Police, fire chiefs and first responders gathered for a summit at Metro headquarters Tuesday to talk about safety.
The meeting came after an executive order from President Donald Trump about safety in D.C., which specifically mentioned Metro.
Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.
WATCH HEREMetro has invested in technology to constantly monitor the system and has been prioritizing enforcement efforts for issues like fare evasion. Soon, additional fare enforcement efforts could be coming with Metro civilian employees monitoring its stations.
“If you were going down the street and saw someone giving out a parking ticket that’s not a sworn officer in the city. That kind of thing,” said Metro General Manager Randy Clarke.
We have the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.
SIGN UP The idea is still preliminary, Clarke said. It’s something most large transit agencies already do.
”Some places have people with, say, fare enforcement vest on, and they’re civilians and they go around and check. That’s pretty normal almost everywhere in the country,” Clarke said.
Between January and April 2024, Metro issued 3,426 citations for fare evasion. So far this year, almost 5,327 citations have been issued.
Transportation
Reporter Adam Tuss and the News4 team are covering you down on the roads and in transit.
The safety summit was a chance for police, fire crews and emergency personnel to get in the same room and share ideas about how to keep Metro safe. Metro said its goal is to host the meeting at least once a year.
Metro Transit Police Department Chief Michael Anzallo recently met with the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which has been putting pressure on Metro. Anzallo said Metro’s crime numbers speak for themselves.
”Perception is a big thing,” Anzallo said. “When you look at our crimes, particularly part one crime, which is the most serious crimes, we average three part one’s per million rides. So, if you break that down, it’s relatively low.”
Metro touts that crime is at a seven-year low, and the transit agency said the Trump administration has been complimentary of the police work. Metro also admitted they’ll never have enough officers to monitor the entire system all at once.
