 7 used hands/feet, 4 used spit, 1 threw cold liquid, 1 threw an object, 1 used a weapon, there was 1 sex crime, and 1 robbery.
• Attachment B contains the matrix for the suspects who have assaulted Bus Operators that LASD has been tracking.
• In January 2017 there were 22,171,342 bus boardings and 15 total operator assaults, equating to 1 bus operator assault per 1.3 million boardings.
Operator Safety:
• The ongoing Transit Ambassador Program focuses on classes that address conflict resolution for Operators and Supervisors.
• Metro Operations is continuing to move forward with the installation of barriers and monitors in the remaining serviceable fleet.
• In June 2016 staff started a program to retrofit operator barriers onto buses. This program is expected to run for approximately 24 months. Staff is also developing a new program to have video monitors retrofit onto the rest of Metro’s bus fleet.
• As of January, 2017 the Metro New Flyer Buses that in service are as follows:
o Number of New Flyer buses in service (LA Metro & Contract Services) = 900 of 900
o Number of buses “in-service” with protective barriers = 883
o Number of buses “in-service” with live video monitors = 895
o All other New Flyer Buses are complete. Buses (17) remaining are Contract Services’.
Significant Activities
• 1/5/2017- 2G33A observed a male suspect breaking the window of a Metro van by the trailer at the west-end Culver City Expo Station, and placed the subject under arrest for vandalism. LASD-TPD Unit 663A arrived at 2025 hours. LASD-TPD Handling Unit 660W arrived at 2031 hours, and took custody of the subject for transportation and booking for vandalism at 2108 hours.
• 1/16/2017- MTA custodian called to report multiple sleepers on the platform and mezzanine. H21 responded. H20 were assigned to back. H21/H20 woke up multiple sleepers; all cleared the station without incident
• 1/19/2017- TPD deputies responded to the location regarding a medical emergency call. Upon arrival, Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus operator informed deputies she was conducting an end of service bus sweep when she noticed a male Hispanic patron was lying on a seat and appeared to be unresponsive. She immediately notified transit policing division and summoned paramedics to the scene. Responding deputies noticed the patron was not breathing and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts.
Redondo Beach fire department paramedics #r62 relieved the deputies with the cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts. The cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts continued as the patron was transported to little Mary hospital in the city of Torrance where he was pronounced dead at approximately 0828 hours of apparent natural causes.
• 1/24/2017- Deputies responded to the blue line 7th/metro pax regarding a sexual battery report. Upon arrival, they contacted a victim who identified a male who groped her aboard a blue line train. He was arrested for sexual battery. The suspect was on active probation for 245 and he was additionally charged with a probation violation.
Fare compliance:
• In January 2017, law enforcement and Transit Security performed 272,729 fare checks on the rails and Orange Line. Based on the monthly targets, in January 2017 law enforcement had a 2% saturation rate.
• Based on the chart, green checks occur when a patron has valid fare and has tapped at a turnstile or stand-alone validator. Yellow checks occur when a patron has valid fare, but failed to TAP at a transfer point. Red checks occur when a patron either has a daily/weekly/monthly pass and has not tapped at all during their trip, has stored value and failed to TAP, or has no stored value.
• The fluctuation of ticket issuance is due to transition of fare compliance from LASD to Metro Transit Security. LASD ceased fare compliance beginning January 2017.
• Metro’s Transit Security department was authorized to hire an additional 77 TSO to help with fare compliance.
o As of 1/31/17, 27 new TSO have been hired
o We expect to complete the hiring process by May 2017.
• At the discretion of the fare inspector, patrons are encouraged to make payment at the ticket vending machine or TAP their card on the validator in lieu of receiving a citation.
Traffic Enforcement Activity in the Bus Rapid Transit Lanes:
• In January 2017, there were 110 “Failure to Obey Signs” citations issued on Wilshire Blvd.
Response Time:
• In January 2017, the average response time for “Calls for Service” (Emergency, Priority, and Routine) for all rail lines and buses was 17.85 minutes.
• LASD reports emergency call responses averaged 5.62 minutes in January 2017.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Transit Policing Division Report January 2017
Attachment B - Matrix of Bus Operator Assault Suspects
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Alex Z Wiggins, Chief, System Security and Law Enforcement, (213) 922-4433
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Stephanie Wiggins, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, (213) 922-1023
