Metro pulls security guards from Park and Ride lots

KHOU-11 did some investigating and discovered that Metro isn't manning security booths at Park and Ride lots anymore:

Metro Park and Ride locations will no longer be watched over by security guards. Metro has decided to pull the guards, but increase patrols at the 26 Park and Ride locations.

Metro says it was spending $1.2 million on the full-time guards who didn't have weapons or the authority to make arrests. But they did provide peace of mind for daily riders like Debbie Moll.

"I don't like it at all," Moll said. "It's scary."

Metro says they didn't make the decision lightly.

"Well, the safety of an individual has never been a problem on a Park and Ride -- very few crimes on an individual," said Capt. Mike Raney with the Metro Police Department.

Diana Garcia would argue with that. She was attacked at a Park and Ride lot last year.

"They grabbed my sweater... and they pushed me back and said 'do you have any money?'" Garcia told 11 News. "They had a knife. A butterfly thing cause they swinged it. So I just got scared."

She's not the only one.

An 11 News investigation uncovered thousands of calls for help from Metro transit locations. Many calls were for burglary of a vehicle or car theft but the cases also included assault, aggravated assault, sexual assault and even homicides.

[snip]

Metro wouldn't say how many officers will patrol the lots. They also plan to add security cameras at each lot by the summer.

Metro has had previous problems with crime at some of its locations, and then there was that problem of a Metro police officer taking a snooze while supposedly on the job.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/13/05 01:27 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (7)

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