Supervisor Solis Issues Statement on Next Steps Following MTA’s Unanimous Decision to Create Own Transit Law Enforcement Agency
LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis released the following statement on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) recent unanimous vote to create its own transit law enforcement agency.
“This is a bold step forward in our mission to reimagine Metro’s future of how we better protect Los Angeles County’s public transit riders and employees. It will usher in a new era of greater transparency, visibility, accountability, and responsiveness, as well as recognition of the specific needs of our most-vulnerable and at-risk populations who use Metro. We now have an opportunity to create an unprecedented model of protection and community advocacy that can serve as a blueprint for the rest of the nation to follow.
As we move forward to implement our new vision, though, we need to resist the temptation to lean too heavily into an exclusively enforcement-first narrative and instead rely on a data-driven approach that combines enforcement with a care-first focus. We can increase passenger and employee safety and simultaneously address the inextricably intertwined, specific needs of those who are experiencing homelessness, suffering from mental illness and drug addiction, as well as those of seniors and youth who ride our buses and trains.
Through a care-driven focus we can blend front-line police officers, transit officers, Metro ambassadors, crisis intervention staffers, and homeless outreach crews equipped with an array of skills and category expertise who can deliver a robust array of solutions to maximize safety and address the complex needs of those who are homeless and mentally ill who utilize our trains and buses as shelters. In a care-first approach, instead of punishing these individuals we can provide our most-vulnerable and at-risk populations with access to shelter and treatment resources and create a path to treatment and recovery that will benefit every Metro patron.
Metro has taken a landmark first step to increase safety and accountability. Now, we must take a step back and make sure the future we create for our riders and employees embraces the full needs of the communities we serve. That’s how we can create a safe, clean, and inclusive system that can truly transform the region’s public transportation landscape.”
