Homeland Security and Transit lines/Metrolink Status

The following is a status report provided to us by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Lawndale Service Center regarding Homeland Security and Transit lines/Metrolink in and around the City of Lawndale:

• No specific threats or actual acts have been committed against the LACMTA system.
  
• Increased policing and security efficiency in the last twelve months (since May 1, 2003) due to the consolidated policing contract with LASD.
  
• Uniform and undercover deputies, plus sheriff's fare inspectors, MTA security officers, contract security officers, as well as closed circuit TV coverage.
  
• Lower crime rate on MTA property than in the communities through which the MTA buses and trains travel.
  
• Over 50 additional uniform personnel (Security Assistant's) added in the last twelve months.
  
• Approved federal grants on their way to the MTA of over $4 million which will further enhance video surveillance, training, and deployment.
  
• An excellent transit policing and security partnership exists between MTA and LASD, which is receiving positive attention from other transit systems in the world for innovation and efficiency.
  
• Policing partnerships with police agencies throughout the County, including LASD Metrolink Bureau, Amtrak Police Department and many municipal agencies.
  
• Over two dozen transit emergency drills ranging from fires to hazardous materials, suspicious packages and more. Many of these were multijurisdictional police and fire depts' and increasingly complex.
  
• All LASD and MTA personnel have received homeland security related training, and hundreds of sheriff's personnel have received advanced training, with further training ongoing.
  
• Increasing presence at Union station to ensure all passenger safety.
  
• Innovative policing and security techniques
  
• Future plans for further expansion of sheriff's and security staffing.
  

April 14, 2004