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The expected end of the Long Beach Police Department’s contract with Metro has heightened safety concerns for Long Beach commuters who rely on public transportation to get around the city.
The decision to remove officers from the lines came after some riders said they were starting to notice improved safety.
“Things were just starting to get better,” said Karen Williams, who rides the subway at one of Long Beach’s eight stations. “If we pull the police officer off the train now, it will only make things worse.”
Williams, who uses a wheelchair for Metro transit, said safety is important when traveling and praised Metro for starting using multiple law enforcement agencies to patrol the lines in 2017.
“During the coronavirus pandemic, they (passengers) were getting on the train and drinking, urinating, things like that, but now they’re not allowed to get on the train because the police are there. I don’t care,” Williams said.
The Long Beach Police Department has decided to terminate its contract with Metro when it expires on December 30th. The department plans to redeploy 11 police officers, a sergeant and one lieutenant to necessary patrols.
The city is struggling to hire staff this summer, with more than 150 vacancies.
This resulted in extremely long response times for local non-emergency calls of up to four hours.
Metro has not said how it will fill the hole.
“While our contract (with LBPD) ends in December with month-to-month extensions available through March 2025, we will continue to work closely with the Long Beach Police Department to ensure the safety of our stations.” Metro said in a statement. .
LAPD and LASD are the other two agencies patrolling the system, but it’s unclear whether either agency will remain in place after the contract.
NBCLA boarded the train at all eight stops Thursday and did not see any police officers on the train or at the station during that one-hour loop.
However, private security guards hired by Metro were seen patrolling the area. Those guards told NBCLA they wonder if more guards will be hired if the Long Beach Police Department leaves.
Passengers said they would prefer a police officer to a security guard.
“I think we still need police officers to watch the trains because there are crazy people on the trains,” Long Beach resident Johnny Bumpers said.
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