Metro Citizens Corps

Today, February 22nd was the first meeting of the RAC Safety and Security Committee.

I found Captain Jeff Delsinki’s presentation very informative. Especially helpful was the opportunity for a dynamic exchange of ideas and answers to our questions. I look forward to the next two presentations on Metro’s Citizen Corp and Managing Metro Emergencies. I’m also excited about getting a similar presentation from Metro’s Department of System Safety and Risk Protection.

The existence of the Metro Citizen Corp formed after the Madrid incident was a great surprise to me. Metro Transit Police is working with the hundreds of local Community Emergency Response Teams formed through federal initiatives and chosen for their dedication to community service to be initiated in the workings of Metro. As volunteers, these individuals are trained in how to respond in an incident, are shown the inner-workings of the Rail Cars, Stations, and Tunnels. The existence of these volunteers on the trains we ride everyday is bound to be useful when the next emergency happens. If I remember correctly, Cpt Delsinki said 165 people have been trained and they will continue to give courses until the requests stop coming.

My concerns from the presentation are as follows:
1) Metro Transit Police is under staffed based on the size of the system and the area that needs to be patrolled.
2) The low incidence of crime seems to be more a matter of luck then anything they are specifically doing.
3) MTP coverage of buses from inside seems extremely low.
4) Real-time monitoring of Trains, Busses, Stations, and Stops could benefit riders and make police enforcement more effective.
5) Use of technology to help in the detection of potential “terrorist” activity should be considered.
6) More training of administrative and other Metro staff in policing and emergency management would be beneficial.
7) Marketing of Metro’s Citizen Corp and Managing Metro Emergencies would attract more people and build confidence in the system.

Finally, as we discussed, my major concern with Metro, as Our Committee Chair so elegantly put it, continues to be the “culture of secrecy.” WMATA plans, activities, and projects are not presented to the public (in clear terms everyone can understand) because of a desire to keep things “close to the vest.” The feeling is that if Metro let its customers know what they’re doing they may be held accountable for actually making it happen. Yes, you can find some great ideas buried in the budget and other lengthy documents, but communicating ideas and marketing them to the public seems an alien concept.