Since March 2018, we have been working closely with our partners at the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, St. Louis County Police Department, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, and security consultant WSP-USA to enhance safety and security efforts on the Metro Transit system and address regional concerns.
Using data, insights and recommendations developed through a system-wide security assessment, we have made improvements and enhancements to our approach to transit safety and security over the past two years, and will continue to make progress throughout 2020.
This scorecard provides a mechanism to track Metro’s progress toward implementing the comprehensive security strategy in each of six categories: Security Strategy, Police & Security Staffing, Procedures & Training, Fare & Fare Enforcement, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and Technology.
Nothing is more important than your safety. We are constantly upgrading and improving our safety and security measures while continuing to deliver the reliable, efficient service riders expect.
The information provided below is “unofficial’ and not jurisdictional specific. Details or specifics related to the information would need to be obtained by contacting the individual police departments (St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and St. Clair County) for any “official” data.
COVID-19 reached the Bi-State region mid/late March 2020. MetroLink ridership decreased during Q2 & Q3 as many schools/businesses closed or operated remotely.
Police limited exposure to the virus by reducing patrols and focusing on dispatched calls for service. The decrease in ridership and the reduction of proactive policing resulted in fewer incident reports for Q3 2020
MetroLink boardings increased 15%
Incidents per MetroLink boarding is .00009 (9 incidents per 100,000 boardings)
65% of incident reports were the result of self initiation/proactive policing
Weapon violations account for 20% of the violent offense types Likely the result of proactive initiatives targeting known ‘hot spots.’
The majority of standard of conduct offenses are drug, trespassing, and ordinance violations.
St. Clair County MetroLink boardings decreased 51%
Incident per MetroLink boarding is .00013 (13 Incidents per 100,000 MetroLink Boardings)
Incidents by Station
MetroLink Station
2020
2021
East Riverfront
4
2
5th & Missouri
6
2
Emerson Park
14
5
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
7
1
Washington Park
5
3
Fairview Heights
14
13
Memorial Hospital
2
2
Swansea
1
1
Belleville
1
2
College
2
1
Shiloh-Scott
2
2
Alignment
1
Total
59
34
St. Clair County Incidents
Definitions:
Incident: an event where one or more offenses are committed by the same offender(s) at the same time & location.
Incident Report: unofficial documentation of a security-related incident, completed by officers on the MetroLink Task Force; not the official crime report, please contact the individual police departments for official data.
Offense: criminal offense(s) that occur during an incident.
Offense Types: (Warrant arrests are not included in the offense categories)
Standard of Conduct Violations: crimes that are less serious, but that profoundly affect passengers’ perception of security and that consume a disproportionate amount of time and resources available to transit police and security forces (e.g., curfew & loitering laws, disorderly conduct, fare evasion, drug abuse violations, driving under the influence, drunkenness, sex offenses, trespassing).
Property Crimes: crimes that involve the property of the transit agency or the personal property of passengers & employees property(e.g., arson, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, vandalism).
Violent Crimes: all crimes that passengers/employees generally consider a potential threat to their personal safety (e.g., assault, homicide, rape, robbery, suicide/attempted suicide, weapons violation).
Proactive Policing: police work that deters crime, reduces disorder, reduces fear of crime, or remedies specific concerns in a given area; police action that occurs before a crime is committed
