Meeting_Body
SYSTEM SAFETY, SECURITY AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 19, 2017
Subject
SUBJECT: MONTHLY UPDATE ON TRANSIT POLICING
PERFORMANCE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE Monthly Update on Transit Policing Performance.
Issue
ISSUE
This report reflects August 2017 performance data as reported under the new transit policing deployment strategy which is a combination of in-house fare compliance officers, private security for fixed assets and a multi-agency law enforcement deployment strategy by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD). The information in this report summarizes system-wide Part 1 and 2 crime data, average emergency response times, assaults on bus operators, and Metro’s fare compliance efforts. Five (5) of the six (6) new Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are introduced in the current report. The final KPI will be forthcoming when technology issues are resolved (Attachment C).
Discussion
DISCUSSION
For the month of August 2017, Part 1 crime activity is up by 25% system-wide compared to the same period last year. In a monthly contrast, there were 24 fewer Part 1 crimes in August than in July, resulting in a 13% decrease. As our law enforcement partners, fare compliance officers and private security officers continue their proactive work, crime activity is being addressed in real-time instead of relying solely on citizen generated 911 calls. Over time, proactive activity will assist in reducing criminal activity across the system.
The following key highlights are listed below for the month of August:
• System-wide emergency response times are down from 6.42 minutes in July, to 5.75 minutes in August.
• Bus operator assaults decreased 37.5% compared to the same period last year.
Rail Summary
Part 1 rail crime is down overall by 30% as compared to the same period last year. For the month of August, there were a total of 70 crimes compared to100 crimes from last year. Staff, however, noted an 80% increase in Part 1 crimes on the Gold Line largely due to bike thefts. A meeting is scheduled to discuss how to minimize bike thefts.
Bus Summary
Part 1 crimes on the bus system increased by 65 crimes compared to 22 during the same period last year, resulting in a 295.5% increase. Of the 87 crimes reported in August, the most frequent crimes reported were larcenies and robberies. The bus riding teams will continue their proactive work to target hot spots.
Physical Security Improvements:
Working toward the goal of improving Metro’s physical security posture, Metro security personnel are collaborating with operations, rail communications and the facilities department to prevent unauthorized intrusions into the subway system’s right of way (ROW) and ancillary spaces. The team is focusing on engineering and technology applications to mitigate this concern.
Significant Activities:
Los Angeles Police Department
• 8/12/17- Four suspects were arrested after robbing a transit patron of his cell phone and wallet. The victim assisted police by tracking their phone using the ‘find my I phone app.’
• 8/15/17- A Metro bus operator reported a road rage incident, following an altercation where a person driving an automobile pointed a handgun at the operator. The incident was captured by the bus’s video system; the suspect was later arrested and a handgun was recovered.
Long Beach Police Department:
• 8/4/17- LBPD officers located and arrested a suspect wanted for sexual assault, following an investigation initiated days earlier by LAPD. The initial incident occurred at the 103rd/Watts Blue Line Station. The suspect was arrested at the Blue Line Willow Street station.
• 8/9/17- LBPD Officers were dispatched to a robbery in the vicinity of Long Beach Boulevard and Willow Street. A suspect was identified and arrested at the Wardlow Station. Officers also recovered a handgun replica.
• 8/29/17- A suspect attempting to flee officers after being detained for narcotics possession and fare evasion was struck by an approaching train at Wardlow Station. The suspect died as a result of his injuries; the incident remains under investigation.
Los Angeles County Sheriff:
• 8/2/17- Expo Line deputies arrested a suspect for robbery. The deputy recognized the suspect while conducting an onboard security check. Detectives were notified; the suspect is possibly linked to several additional robberies on the Expo Line.
• 8/12/17- Deputies responded to the Green Line Long Beach Station regarding a call of a male on the platform shooting at cars driving on the 105 freeway with a rubber band gun. Deputies arrived on scene and the suspect was arrested for possession of narcotics and interfering with transit operations.
• 8/23/17- Deputies responded to a bomb threat at the Culver City Station. The suspect was carrying a backpack and said he possessed a bomb. The train was evacuated and the suspect was arrested.
Community and Problem Oriented Policing Activities:
Transit Law Enforcement attended the following community events during the month of August:
• LAPD On The Move Riders Club Senior Volunteer Training
• National Night Out (Central Division)
Homeless Action Plan
The Metro Homeless Task Force quarterly meeting was on August 14, 2017. Parties present included Metro staff, County Homeless Service Planning Area Leads, Department of Health Services, Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA), Los Angeles County CEO’s Department, LAPD, Long Beach PD, and the LA County Sheriff’s Department and faith based community representatives. The focus of the discussion included outreach progress and coordination opportunities. The County highlighted coordination opportunities through developing tools such as 211 as a resource to request homeless outreach and the addition of 40 outreach staff that will become available to Metro properties under Measure H in 2018.
Staff continues to meet with various stakeholders throughout Metro’s service area to gather information and educate the community about Metro’s homeless outreach efforts.
Metro’s C3 Homeless Outreach Teams:
Metro’s C3 Homeless Outreach teams’ twelve-month pilot program began on May 22, 2017 with initial homeless outreach on the Red Line. Since the launch of Metro’s C3 Homeless Outreach teams Metro’s C3 teams have provided substantial homeless outreach-- with 1468 homeless contacts, 1105 of which have been unduplicated. Of these contacts, 186 individuals have been placed into permanent housing resources.
C3 Homeless Outreach May 22, 2017 Through August 31, 2017:
|
Performance Measure |
Monthly Number Served |
Fiscal Year to Date Number Served |
|
Number of initiated contacts with unduplicated individuals |
218 |
1468 |
|
Number of Unduplicated individuals engaged |
180 |
1103 |
|
Number of Unduplicated individuals provided services (obtaining vital documents, follow-up activities, transportation, CES packet, clinical assessment, etc.) or successful referral (supportive services, benefits linkage etc.) |
94 |
403 |
|
Number of unduplicated individuals engaged who are successfully linked to an interim housing resource |
17 |
57 |
|
Number of unduplicated individuals engaged who are linked to a permanent housing resource |
27 |
129 |
|
Number of unduplicated individuals engaged who are permanently housed |
1 |
4 |
Homeless Encampment Removed: The LASD Transit Mental Evaluation Teams (TMET) assessed and assisted in the clean-up of homeless encampments near Downey Division 4.
Emerging Homeless Encampment Removal: The eastern portion of Veterans Park, which is north of the Willow Street Station, was identified as an emerging transient encampment. This location is outside of the Blue Line right-of-way, but is readily visible from both north and southbound trains. Metro Transportation Officers worked with the West Division Patrol Resource Officer and Multi-Service Center combined their efforts and successfully removed the emerging encampment.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - System-Wide Law Enforcement Overview August 2017
Attachment B - Supporting Crime Data August 2017
Attachment C- Key Performance Indicators
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
