Sheriff’s Department ousted from Metro transit?

After a lengthy discussion, the Los Angeles County Metro Board of Directors Thursday postponed a decision on a much-debated plan to have several law enforcement agencies police its public transportation system, while scaling back the role of Sheriff’s Department.

The board postponed the decision for three months after Sheriff Jim McDonnell — who strongly opposes the proposal — asked that board members take additional time to review the plan.

The proposed revamp calls for sharing policing and security services among several agencies, with Metro officials saying the move is intended to create more police presence on Metro’s trains and buses.

The plan calls for awarding at least $546 million in contracts, including to the Los Angeles and Long Beach police departments. Each contract would last five years.

The existing contract with the Sheriff’s Department, would either be scaled back or awarded to other law enforcement agencies. The Sheriff’s Department, envisioning a single-agency plan, had proposed a $627 million contract to serve the entire public transportation system.

After a lengthy debate, County Supervisor and Metro board member Sheila Kuehl said she was “not prepared to vote in favor” of the plan, especially after learning that police officers who would be patrolling along Metro routes would be doing so while on overtime shifts.

“I simply am concerned,” she said.

McDonnell argued in an op-ed earlier this week that spreading the work among several agencies would create confusion and put the public “at risk.” He reiterated his concerns at Thursday’s meeting.

“The stakes are very high in what we are talking about today, and there are still a lot of unanswered questions,” he told the board.

Among the chief concerns cited by opponents is that Metro, a civilian agency, would become the central entity directing police and security services, rather than the Sheriff’s Department.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck tried to make the case for the multiple contracts, telling the board that “diversification of law enforcement agencies on the Metro lines and the bus lines is an important step forward.”

“Will this make our riders safer? I believe it will,” he said.

He said his department has the manpower and experience, and that the deployment of the overtime officers is no different than during Rams and USC football games.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Mike Bonin pushed for approval of the plan and opposed the delay, saying board members have had enough time to review the plan. They said riders will miss out on the benefits they contend are associated with proposal by delaying its rollout.

“I think we all agree we need more coverage, we need felt presence,” Garcetti said. “It’s just something we feel as riders, and what we hear from riders.”

Bonin provided a personal story about his niece, saying she reported being sexually harassed three times and touched inappropriately while riding public transit. She rarely sees law enforcement along the system, he said.

Metro officials said the plan to contract with multiple agencies would save about $80 million over five years, while increasing law enforcement personnel from between 160 and 200 people to 240 over a 24-hour period.

They are hoping to reduce response times, which average 14.1 minutes to reach bus incidents and 12.8 minutes for rail, according to an analysis released in January.

Metro officials also contend the plan is intended to resolve current gaps during shift changes, “poor late night coverage” and “unpredictable” staffing.

Officials also argue the new multi-agency strategy would ensure “dedicated” police presence while also allowing Metro to “leverage `no-cost’ basic 911 police services.”

McDonnell wrote in his op-ed this week that the new plan is “largely dependent upon the public calling 911” and “could cost response time and create confusion — especially in a dynamic, highly active event such as a shooting or an act of terrorism.”

“This plan leaves the expansive Metro system of 1,400 square miles without a clear and qualified law enforcement lead, one that has countywide authority to coordinate operations and investigations,” McDonnell wrote.

“A crime committed on a Metro train or bus is essentially a mobile crime scene that could travel through multiple police jurisdictions, all with their own communications and command systems,” he continued. “When everyone’s in charge, no one’s in charge.”

—City News Service