The need to improve public safety on all aspects of the Metro lines has been a major topic of conversation for several months now.
Several high profile and catastrophic incidents have certainly brought public safety on the city’s largest transportation system into the forefront of conversation.
In dealing with these issues, Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins has been relentless in ensuring that the organization does everything within its power to create community confidence in riding the Metro system.
“Nothing we are working on is more important than addressing public safety within our Metro System,” Wiggins emphasized.
In responding to public safety concerns, Metro has implemented a public safety strategy that focuses on three objectives:
- Increasing the visible presence of uniformed personnel. As Wiggins explained, “We are deploying more uniformed personnel throughout the system to deter crime and provide immediate assistance to riders and personnel.”
- Enhancing access control. “We are improving access control to ensure the system is used solely for its intended purpose. By strengthening our security measures, we aim to prevent unauthorized use and maintain a safe environment for everyone,” said the Metro CEO.
- Strengthening partnerships to address social issues. “We are continuing to partner with the County, the Cities and Regional Agencies to address social issues such as homelessness, untreated mental illness, and drug addiction. These partnerships are crucial to creating a comprehensive approach to safety,” Wiggins noted.
Since implementing this three-phase process, Metro has seen significant improvements. The increased visible presence of uniformed personnel has resulted in a decrease in incident reports over the past few weeks. LASD officers participating in the surge did not report any crimes or arrest int eh last week for which data was available, while LAPD reported a sizable increase in trespassing arrest and arrests related to previously issued warrants.
“We appreciate our law enforcement partners continuing to work with us to increase their visible presence on Metro to our riders and employees safe,” stated Metro officials in a recent memorandum.
Also, Metro has also taken several physical improvement steps to address access throughout all of the Metro stations including elevator access repairs and software updates at the El Monte Bus Station.
In addition, Metro took drastic measures to address improvements at the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station. Officials said that these steps will address much of the inappropriate activity that was happening within this facility.
One of the most successful programs that Metro has undertaken over the past several months is its Ambassador program. In the past week alone, Metro Ambassadors have been responsible for providing aid and support to individuals dealing with issues including chest and abdominal pain.
At Expo/Crenshaw Station, an elderly man expressed to Metro street team members that he was homeless but appeared to exhibit signs of dementia or confusion. The customer shared a phone number with the street team members, who proceeded to contact the sister of the man.
Upon making contact, the sister immediately began crying and shared that the man had been missing for several days. Street team members alerted LAPD, who transported the man to the police station where he was reunited with his sister.
A system as large as Metro is not without its faults or flaws, but the effort and focus that Metro has put towards addressing public safety concerns is certainly commendable, said one community member and Metro rider.
“The current results appear to show that Metro’s efforts are moving the needle in the right direction,” she added.
