Crime on Metro Transit buses and trains increased during the summer, but has decreased this year from 2023

Crime aboard Metro Transit buses and trains increased during the summer months into September, but crime has declined overall so far this year and is below 2023 levels.

In the third quarter that ended Sept. 30, crime increased 6.7% when compared with the same period last year, according to a presentation at a Metropolitan Council committee meeting Wednesday. The top crime: People smoking on public transit.

Smoking is usually among the top complaints of passengers using Metro Transit. Some 831 citations for smoking were issued by Metro Transit police the first three quarters of this year, versus 161 in 2023.

The 5,556 crimes reported in the first three quarters of this year is an 8.4% decrease when compared with the 6,066 crimes reported during the same period in 2023.

Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth attributed the decline in crime to "proactive police work."

"Even though we're short-staffed, these officers are out there working very hard," he said.

The top seven serious crimes designated by the FBI, which include homicides, sex offenses and assaults, increased slightly in the third quarter from 287 offenses to 298.

Police department staffing continues to be a challenge for Metro Transit. While there's money in the budget for 171 officers, the department currently employs only 110 full-time officers.

Likewise, a program deploying community service officers — police officers studying law enforcement — has funds set aside for 70 officers this year, but only 15 are currently on board. These officers are intended to help full-time police and provide an added safety presence on public transit.

Dotseth said the proposed 2025 budget calls for a more realistic goal of 55 community service officers.

Metro Transit crafted a Safety and Security Plan in 2022 as it faced a crisis of crime on public transportation and declining ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of that focus involves hiring Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP) agents who check fares and provide a uniformed presence on transit.

Metro Transit has hired 13 people to fill 22 slotsin the third quarter. An additional 25 TRIP agents were hired from an outside security firm to bolster their ranks. But the overall goal is to have up to 100 TRIP agents by the end of 2025.

The agents "have really made a huge difference," said Leah Palmer, manager of Metro Transit's TRIP program. Adding 100 TRIP agents to the ranks, "sounds like a wild number but we're already 20% there," she said. The jobs, with starting pay of $28.55 an hour with benefits, have attracted a lot of interest and applicants, she said.

As a result, the number of fare inspections surged during the third quarter to 133,866, up from 56,149 checks the same period last year.

Metro Transit has also invested in private security guards at key transit stations, including at Lake Street/Midtown, Franklin, Terminals 1 and 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on the Blue Line, Central station on the Green Line, the Brooklyn Center and Uptown transit centers and the I-35W & Lake stop on the Orange Line.

Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras said next year's budget calls for increasing the investment in the program to broaden the number of security guards and the places they patrol throughout the transit system.

"This is a multiyear effort," she said. "We know we have more work to do."