A policing surge is coming to L.A. Metro. Critics call it more of the ‘same failed solution’
LA TimesIt’s Friday, May 17. At a news conference Thursday, L.A. Mayor and Metro board chair Karen Bass said she had directed “an immediate surge of law enforcement personnel on Metro buses, on rail cars and in stations to address this spike.” Bass also announced an upcoming board motion that would increase law enforcement deployment throughout the transit system. The surge would amount to “a minimum of dozens per day,” according to Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero, who added that Metro’s contracted law enforcement agencies are developing cost estimates. In a board committee meeting last March, Metro’s then-Chief Safety Officer Gina Osborn was asked about how law enforcement contractors responded to criticism about a lack of patrols on the system. ACT-LA is demanding that L.A. Metro rely less on armed policing and instead “address root issues by investing in health and safety strategies that work.” De Leon pointed to Metro’s transit ambassadors, the hundreds of unarmed, green-shirted staff members who walk stations and ride trains and buses, offering help to riders.
History of this topic
Renewed promises to improve safety after the second Metro bus hijacking in 6 months
LA Times
Editorial: Why Metro needs its own police force
LA Times
Editorial: Metro’s ‘surge’ of police isn’t the long-term solution L.A. needs for safer buses and trains
LA Times
How to make Metro's subways and buses safer? Riders have ideas
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Letters to the Editor: A modest proposal for transit safety: Every rider gets a gun
LA Times
Letters to the Editor: To police standing around in Metro stations: Get on the trains
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Editorial: L.A. Metro is doomed if it can’t keep bus and train riders safe
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Metro looks to create its own police force. It won’t be easy
LA Times
How can L.A. stop traffic deaths? Let civilians enforce traffic violations, study says
LA Times
L.A. Metro looks at creating own transit police force
LA Times
Editorial: Metro riders need safer trains and buses. That doesn’t necessarily mean more police
LA Times
Rise of drug overdose deaths and crime pushes Metro to weigh more security
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