Commuters in Long Beach who rely on public transportation to get around the city are raising safety concerns following the expected contract termination between Long Beach police and Metro.
The decision to pull officers off the lines comes as some riders say they began to notice safety improvements.
“It was just starting to get better,” said Karen Williams, a Metro rider at one of Long Beach’s eight stops. “ Pulling the officers off the trains now will make it worse.”
Williams, who uses a wheelchair to access transportation via Metro, said safety is critical for getting around and applauded Metro when it started using multiple police agencies to patrol the lines in 2017.
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“During COVID, they(passengers) were on (the train) drinking, peeing, all these things were going on and now–police presence there, I don’t mind riding the train," said Williams.
The Long Beach Police Department decided to end its contract with Metro when it expires on Dec. 30. The department will reassign 11 officers, sergeants and 1 lieutenant back to needed patrols.
The city has been struggling with hiring officers with more than 150 vacancies this summer.
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It caused, in part, extremely long response times, up to 4 hours, for non-emergency calls within the city.
Metro hasn’t said how they’ll fill the void.
“While the contract with (LBPD) them ends in December with month-to-month extensions possible through March 2025, we will continue to work closely with the Long Beach Police Department to ensure the safety of our stations,” wrote Metro in a statement.
LAPD and LASD are the other two agencies that patrol the system, it’s unclear if both will stay on after their contracts.
NBCLA rode all eight stops Thursday and within that one-hour loop, did not see any police officers on the trains or at stations.
Private security, hired by Metro, was spotted patrolling, however. Those guards tell NBCLA they wonder if more of them would be hired once Long Beach police pulled out.
Riders said they would prefer police officers to security guards.
“I feel like we still need officers to monitor the trains because there are some crazy people on the trains,” said Long Beach resident Johnny Bumpers.
