Metro Will Add Camera Towers To Increase Safety And Security
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There are four high level crimes per one million boardings on metro buses and trains, according to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. These crimes include everything from cell phone snatching to robberies and assaults.
Metro spokesperson Rick Jager said even though this crime rate is low compared to crime rates among transportation services in other cities, it is not low enough.
“We’d like it to be zero,” Jager said. “So we’re trying to put all the tools in our security toolbox that we possibly can to try to enhance the security level and improve the ride for our patrons.”
Currently, Metro and law enforcement monitor buses and trains with a system of stationary cameras that directly upload the footage onto a hard drive. With this system, law enforcement only review footage after an incident occurs, not in real-time.
With the new system announced in a news release Tuesday, Metro and law enforcement will be able to view the footage from the cameras live on their smartphones.
“They can actually see what’s going down on either a bus or a train at the moment that the emergency call has come in,” Jager said.
Metro also announced it will also gain new cameras in a fleet of four mobile SkyWatch security towers.
The towers will contain video cameras. Metro plans to deploy them at different locations, especially those near parking lots at Metro Rail and Orange Line stations, depending on crime statistics compiled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
According to Jager, Metro pays the sheriff’s department $82 million yearly to provide security services for both buses and the rail system.
Together, the four SkyWatch towers will cost Metro about $450,000. Metro plans to pay for the towers with funds from a state grant.
Some metro riders do not think that cameras are enough. Adam Syed has been taking the Metro for about five years. He says most of the time, he feels safe, but sometimes he has seen a fight break out on the red line and there has not been a law enforcement official there to stop it.
“If they just have more sheriffs around, like, that might help too,” Syed said. “But I don’t think it’s just having a lot of cameras will do the trick. I think having more people is the best route.”
Metro will begin rolling out the SkyWatch towers this month. The real-time access to the video feeds will begin by next year, Jager said.
