The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expanding weapons detection technology and tightening access controls across its transit system as officials work to address a safety crisis that has plagued the system.
Metro's concealed weapons screening pilot has detected one firearm and multiple bladed objects at four rail stations during its initial phase from April through August 2025, according to a presentation to the agency's Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee. The screening captured an individual carrying an unloaded firearm at Vermont/Beverly station on Aug. 11, leading to an arrest by Los Angeles Police Department officers.
The weapons detection pilot, which uses pillar-type screening systems at 12 undisclosed station locations, found an average of two to six bladed objects per shift at the four stations tested. Secondary screening averaged 12 to 15 seconds per person, with stations processing between 404 and 711 passengers per shift.
Metro Board Directors approved expanding the weapons detection pilot for 12 months in February 2025, following unanimous support for enhanced safety measures in response to rising violent crime on the transit system. The board motion also directed testing of weapons detection technology on buses and integration of brandished firearm detection through video analytics.
The Board will hear an update on efforts at their Sept. 18 meeting.
The agency's multi-layered safety approach includes new taller faregates that have significantly reduced fare evasion and security incidents. Seven stations now feature the enhanced barriers, with Hollywood/Western station showing a 68% increase in valid entries year-over-year, Vermont/Santa Monica up 64%, and Wilshire/Vermont up 35%. Security incidents reported through Metro's Transit Watch app dropped 24% on the B Line and 20% on the A Line in the week following faregate installation.
However, Metro's TAP-to-Exit pilot program at North Hollywood and Union stations was suspended in April at the request of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, leading to immediate consequences. Union Station saw a 116% increase in reported security incidents, while North Hollywood experienced a 67% spike. LAPD crime data showed increased narcotics activity on the B Line, and fare revenue dropped nearly $35,000 in the first month across both stations.
Metro submitted a modification request to the fire department in June seeking to restore the TAP-to-Exit program and is working to provide engineering drawings.
The safety initiatives come as Metro continues grappling with a crisis that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crimes on Metro properties jumped 54.7% between 2020 and 2023, with violent crime reports up 25% in 2021 despite lower ridership. The system recorded five homicides in 2021 compared to one in 2019.
Several high-profile attacks have underscored the system's safety challenges. In April 2024, 67-year-old security guard Mirna Soza Arauz was fatally stabbed on a Red Line train while commuting home from work. The suspect had previously been banned from Metro for assaulting a passenger, highlighting enforcement gaps. In the same month, a bus driver in Willowbrook was stabbed by a passenger, and a 70-year-old passenger was stabbed during an argument on a Silver Lake bus.
Transit operators have borne the brunt of violence, with 168 assaults on Metro bus and train operators reported in 2023. Hundreds of operators staged a sick-out in April 2024 to protest unsafe working conditions following a series of attacks.
The system also became a focal point for the region's drug overdose crisis, with 21 people dying on Metro buses and trains in the first months of 2023, mostly from apparent overdoses. Open drug use, particularly fentanyl, became commonplace on some lines.
Safety concerns have severely impacted ridership and public confidence. A 2016 survey found nearly 30% of former Metro riders quit using the system due to safety fears, and by early 2023, the Gold Line's ridership remained at only 30% of pre-pandemic levels while the Red Line operated at about 56%.
Metro has responded with multiple strategies beyond technology solutions. The agency deployed 300 Transit Ambassadors in early 2023 to provide customer assistance and connect vulnerable individuals with services. A survey found 63% of riders felt safer seeing ambassadors on the system.
The authority is also building an internal Transit Community Safety Department to supplement contracted law enforcement from LAPD, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and Long Beach Police. Metro has hired dozens of new transit security officers and installed plexiglass safety barriers around drivers in every bus.
Environmental improvements include the Smart Restroom pilot program, which has installed Throne Bathrooms at 20 locations across the system. The automated facilities have served nearly 370,000 users while maintaining a 4-out-of-5-star cleanliness rating. Custodial teams report 45% fewer urination and defecation cleanups in elevators where the bathrooms are installed, with Chatsworth station seeing a nearly 100% reduction in defecation incidents.
The Elevator Open-Door pilot program now operates at all 57 eligible elevators at newer stations, allowing doors to remain open longer for easier access. No problems have been reported by persons with disabilities, while ambassadors note improved access for parents with strollers and customers with bicycles.
Recent data show some improvement in safety statistics. Metro reported assaults down 66% year-over-year and violent crimes dropped 28% in spring 2025 compared to the previous year. Ridership has rebounded by more than 50% from pandemic lows, which officials say improves safety through increased natural surveillance.
However, even with recent improvements, violent crime levels in 2024 remained dramatically higher than pre-2020 levels, illustrating the scale of the challenge facing the nation's second-largest transit system.
State lawmakers have also responded with Assembly Bill 394, which expands penalties for assaulting transit employees and empowers courts to issue system-wide prohibition orders. California now requires the state's 10 largest transit agencies to collect data on harassment incidents affecting riders.
Metro's weapons detection pilot for buses remains in development, with vendor demonstrations held in July showing installation options for both 60-foot articulated and 40-foot standard buses. The agency continues discussions on IT requirements and hardware installation needs.
The comprehensive safety campaign reflects Metro's recognition that without a secure transit environment, the region's ambitious expansion plans and climate goals remain at risk. Officials emphasize that lasting change requires sustained effort across enforcement, technology, and social services to address underlying issues contributing to transit crime.