The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) June 22 voted to move forward with a plan to create its own public safety department.
The agency’s board of directors voted to have staff present a comprehensive plan—including department structure, regulatory rules, job descriptions, and pay ranges—for the board to consider in January 2024.
“[We need to] look at how we can reconfigure our public safety model because I don’t think what we had necessarily worked for everybody in our system,” Hilda Solis, Los Angeles County Supervisor and MTA board director, said during the meeting.
Should the plan ultimately be approved, the safety department would supersede existing contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Long Beach Police Department, which are currently responsible for patrolling Metro buses, trains, and stations….