Metro leaders to consider adding own police unit – NBC Los Angeles

L.A. Metro’s board of directors is considering creating its own police force amid an increase in reported violent crimes in the transit system.

Called the “Transit Community Public Safety Department Implementation Plan” (TCPSD), the proposal calls for the creation of an internal public safety department over a five-year transition. Transit leaders will discuss the possibility of the plan in a meeting scheduled for Thursday.

“We still recognize there is a need for more, our audience is looking for more,” said Robert Gunmer, Metro’s deputy head of systems security and law enforcement. “You will see dedicated metro police with a primary focus on transit services.”

As part of the plan, recruits to the police force will undergo a four-week training program and officers will be deployed through an area-based deployment model. It would replace Metro’s current system, which contracts with multiple agencies to ensure public transit safety.

The multi-agency contract currently costs the transit system $194 million a year. The TCPSD proposal includes four different service models, priced between $155 million and $214 million.

“There will be an additional 141 transit ambassadors in the system deployed daily,” Gunmer said. “And other homeless ambassadors are deployed daily.”

Transportation officials will discuss the proposal further Thursday. If approved, it is unclear how soon it will be implemented.