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In November 2022, two men connected to the Metro Safety Program defeated another man on the station platform. The Times, which was acquired last week, shows one of the workers throwing a square fist and throwing a fist before hitting the man while wearing a worker’s colleague wearing a black shirt with the words “security” written on it. The man fights back, is forced onto the metro platform and eventually becomes a truck. Still tied up by one of the pair, he tries to yanking until he is let go and throws a punch.
Two “Community Intervention Specialists” – unarmed community members with experience in at-risk population and gang intervention – were hired to be embedded in Metro’s “street team” to eliminate and prevent violence. It is unknown who the third man is.
While confidence in law enforcement has waned, Metro has touted its multi-million-dollar safety program as an essential solution in the fight against crime amid a surge in attacks across rail and bus systems. However, the 2022 incident involving two men and the recent indictment of a community group co-founder related to the Community Intervention Specialist Program raised questions regarding the oversight of Metro’s plans.
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In January, Metro awarded a nearly three-year contract to public relations company Lee Andrews Group to expand its operations and manage Metro’s Community Intervention Specialist Program. The company also manages the Metro street team. This is a group that has been described as station greeters who frequently distribute materials such as PPE during the pandemic. That program complements Metro’s robust transit ambassador team.
These community-based programs have been proven to combat violence, Metro said these teams have been acknowledging a “15% reduction in violent crime per boarding between 2023 and 2024” and a marked reduction in violence along the K-Line.
The Metro Board has instructed the Lee Andrews group to work with community organizations to combat violence by deploying specialists system-wide to “hotspots.” One of these groups was developing options co-founded by Eugene “Big U” Henry. Henry was charged in March with federal charges running a conspiracy of fraud, robbery, fear and assault. The allegations against Henry included fraudulently obtaining funding through gang reduction and youth development programs overseen by the LA Mayor’s office.
Development of the development option received nearly $2 million and suspended cooperation with the Metro program on March 25th.
Henry’s representative could not be reached for comment.
Another community organization, subcontracted by Lee Andrews Group, was a possible solution that could be an organization affiliated with the video men, Metro confirmed. Since 2022, the organization has received more than $3.2 million for work with Metro, and although the video man has been removed from the system and is not connected to Metro, Transport said the organization is affiliated with it.
A competent solution has not responded to requests for comment.
Metro’s Customer Experience Cabinet oversees the program, but transport does not examine the groups involved. The task falls under the Lee Andrews Group and community organizations, Metro said. According to a board report, the group is expected to recruit members “who lived experiences of gangster, trauma, or violence.”
According to Metro, Eable Solutions requires background checks for all individuals through the California Department of Security Guard Card System and live scans from the state Department of Justice. The group is also conducting a Megan legal search.
Lee Andrews’ review process is “rooted in ground reliability,” Metro said.
“They will consult with local leaders, stakeholders and community coalitions to ensure that all individuals representing the project have the relationships, cultural capabilities and trust needed to operate effectively and responsibly in sensitive areas.”
Since 2022, Metro said eight people have been arrested who work as transport ambassadors, street team members and community intervention experts. The program employs a total of nearly 800 people in total.
Gina Osborn, Metro’s top security officer for 2022, said her department was not involved in community intervention specialists or overseeing the street team, and she was concerned about the lack of surveillance.
“If we have a public safety ecosystem and we’re talking publicly about it, why is the entire ecosystem not under one person? Why is the right hand compartmentalized in such a way that you don’t know what the left hand is doing?”
Osborne sued the Metro last year over allegations that transport had fired her in retaliation after he filed a complaint with the inspector’s office after the bus hijacked. The lawsuit described the tense relationship between Osborne and Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins, with different views on how Metro’s systems should be secured.
Scott Decker, professor emeritus at Arizona State University who studied criminology and gang interventions, said public agency collaboration with these types of community-based programs has helped reduce crime in cities like Chicago. Decker said the data has not “reduced or dried out” when it comes to assessing whether it’s better than law enforcement, but “there is little evidence that police are clearly superior.”
Metro approved a $9.4 billion budget on Thursday. This includes an approximately 2% increase in Metro’s public safety budget. The Community Intervention Specialist Program is cited as a key priority for the “multilayer approach” that is included in the nearly $400 million bucket.
Osborne was critical of the way external law enforcement agencies patrolled bus and rail systems and promoted more internal security.
Earlier this month, Metro appointed a new in-house police station chief for transport, which oversees all of the Metro’s safety activities. Under a $133 million annual plan, sworn officers will work with subway ambassadors, crisis intervention staff and community intervention experts.
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