最新杏吧原创

As the 最新杏吧原创 region last year was dealing with high-profile crimes on the MetroLink transit system, two groups of professionals examined the security of the system and submitted recommendations.

One of them, you鈥檝e heard of.

Consultants from New York-based 鈥� paid by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments to examine the various aspects of transit security 鈥� submitted their findings in February. On Tuesday, the lead consultant on that study, Lurae Stuart, updated the 最新杏吧原创 County Council on the implementation of those findings.

The news was mixed.

Most of the key initiatives, like getting the three police agencies that supervise safety on the trains and buses to coordinate with each other and Metro Public Safety, are 鈥渟till being worked on,鈥� Stuart told the council. But, she said, progress is being made.

There still isn鈥檛 a unified dispatch center. The police departments in the city of 最新杏吧原创, 最新杏吧原创 County and the St. Clair County Sheriff鈥檚 Department still don鈥檛 have reworked contracts. There aren鈥檛 enough police officers on the trains, particularly in the city.

The security strategy doesn鈥檛 yet exist.

鈥淚t鈥檚 slower than we would have liked,鈥� Stuart said.

What Stuart didn鈥檛 tell the County Council, and what most of them likely weren鈥檛 aware of, is there was another study done of MetroLink safety around the same time. It reached many of the same conclusions, with one significant difference.

Federal law mandates a threat and vulnerability assessment every three years in transit systems in the U.S. that want to qualify for federal funding.

That study was delivered to MetroLink officials last fall. Bi-State Development declined to share a copy of it with the Post-Dispatch after a Sunshine Law request, citing confidentiality concerns. But a MetroLink source showed the Post-Dispatch a copy. Most of its recommendations relate to the same problems identified when I first reported in 2017 that county police officers under the leadership of Chief Jon Belmar were sleeping in security offices when they were supposed to be patrolling, and blocking cameras with tape and paper to cover their tracks.

鈥淎n evaluation of the contracts with local law enforcement should be initiated. Quality control and quality assurance mechanisms should be put in place to improve the accountability of contracted law enforcement services,鈥� the report read.

The report called for increased 鈥渟ecurity presence along the system鈥� and 鈥渄ata collection and analysis consistent with industry practices.鈥�

The report鈥檚 second recommendation was more dramatic: Do away with the contracted police agencies and develop a unified transit police department. Let city and county cops go back to keeping their communities safe, and develop one agency responsible for transit safety.

鈥淪erious consideration should be given by BSD to abandoning the contracted law enforcement model,鈥� said the consultants, who were led by Ron Frazier Sr., a former vice president of safety and security for Amtrak.

That was the nature of a question the council鈥檚 presiding officer, Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, asked Stuart at the Tuesday meeting. With all the history of contract problems, communication failures and turf battles between the various departments that police MetroLink, why not develop one transit force, as many similar transit systems operate, Trakas asked.

Stuart says it鈥檚 too expensive.

A couple of days after the meeting, I asked Bi-State鈥檚 CEO, , about the Frazier report.

鈥淚 have not seen that report,鈥� Roach said.

Perhaps he should ask his consultants to get him a copy.

Here鈥檚 another thing the County Council might not have known before their meeting: On his own, and without the approval of his board, Roach signed a $99,000 no-bid 90-day contract with WSP to advise him on the implementation of security measures called for in the report the consultants prepared for East-West Gateway.

So while one WSP consultant is trying to develop contracts that get Metro and its three police departments to work together, another WSP consultant is working on Metro鈥檚 team.

The arrangement was news to 最新杏吧原创 County Executive Sam Page.

鈥淏i-State hiring WSP is a bit like hiring the judge to be your lawyer,鈥� Page said. 鈥淚t will lead many to question WSP鈥檚 neutrality.鈥�

Meanwhile, Roach, whose legitimacy as CEO has been questioned by board members who say he didn鈥檛 have the proper number of votes in closed Bi-State sessions, has come up with a new plan to change the perception of security on the transit lines.

He鈥檚 redesigning Metro鈥檚 logo.

When Page wonders why it is costing county taxpayers more for MetroLink service while the organization is cutting routes in the county, that鈥檚 at least one reason why.

The new logo is part of changing the perception of MetroLink, Roach told me. 鈥淚t kind of signals a change,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 not only have to get to safety, I have to get to comfort.鈥�

Nine months into Roach鈥檚 tenure as CEO, and more than two years after Belmar announced a memorandum of understanding in which he was going to fix the communication problems between the departments, nearly all of the same issues continue to exist.

But a new logo is on the way. Take comfort in that.