Chief John
Harrington hopes to add beat cops on Blue Line
by Tesha M. Christensen
Beat cops at the start and end of the Hiawatha Blue Line are
working to create a safer environment.
They mark the return to a form of community policing
advocated by Metro Transit Police Department Chief John Harrington, who assumed
leadership of Metro Transit in September 2012.
Next year, Harrington hopes to expand the number of officers
working along the Hiawatha Corridor - Blue Line from 12 in order to implement
the beat cop system along the entire line. He has asked for an increase in his
2014 budget to add officers.
When the Green lightrail line on University Ave. opens next
year, there will be 15 Metro Transit Police Officers patrolling it.
The officers will do more than ride the trains and check
fares. They will also actively patrol the stations and work to build
relationships with riders.
Since assuming leadership of Metro Transit’s police officers
a year ago, Chief John Harrington has worked to change the philosophy of the
department, and with that address 85 recommendations for change made by the
Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute before his tenure. He doesn’t want
to see officers merely react to crime when it happens. He wants them to help
prevent it by operating as neighborhood beat cops.
Beat officers do more than just respond to crime when it
happens. They also actively prevent it by their presence. A beat cop begins to
feel a sense of responsibility for the area, bus or train he/she serves, noted
Harrington. “You don’t want people to do bad things on your beat,” he said.
CRIME ON THE HIAWATHA LINE
According to Metro Transit Police Department Chief John
Harrington, ridership studies have shown that people feel the most at risk when
they are on a platform waiting for a train or bus transfer.
The Lake Street station has been particularly troublesome,
averaging one incident a day in 2012. On a busy road and major bus routes, the
Lake St. station sits on an enclosed platform above the road. It is the third busiest station on the
lightrail line with about 2,700 rides on weekdays.
To help combat the crime problem there, patrols were increased
and classical music piped over loud speakers. With the help of a $100,000
federal grant, 24 high definition surveillance cameras were installed to
replace the existing ones. There are plans to upgrade the cameras at other
stations over the next few years. After these improvements, the number of
quality of life crimes took a dip.
The two most common crimes on lightrail are disorderly
conduct and the theft of electronics and backpacks, both on and off the train,
noted Harrington.
Each day, 260,000 people hop on a Metro Transit bus and
train. When there’s a problem, officers average a 2 minutes or less response
time.
For the entire transit system, the number of crime incidents
has dropped 45 percent over the past six years to about 7 per every 100,000
rides. The Hiawatha Blue Line makes up about 13 percent of all Metro Transit
ridership.
OFFICERS ADDED
“I fundamentally
believe that when I got here, the department was understaffed,” said
Harrington, whose background is in community policing.
In the last year, Metro Transit has added administrators,
supervisors and officers. There were 22 new part-time officers added in April
2013, and 19 full-time in August. Another 26 part-time officers will join the
ranks this fall.
In the hires, Harrington has sought to create a department
that reflects the communities it serves. Of those hired in August, half were
people of color, and several were multi-lingual, Harrington observed. He
pointed out that 100 foreign languages are spoken within the Metro Transit
area.
The cost of each officer is $93,000 per year (salary,
benefits and supplies). Metro Transit Police Department’s total budget in 2013
is roughly $12.41 million.
CHALLENGES OF A MOVING SYSTEM
The 83 full-time Metro Transit police officers cover the
second biggest jurisdiction in the state, one that stretches over 8 counties,
90 cities, 3,246 square miles and 3 million people.
The size comes with its set of challenges, one Harrington
believes only a department dedicated to transit can handle. He pointed out that
the crimes Metro Transit deals with don’t fit easily in one geographic space,
which makes it tough for city police departments to handle. For instance, a bus
might start out from St. Paul and end in Minneapolis. The victim might live in
Brooklyn Center and the witnesses spread throughout several other cities. So,
whose job is it to handle, who does the follow-up and who pays for it?
Metro Transit’s Police Department was created 20 years ago in
acknowledgement of those problems, pointed out Harrington. “We are unique,” he
said.
That’s not to say Metro Transit works alone. Rather, the
department partners with many other organizations. Harrington is currently
working to establish formal memorandums of understanding with the many cities
and other entities in their jurisdiction to clearly outline who handles what.
His goal is that each group “share information so that investigations can be
seamless and the perpetrator brought to justice,” Harrington remarked.
PAST EXPERIENCE A BOON
To accomplish this task, Harrington is relying on the
relationships and colleagues from his 30 years with the St. Paul Police
Department, six of which he spent as chief there. He believes that the trust he
has built over up his career is a boon to him in his position with Metro
Transit.
From his time as senator, Harrington has brought a broad view
of problem solving.
“The legislature prompted me to look at things from a
regional perspective,” Harrington stated.
The mission of Metro Transit is to be a safe, cost-effective
and efficient provider of transit throughout the metro area.
Since he came on board in September 2012, Harrington the role
of metro transit has shifted and changed a lot, Harrington pointed out. “We’ve
pretty much reinvented ourselves,” he noted.
“This year we’ll go through another reinvention.”
No comments:
Post a Comment