Should LA Metro create it own police department?
That question will be put to a vote at the mega transit agency’s board meeting on Thursday, June 22, when its board will decide whether to move ahead with a plan to launch an in-house Metro Police Department.
The board’s options are to listen to the pros and cons of a transit police department, but then table the matter; vote it down; or direct Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins to craft a comprehensive implementation plan that would be brought back to the board in January, 2024.
Some see the issue as a solution in search of a problem, since the county transit agency taps police from three existing agencies: Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Long Beach Police Department.
But whether Metro eventually drops its three policing sources and starts its own force, added to other layers of public safety including Transit Security Officers, Transit Ambassadors and homeless outreach teams, is a serious question up for debate. But there’s no debate over the agency’s intent to make the system safer, especially for women, families and the LGBTQ+ community who feel unsafe, according to Metro surveys.
Others view the topic as timely, since the agency has been grappling with rising rates of assaults and thefts, fatal drug overdoses and more than 600 unhoused passengers using the trains and buses each day as mobile shelters. Metro board members have pointed to these societal issues seeping into Metro transit as reasons why many Angelenos do not use Metro.
A 27-page feasibility study prepared for the upcoming meeting points to safety concerns, while spelling out a positive case for creation of an in-house police department. The report says such a change would give the agency more control over officers in terms of training, positioning on the vast system and disciplining.
“If it is Metro’s police, they would have direct accountability and have direct staff action,” said Bart…
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