Transit Crime

[Bakken2016]

https://www.startribune.com/homicide-at ... 600195145/

I honestly don't know how you prevent something like this.

[DanPatchToget]

I can think of several ways, but in our country and gun worshipping culture those are way easier said than done.

[Trademark]

Metro Transit should start running one car trains. That will solve it.

[tedlanda2571]

...actually, this one sounds like a 'success' for Metro Transit (setting aside, for a moment, the obvious tragedy of a teen losing their life).

From the details released, I think it's tough to call this a 'transit crime' as to me it appears likely that it would have happened anyways just somewhere else had, say, the LRT stop not existed.

But, it also appears that the surveillance in place at the station led directly to the apprehension of the suspect in under an hour...

[amiller92]

A transit station is a terrible place to do crime if you don't want to be on video.

[DanPatchToget]

On a different forum I was dumbfounded to see a couple people blaming transit for the recent shooting at Mall of America. Following their logic we should ban driving because of all the crimes that can easily be committed with cars.

[thespeedmccool]

On a different forum I was dumbfounded to see a couple people blaming transit for the recent shooting at Mall of America. Following their logic we should ban driving because of all the crimes that can easily be committed with cars.

Well you see, the poor Democrat criminals ride the train because they can't afford a car, and independent, freethinking, conservative men of God drive like all good suburbanites.

[Silophant]

Has anyone heard any details about why Blue Line service has been impacted by police activity at Terminal 1 station, of all places, no fewer than three times in the past two weeks?

[MNdible]

Somebody said that it was because people had entered the tunnel, so it had to be swept and secured before the could run trains through it again.

[Bakken2016]

I rode the Blue Line around 5:30pm yesterday, which was crowded because people were getting off work. 3 individuals get on at Cedar Riverside Station sit near me, and start smoking crack-cocaine. I obviously told them to stop, but they gave no f**** and told me to chill. Then on my way home from the Mall of America, I decided to take the D Line instead, and once again an individual was smoking crack-cocaine under a blanket on the bus. I had a headache from the smell and smoke the entire evening, what seriously can be done to stop this?

[Silophant]

Transit cops are occasionally going to have to do their job and ride the trains and buses.

[Nick]

I was on the train last week and people were doing the crackhouse thing, and cops in fact did get on, they told those people to get off, the cops stayed on the train, and I can say with reasonable confidence that they just got on the next train. I was similarly on a crackhouse train on Monday. School starts again next week and I have to take the Green Line after dark four nights a week. These people need to be arrested instead of being allowed to decay in public so that computer activists can use them to make some kind of point about something else on social media before getting in their cars and driving to a grocery store in the suburbs.

This situation makes me feel like I am losing my mind.

[Tom H.]

I'd like to think that having some sort of button that could be pressed on the train to alert transit police to illegal behavior could be useful, although of course this could be subject to abuse / overuse by "let me speak to your manager" types. Maybe that tradeoff is worth it in the current environment.

Agreed that there need to be actual deterrents (like arrests) to stop this behavior - simply shuffling these folks from one train to the next is clearly ineffective. There is a real risk to negating the positive rail bias that LRT enjoys by allowing it to become a haven for antisocial behavior.

[trkaiser]

I've also seen this crackhouse-in-a-blanket situation on the train. I was mortified, and can't imagine how badly I'd think of another city if that happened while visiting. How hasn't been more urgency to immediately stop this, even though I understand some of the challenges?

[phop]

Smoking (of any kind) on transit puts the health of transit-dependent users in danger. It's gotten to the point where this might need to be considered a more severe offense and people participating should be locked up. If you're going to do it, do it away from other people.

[Tom H.]

Is this a matter of insufficient laws on the books to charge these offenses, a lack of MTPD enforcement / resources, or both?

[SurlyLHT]

Is this a matter of insufficient laws on the books to charge these offenses, a lack of MTPD enforcement / resources, or both?

I am guessing it's mostly enforcement and resources. Cities have used broken windows in the past.

I know folks have talked about Social Workers and Mental Health Workers embedded with Police. What about Substance Abuse teams? But, what can they legally do? Can folks be arrested with substance abuse teams members helping PD and then brought to a "jail" that helps detox them and get treatment? But, then if they go through this process and it doesn't change anything...then what are we doing? Optimistically, I'll love to see a happy ending, but tragedy is a realistic ending as well.

[mplsjaromir]

Metro Transit hired back Steve Hutchinson. If there is a law enforcement professional that knows about getting intoxicated in government owned vehicles, it's that guy. He hasn't just studied and observed it, he's lived it.

[Bakken2016]

Metro Transit hired back Steve Hutchinson. If there is a law enforcement professional that knows about getting intoxicated in government owned vehicles, it's that guy. He hasn't just studied and observed it, he's lived it.

Due to state law, they had no choice.

[J. Mc]

I'd like to think that having some sort of button that could be pressed on the train to alert transit police to illegal behavior could be useful, although of course this could be subject to abuse / overuse by "let me speak to your manager" types. Maybe that tradeoff is worth it in the current environment.

https://www.metrotransit.org/textforsafety