How Metrolink Keeps Customers, Employees, and the Community Safe on and Around Its System

How Metrolink Keeps Customers, Employees, and the Community Safe on and Around Its System

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By Captain Abi Ben-Sahile, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Metrolink Bureau

Metrolink's most important priority is ensuring the safety of its people: not just the more than six million customers who ride the system on an annual basis, but also the conductors and engineers onboard every train and the community members who live near Metrolink tracks.

The agency's overarching safety strategy is overseen by a highly specialized safety, security and compliance team with support from external partners including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Metrolink Bureau. As Metrolink's primary contracted law enforcement partner, we work hand in hand to deliver and maintain the safest possible conditions for Metrolink riders and system bystanders along more than 545 total service line miles.

We know that Metrolink customers consistently rank safety as the most important factor when choosing whether or not to ride public transportation. Like much of the country, our region has been impacted in recent years by the ongoing mental health crisis that often contributes to concerns about safety - whether on Metrolink's system, at a station or aboard a connecting transit provider. At LASD, we are working hard to give customers the confidence to choose Metrolink. Interpersonal conflicts are rare on Metrolink trains. Between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, crimes of this nature occurred on less than one-tenth of one percent of the more than 39,000 trains that Metrolink operated throughout the year.

While we are encouraged by the data, safety is not an end state - rather, it's an ongoing effort we are continually striving toward. We must be proactive and vigilant to maintain a high level of safety throughout our system. And that's our approach each and every day. Our team utilizes a collaborative security model that prioritizes prevention and ensures frontline team members have the training and support they need to perform their duties safely and effectively.

Working together with more than 40 law enforcement partners

Safety is a collective effort. Beyond the coverage the LASD, Metrolink Bureau, provides directly, Metrolink expands its safety network through agreements with more than 40 law enforcement agencies around the region, including the Los Angeles Police Department and Transportation Security Administration. As issues arise, we can connect immediately with our partners to make them aware and to ask for assistance if needed. For example, last month, when an incident was reported on an Antelope Valley Line train requiring a law enforcement response, deputies from the LASD Palmdale Station were notified in real time, met the train at the next station and apprehended the suspect. We also engage frequently with the local agencies responsible for the jurisdictions our trains travel through; when necessary, we ask for extra patrols at parking lots and stations to maintain a safe experience for our customers.

Our collaborative approach to safety includes our relationships with Amtrak, which provides Metrolink's conductors and engineers, and the leadership of Metrolink itself. We meet with these stakeholders on a weekly basis, working proactively to identify and address potential issues on the system.

Addressing concerns before they become incidents

Metrolink and LASD use a data-driven approach to anticipate potential incidents. We look to identify areas on the system where passengers may be acting inappropriately - causing issues that don't necessarily rise to the level of a crime but nevertheless create a negative customer experience for other passengers. When we identify these areas, we deploy deputies for increased patrols.

Our deputies work at all times to maintain positive, proactive relationships with customers. While patrolling Metrolink trains and platforms, our deputies will interact with passengers and ask for their input on where they might be having a negative experience and how our bureau can help. We conduct regular community outreach events, including "Coffee with the Captain" and "Coffee with a Deputy" to engage with riders at different stations and gather information on their passenger experience.

To protect community members in Metrolink's service area, we recently began implementing cameras featuring artificial intelligence. These AI cameras perform two important functions: first, they help us monitor the right of way to make sure people aren't on the tracks or in danger of being struck by a train; second, they serve as an effective deterrent to those who may consider entering an unsafe area. We're continuing to explore ways we can incorporate and expand this emerging technology to increase security throughout Metrolink's system.

Training all Metrolink staff to resolve conflicts safely

Our approach to incidents is founded in de-escalation, and this philosophy extends beyond the uniformed personnel in our bureau to include the dozens of Amtrak conductors who work on the system and Metrolink's customer relations representatives. We conduct mandatory de-escalation training simulating the scenario of a passenger experiencing a mental health episode. This training ensures our deputies, conductors and customer service staff are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to de-escalate the situation while keeping other passengers safe.

Members of the LASD, Metrolink Bureau, also provide a visible and approachable presence throughout the system. During the last fiscal year, our deputies and sergeants conducted more than 2,000 rides on Metrolink trains and more than 7,000 platform fare check operations systemwide. Customers may also notice them out in the field patrolling parts of the system that are off limits to the public. Last year, our team performed more than 12,000 rail right-of-way enforcement details totaling over 16,000 hours spent keeping the train tracks clear and surrounding community members out of harm's way.

As Metrolink expands its service in advance of the 2028 Olympics, including increased midday, evening and weekend scheduling, we are committed to growing with the agency to deliver the same exceptional level of public safety. Today and in the future, our mission will always stay the same: ensuring a safe environment for all those who serve and are served by Metrolink.

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