Remediation and continued efforts to slow down ubiquitous crime are part of Metro’s strategy to increase public safety, and the biggest concern the survey showed is hindering passenger numbers. I am looking for a solution to fill the budget gap caused by the sharp decline in fare revenues as they grow.
Metro board members heard encouraging news Thursday about a range of crime-fighting strategies. That’s because the results of another internal survey show that crime concerns weigh heavily on transit users.
Transport Police Chief Michael Anzaro said the department is supplementing an understaffed department with increased patrols with the help of other law enforcement agencies and special police officers (private security guards with police powers). Told. He said the traffic police have made more arrests and issued more summonses than last year.
“As of yesterday, we’re up about 134% in law enforcement, driven primarily by arrests and citations,” he told board members.
Crime surges are occurring in many cities, including DC. Within the nation’s third-largest transit system, robberies, vandalism and drug crimes have more than doubled compared to the same period last year. criminal records show. The number of reported aggravated assaults was lower than last year through March.
After largely ignoring toll avoidance during the pandemic, traffic police began issuing tickets and warnings in the fall. As of the end of March, police have reported 259 wickets for him, compared with 50 in the first three months of last year.
The Metro’s Riders’ Advisory Council, a group of transit riders who advise Metro’s board of directors on how to improve the system, surveyed riders to assess their top concerns. Nearly 40% cited fee avoidance, according to the council’s annual report presented to board members on Thursday.
Nearly a quarter of passengers also cite marijuana smoke and passenger behavior on trains and stations. Passengers perceived the crime to be minor compared to violent crime, but told the advisory board that the problems piled on top of each other, said council chairman Michael Lebowitz.
Metro officials say they believe wickets will drop significantly after all wicket changes this year. Modifications to all 97 station gates began last month, but have been put on hold while Metro orders tall glass barriers and other components needed to strengthen the turnstiles.
Until the fall, Metro had not enforced toll evasion in the district since the DC Council decriminalized offenses in 2018, limiting punishment to tickets and fines and limiting punishment to arrests. In the years that followed, traffic police cited confusion over officers’ ability to demand identification and perform arrest warrant checks. If not, passengers are allowed to withhold their ID, but Washington, D.C. officials dispute Metro’s interpretation.
“We can ask someone for an ID, but we can’t legally give up their true ID, so we can’t check warrants,” said Randy Clarke, Metro’s general manager. increase. “What we want to do is have the right to do it. This is, to my understanding, the same thing that someone can check a warrant for when they write a speeding ticket if they are stopped by a car.” It just requires the same level of checking and lets people into the system who are committing violent crimes or who might harm someone out of the system.”
Metro has cops at the 15 stations with the highest number of crime reports and complaints, with the help of law enforcement officers who work for Metro on holidays. Anzallo said he hopes to extend tighter security to 25 stations.
Clark said the agency has added 25 “ambassadors” to roam the station to assist riders, while also acting as another reassurance for customers. .
“It’s basically a customer service role,” he said, adding that the agency hopes to increase the number of ambassadors in the system.
Metro will also launch a public awareness campaign to encourage passengers to report crimes by texting the number 696873, which constitutes ‘myMTPD’.
“All our buses, all our trains, have a sticker, label or sign on every vehicle. We want to encourage everyone to use it,” Clark said. , our goal is to make people more aware of how to respond when they see something, and our job is to make that response very fast.”
